Hussain Sajwani’s net worth is estimated at US$10.2 billion, according to Forbes Middle East as of March 2025. That figure, published in Forbes Middle East’s 2025 ranking of the region’s most impactful real estate leaders, was double his estimated $5.1 billion a year earlier, and it placed him first in that ranking. Sajwani is the founder and chairman of DAMAC Properties, the Dubai developer behind some of the city’s most recognisable luxury communities. But billionaire figures are estimates, not bank balances, and trackers disagree about Sajwani by billions — so this guide explains the sourced figure, why estimates differ, and how he made his money.
Hussain Sajwani Net Worth
The most clearly dated, citable estimate is the Forbes Middle East figure: $10.2 billion as of March 2025, up from $5.1 billion in March 2024. The ranking weighed experience, completed and ongoing project values, company financials, land banks and unit counts. Shortly before that valuation date, in February 2025, DAMAC announced its largest sukuk to date — a $750 million senior unsecured issue — a sign of the scale the group was operating at.
Net Worth at a Glance
| Estimated net worth | US$10.2 billion (Forbes Middle East, March 2025) |
| Previous estimate | US$5.1 billion (Forbes, March 2024) |
| Main source of wealth | DAMAC Properties and DAMAC Group |
| Role | Founder and chairman, DAMAC Properties |
| Nationality | Emirati, based in Dubai |
| Known for | Luxury property, branded residences, data centres |
Why Net Worth Estimates Differ
Search for Sajwani’s net worth and you will find figures from around $3 billion in older articles to more than $13 billion in some recent reports. The spread has honest causes. DAMAC Properties was taken private in 2022, so there is no daily share price to value his stake against — analysts must estimate a private company’s worth from projects, land and sales. Dubai property values also moved sharply in 2023 and 2024, so one year’s estimate quickly looks stale. And trackers count different things: some value only the property business, others add fashion brands, private investments and data centres. Trust figures with a source and a date, like the Forbes Middle East March 2025 estimate above, and treat undated figures as rough guides. No reliable source publishes a verified figure for every year, so this article invents none for years where none exists.
For context, Sajwani topped that Forbes Middle East 2025 ranking ahead of Emaar founder Mohamed Alabbar (second, $2.3 billion) — compare them in our Mohamed Alabbar net worth guide. Dubai’s billionaires are not only property developers: our Pavel Durov net worth guide covers a tech-built fortune.
Hussain Sajwani Age and Early Life
Hussain Sajwani was born in Dubai in 1953, making him around 73 years old in 2026. One precision note: some secondary sources give 1952 or 1954, so his exact birth year is reported rather than confirmed by an official public record. The 1953 date is the most widely cited and is used here. He was the eldest of five children. Both parents were entrepreneurs: his father ran a shop in the local souk selling watches, pens, shirts and goods imported from China — Sajwani’s first classroom in commerce.
Education took him far from the souk. After winning a government scholarship, he began studying at a medical college in Baghdad, left after his first year, and moved to the United States, where he studied industrial engineering at the University of Washington. On returning to the Gulf he worked as a contracts manager at Abu Dhabi Gas Industries (GASCO), part of the ADNOC group. Employment, however, was never the destination.
DAMAC Properties Founder: Founding and Growth
Who is the DAMAC owner? In short: Hussain Sajwani founded DAMAC Properties in 2002 and remains its founder and chairman. The longer story starts in 1982, when he launched a catering business that grew into a large operation serving clients including the US military and major companies across the Middle East and Africa. That venture gave him capital and experience running a business at scale — the groundwork for what followed.
Through the 1990s he bought land and property in Dubai as the city grew into a regional hub, and built hotels there in the mid-1990s. Then, in 2002 — as Dubai’s property market opened decisively to wider ownership — he founded DAMAC Properties, positioned squarely at the luxury end for international buyers. DAMAC listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2013 and on the Dubai Financial Market in 2015; Sajwani took it private again in 2022 through Maple Invest Co Ltd, in a deal reported at over AED 2.2 billion (around $600 million). What set DAMAC apart was branding: where rivals sold square footage, DAMAC sold a lifestyle label, with residences carrying fashion and hospitality names. Luxury-branded residences became its signature.
Major Projects
DAMAC Hills
DAMAC Hills, in Dubailand, is the flagship golf community: villas, townhouses and apartments around the Trump International Golf Club Dubai, with parks, lakes, schools, retail and sports facilities. Contemporary reporting describes a masterplan of over 3,000 villas, 4,300 apartments and around 4,500 hotel rooms and serviced units. The Trump link is a management and branding relationship, not DAMAC ownership of the Trump business.
DAMAC Hills 2 (Akoya)
Originally launched as Akoya, DAMAC Hills 2 is the larger, more affordably priced sibling community along Emirates Road, aimed at families with villas, townhouses and leisure hubs.
Cavalli Tower and DAMAC Bay by Cavalli
The Roberto Cavalli partnership produced some of DAMAC’s most photographed towers: DAMAC Bay by Cavalli, an ultra-luxury waterfront tower on Dubai Harbour, and Cavalli Tower on the Dubai Water Canal. DAMAC Group acquired the fashion house itself in 2019, turning a branding deal into outright ownership.
Trump Golf Courses
The Trump relationship extends to a second course, Trump World Golf Club Dubai, within the Akoya Oxygen community (now DAMAC Hills 2). The DAMAC Hills course is associated with Tiger Woods design input as reported in DAMAC coverage.
Other Landmark Communities
DAMAC Lagoons is a newer waterfront-themed community of Mediterranean-inspired clusters with crystal lagoons and beaches, while DAMAC Islands is a large Dubailand community themed around tropical destinations. In Business Bay and Downtown, DAMAC Towers by Paramount Hotels & Resorts and AYKON City added hotel-branded serviced living. DAMAC also delivered projects in London, including the Versace-branded DAMAC Tower at Nine Elms, reported as a £600 million investment. Unit totals vary by source and date, so this article reports projects where well documented rather than a single contested total.
Other Businesses and Wealth Sources
Property is the core, but DAMAC Group, the parent of DAMAC Properties, houses much more:
- Data centres — Edgnex / DAMAC Digital: founded in 2021 as Edgnex and renamed DAMAC Digital in 2025, building data centres across the Middle East, Europe and Asia. In January 2025 Sajwani announced, alongside then President-elect Donald Trump, a reported US$20 billion investment in new US data centres. How much of that materialises is the biggest variable in his future net worth.
- Fashion and jewellery: the 2019 acquisition of Roberto Cavalli, followed by the 2022 acquisition of Swiss jeweller de GRISOGONO, gave the group two European luxury brands feeding both branded residences and standalone revenues.
- Hospitality: DAMAC Hotels & Resorts, launched in October 2011, added hotel rooms, serviced apartments and hotel villas to the portfolio.
- Private investments — DICO: his private investment division holds securities and stakes in regional and global markets across private equity and listed companies. Its portfolio is private and changes over time.
- Regional trading: earlier interests included building-materials trading in Oman and Al Jazeira Services, a listed Omani company.
Personal Life and Philanthropy
Hussain Sajwani Wife and Family
Hussain Sajwani is married and has four children. His wife’s name is not publicly disclosed in his official biography or reputable profiles, and this article does not repeat speculative names from gossip-style sites. His children are named in his official biography as Ali, Amira, Abbas and Mehdi Sajwani. The next generation is already inside the business: Ali Sajwani is managing director of operations at DAMAC Group, Amira Sajwani is managing director of sales and development, and Abbas Sajwani leads AHS Properties.
Philanthropy
The Hussain Sajwani – DAMAC Foundation is his main charitable vehicle, focused on education and youth empowerment. Its best-known association is the One Million Arab Coders initiative, launched by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, which aims to give one million young Arabs free coding training; DAMAC Foundation sponsored it in 2017. In 2022 the foundation pledged AED 5 million to the UAE’s “1 Billion Meals” campaign, feeding vulnerable communities across 50 countries. Lifetime giving totals are not publicly audited, so this article reports documented pledges only.
For visitors, the DAMAC story is also a way into understanding modern Dubai. Our guide to free things to do in Dubai shows the city beyond the luxury brochure — and our Mohamed Alabbar net worth guide covers a different model, a listed giant rather than a private empire.