THE MIDDLE EAST’S

14. Najib Mikati

Net Worth: $2.8 B
Age: 68
Residence: Lebanon
Nationality: Lebanese
Industry: Telecom

Najib Mikati cofounded Beirut-based investment firm M1 Group. Mikati currently serves as the prime minister of Lebanon, a position he previously held from 2011 to 2014 and briefly in 2005. Mikati and his billionaire brother Taha founded Investcom in 1982, selling satellite phones at the height of Lebanon's civil war. They expanded into Africa, where they built cellphone towers in Ghana, Liberia, and Benin, among other countries. In 2005, Investcom went public on the London Stock Exchange, and in 2009, South Africa's MTN bought the Mikatis' stake for $3.6 billion.