As the value of his healthcare company increased on Thursday, a Saudi physician's fortune approached $12 billion, putting him again among the richest private citizens in the Middle East.
The stock of Sulaiman Al Habib's own company has increased by 30% since October, when it fell to a one-year low. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, this has made Al Habib, who started the company and owns a 40% stake, the third-richest person in the Middle East who is not a member of a royal family.
Since its 2020 initial public offering, the stock has increased sixfold, placing it very close to reaching a record high. The shares have performed better since listing than the benchmark Tadawul index, which has doubled over that time.
The early seventy-year-old billionaire developed the $28 billion healthcare network from a single clinic that debuted in 1993 to a business that runs 22 pharmacies and 22 medical facilities in Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia. Ten hospitals and medical facilities are being developed by the company. In addition, he owns commercial real estate through a holding company, as disclosed in the IPO prospectus of Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Services Group Co.
Al Habib graduated from King Saud University in Riyadh in 1977 with a degree in medicine and surgery. In 1984, he finished a pediatric fellowship at the British Royal College of Physicians. He has held positions as head of pediatrics and chief medical officer at two government-run hospitals in Riyadh.
Al Habib is one of the rare doctors to be listed among the richest persons in the world and the fifth wealthiest doctor according to the Bloomberg index. Thomas Frist, co-founder of hospital network HCA Healthcare Inc., is worth $25 billion, and Miriam Adelson, widow of casino mogul Sheldon, is worth $34 billion.
The Bloomberg index shows that the Saudi mogul has surpassed Carl Cook and Hansjoerg Wyss, who have each acquired fortunes valued at over $10 billion through the sale of medical products, to become the owner of one of the largest healthcare empires in the world.
