In Arabic, the term sheikh means a well-born adult man who has a huge fortune and is highly respected in society among believers. Only the most revered and respected Muslims can earn this honorary title, and it usually happens that the sheikh is a man over the age of 40. However, the daughters and wives of sheikhs can often also be called this title. Muslims who earn the term of sheikh often study the religion of Islam diligently, they are well versed in the teachings of the Qur'an and live in accordance with the Sunnah, which is a way of life designated to Muslims by the Prophet Muhammad himself. A person can also be appointed Sheikh if ​​he has completed his studies at the University of Islamic Studies and can lecture to students. Due to the large oil reserves and the number of wealthy families in the Middle East, some sheiks in the region are extremely wealthy - some sheiks in the Middle East are ranked as the richest billionaires in the world. In most Arab countries, royal houses use the term sheikh to refer to wealthy members of the royal family. Usually in the Arab world the state of one or another sheikh is hidden, but we have compiled a list of the richest sheikhs according to known information on the net. Islam is the second largest religion in the world, second only to Christianity, and is the fastest growing religion in the world. Islam is most widely used in Asia. More than 1 billion people in Asia identify themselves as Muslims, most of these people live in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia. There are over 500 million Muslims in Africa and the Middle East.
Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, worth $ 2 billion. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani is the current ruler of Qatar, he became the Emir of the State of Qatar after his father, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who abdicated the throne in 2013. This made Tamim bin Hamad the youngest reigning monarch in the world.
Sheikh Faisal bin Qasim al-Thani, worth $ 2.2 billion. Sheikh Faisal bin Qasim al-Thani became successful, practically in spite of his last name, not because of her. His title Sheikh has nothing to do with political position. He is a distant relative of the ruling Al Thani family in Qatar.
Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, worth $ 2.4 billion. Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani was the Emir of Qatar from 1995 to 2013. During his reign, the country produced about 85 million tons of natural gas, which made Qatar the richest country in the world per capita. He abdicated the throne last year in order for his son to succeed to the throne. Sheikh Hamad himself came to power after a bloodless coup, taking the throne of his father.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, worth $ 4.5 billion. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is the Vice President of the United Arab Emirates and is also the constitutional monarch of Dubai. As of 2010, his investment company Dubai Holding owes $ 12 billion to banks. As Crown Prince of Dubai, he named his yacht - the third largest in the world - "Dubai". He is into horse racing and is considered to be the biggest spender in horse racing.
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, worth $ 4.9 billion. Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan is the Deputy Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and the half-brother of the President of the country. Sheikh Mansour is the chairman of the Al Jazeera Sports Company, which owns football, handball, volleyball and basketball teams in Abu Dhabi. He also owns the English football club Manchester City. He is the Chairman of the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Investment Company.
Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Ali Al Amoudi, worth $ 14.3 billion. Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Ali Al Amoudi is 63rd in the list of the richest people in the world. He lives in two countries: Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia. He is also the second richest citizen of Saudi Arabia and the richest black man. His title of Sheikh is awarded for his wealth and achievements, as he is not a member of any royal family. He is considered to be not only the largest foreign investor in Ethiopia, but also in Sweden. Mohammed Hussein earned his wealth from oil, mining and agricultural assets.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, worth $ 18 billion. According to experts, the personal capital of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan is about $ 18 billion. However, the Al Nahyan family has a combined net worth of about $ 150 billion. Sheikh Khalifa is the current Emir of Abu Dhabi and President of the United Arab Emirates. He has officially assumed the presidency since 2004. But in fact, he served as president since 1990, due to the poor health of his father, being the crown prince. The tallest building in the world, Burj Khalifa, is named after him.

In the Muslim world, a sheikh is called a spiritual mentor or leader, the leader of an Islamic organization or the leader of a religious group. Also, if a person is an emir, that is, he has the title of ruler, leader, then he is necessarily called a sheikh. Emirs by birthright can only be the sons of Arab monarchs. Emirs and Emirates are words of the same root, with the only difference that the Emirates are the possessions of the emirs, that is, the states headed by the emirs.

I must say that the United Arab Emirates has a high standard of living and large oil reserves. For example, every UAE citizen gets his share of the profits from oil sales by the state. Citizenship is acquired by a child at birth by right of blood, if his father is a citizen. The indigenous inhabitants of the UAE are in most cases millionaires, and migrants come to work in these countries. Caring for citizens is the main task of the sheikhs. The well-being of its citizens will always be a priority for every emirate: quality medical services and the best education in the world, subsidies for young people and caring for the elderly. One of the main tasks at the JSC: providing free housing.

The mission of the sheikhs can be best understood through the example of one of the most respected. Sheikh Nazim is the fortieth sheikh from the time of the Prophet Muhammad, born in 1922 in Cyprus. He saw his main task in the propaganda of Islam among Western people. To knock on the hearts of Europeans was his sincere dream, which was raised in him by his teacher, Sheikh Abdullah of Dagestani in Damascus. It was the teacher who sent Nazem to the people of London and Turkey. He called for prayer, risking freedom, because in those days any religion was prohibited in Turkey. Violating the ban, Sheikh Nazim deserved a hundred years in prison on one hundred and twelve court cases, but by the time the sentence was passed, the government in Turkey had changed, and all mosques were open to prayer, including in Arabic. Sheikh Nazim later called it a miracle. He spends his entire life in prayer, sermons, solitude and family concerns. A large family - a wife and four children support the sheikh in everything. Quite often, the sheikh goes into seclusion for earnest prayer and also often visits Europe, Australia, North and South Africa, America. He made many predictions about the future for humanity. Many followers glorify his name.

Thus, the sheikhs are called to glorify and preach the Muslim religion to the broad masses. The idea of ​​sheikhs exclusively as the richest and most influential people on the planet is fundamentally wrong, since the true meaning of missionary work is spiritual. Nevertheless, in the modern world, sheikhs of royal blood do not refuse to participate in business. For example, Sheikh Ahmed bin Said Al Maktoum is the chairman of the board of the largest airline. The question: how to combine spiritual and material principles certainly has its own answer, perhaps it lies in charity. They perfectly understand that everything in this world is interconnected, that by giving good, you get it in full. Fighting hunger in Africa, helping seriously ill children, caring for the elderly - this is not a complete list of the sheikhs' good deeds.

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Prince Hamdan of the United Arab Emirates (aka Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, but you will hardly remember that) - resembles a real oriental prince from the book "A Thousand and One Nights". Judge for yourself - Hamdan is handsome, lives in a beautiful palace, owns a multi-billion dollar fortune and has a lot of interesting entertainment. For example, the oriental handsome loves racing cars, is engaged in rock climbing and horse riding. He rides on a white horse, of course.

By the way, the prince leads a fairly popular Instagram, where he, like mere mortals, uploads photos with cats. True, instead of ordinary cats, he has real cubs and lion cubs. Mimimi!

Emin Agalarov

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People like Emin Agalarov are said to be “born with a silver spoon in his mouth” - his father, Aras Agalarov, is the owner of the Crocus Group “construction empire”, which means numerous shopping centers and the entire Crocus complex in Moscow. More recently, Emin was married to the daughter of the President of Azerbaijan, Leyla Aliyeva, but recently the couple broke up and the enviable groom is free again!
In addition to big business, Agalarov is fond of music - it is possible that you have already been to his concert. Emin sings romantic love songs, which, however, does not prevent him from holding the position of vice president of Crocus Group and delving into all the affairs of the company. This man of dreams lives in two cities - Emin can be found in Moscow and Baku.

Sheikh Mansour

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Sheikh Mansour, whose full name is Mansour ibn Zayed al-Nahyan, is one of the richest men in the world - he is a member of the royal family of Abu Dhabi, the owner of Manchester City football club and a fortune of 32 billion dollars. In his spare time, the sheikh enjoys equestrian sports and even won a number of tournaments held in the Middle East on his Arabian horse.

Mansur is accustomed to living in a grand style, therefore, he has not one wife, but two, but it is not a fact that an oriental man will stop there.

Burak Ozchivit

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Turkish actor, star of the series "Magnificent Century" Burak Ozchivit began his career in Europe as a model, but his fame befell him in his native Turkey. After a starring role in the acclaimed TV series, Burak decided not to spend the money he earned on empty entertainment and opened his own business - a restaurant chain in Istanbul. A little later it turned out that becoming a restaurateur was his childhood dream - the artist's dad owned a small kebab in the city of Mersin, and Ozchivit simply decided to continue his successful family business. Commendable!

By the way, handsome Burak, despite numerous rumors about his novels, is still not married, so fans have a chance.

Sheikh Majid bin Mohammed

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Sheikh Majid is the brother of the UAE Prince Hamdan, about whom we have already talked. But unlike his older brother, Majid is not a very public person, and even in his Instagram he prefers to post not personal photos, but pictures from official ceremonies. However, nothing human is alien to the sheikh - like many of his “colleagues”, Majid is fond of racing and equestrian sports. For some time he lived in Great Britain, where he graduated from the military academy, but soon returned home - to public affairs.

Majid spends his free time at various sporting events in Dubai and Abu Dhabi - no competition is complete without him. As for her personal life, absolutely nothing is known about her (by the way, as well as about the mother of the sheikh himself) - women in the royal family of the United Arab Emirates remain in absolute shadow.

Mehmet Akif

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Turkish heartthrob Mehmet Akif got into our rating not because of his fabulous state (although he clearly does not live in poverty), but because of his magnificent appearance. It is worth noting that truly male hobbies are not alien to Mehmet - before starting a career as a model, the son of a military man first served in the army. Returning from service, Akif took part in the Turkish model competition and won it, and then won a similar competition called "The best model of the world."

Now Mehmet enjoys great success in Turkey - he acts in films, hosts TV shows. And one more good news - the sultry handsome man is not married, so we are all going to Istanbul.

King Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck

From the Middle East, for a while, let's move to Asia - there are also handsome and wealthy men there! For example, the King of Bhutan Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuk, who, it is true, recently got married, but still it is impossible not to include him in our list.

Firstly, the king has an excellent education - he graduated from college in the USA and Great Britain. Secondly, Khesar is actively involved in charity work and helps those in need. And, thirdly, the king found the courage to marry for love, and not for the sake of state affairs - his wife was a girl from an ordinary family, the daughter of a pilot. And this is admirable!

Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum is the 35-year-old heir to the throne of the Emirate of Dubai. Sheikh Hamdan is a true oriental prince: he is fabulously handsome, owns a huge fortune and enjoys such things typical for royalty as falconry, equestrian sports and Formula 1 racing. His fortune is estimated at over $ 18 billion.

Let us tell you about the life of a young billionaire.

1. Arab Sheikh Hamdan has been living in incredible luxury since birth. He was born into the family of the Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates, the ruler of the Emirate of Dubai Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. He also has 6 brothers and 9 sisters. In the United Arab Emirates, Hamdan is a very popular person due to his versatile image and seeming "closeness to the people."

2. In fact, Hamdan spent most of his life not in his native United Arab Emirates, but in Great Britain, where he received an excellent education. First, he studied at the elite military school of the ground forces in Sandhurst, which is often chosen by English aristocrats for their beloved children. Then the sheikh moved to London, where he studied economics. After several years in Foggy Albion, Hamdan still had to return to his homeland - affairs of state importance were already awaiting there.

4. In ordinary life, Sheikh Hamdan looks a little different - he adores Formula 1 baseball caps, sports T-shirts and shorts. And the prince is to some extent far from politics - he is a rather romantic nature, loves travel, falconry and horseback riding.

5. The prince is an excellent rider, enjoys equestrian sports very seriously, has his own stable and once won the Arab Olympic Games thanks to his skill in riding.

6. The Sheikh of the United Arab Emirates is not at all like the British princes Harry or William, although he lived in England for several years. Very little is known about Hamdan's personal life, in contrast to his famous "colleagues", and what is known are only rumors and guesses. One thing we know for sure - the image makers of the royal court are constantly working to ensure that the image of the sheikh is impeccable.

7. Judge for yourself - Sheikh Hamdan is constantly photographed with his children, his numerous nephews and nieces, and looks like a completely charming and kind uncle. At the same time, the sheikh does not let anyone forget that he lives in luxury - on the Internet you can find a lot of pictures of Hamdan with tiger cubs (he can afford to have a domestic tiger instead of a modest cat!), Falcons, Arabian horses, luxury cars, in interiors a magnificent palace ... In a word, the sheikh is constantly in the halo of power and wealth.

8. Of course, one of the richest people in the world cannot but do charity work - Hamdan oversees several foundations, and sometimes he himself comes to visit people in need of help.

9. About his personal life and relationships with women in the UAE speak only in a whisper. Answering a question about his possible marriage, the prince said that from birth he was engaged to a maternal relative, so there are no problems with choosing a bride - everything was decided long before he even entered a conscious age. Several times a photo of him with an unknown woman appeared in the media, but we will never see her face - the alleged bride (or wife?) Of Hamdan wears a black cloak, showing the world only his eyes. Everything else is for the husband.

10. However, the sheikh has the right to have as many wives as he wants, so it is rather difficult to talk about the prince's romantic affections. For comparison: Hamdan's father, Sheikh Mohammed, is rumored to have about five wives. We say "about" because the exact amount is really unknown - there is only eyewitness testimony and guesses.

In a word, even girls from aristocratic families have no opportunity to approach the mysterious eastern prince, since everything related to his personality is confidential information, and the influential clan of Hamdan is unlikely to leave the choice of wives to his own discretion. This does not prevent the sheikh from having a lot of fans of his attractive appearance and various talents - after all, no one forbade watching and believing!

11. The 32-year-old Sheikh is currently serving as chairman of the Dubai City Council and President of the Sports Committee of the Emirate of Dubai.

12. Like his father, Sheikh Hamdan writes poetry. The main motives of poetry are family, homeland, romantic relationships.

13. The prince is a skilled rider. He received a gold medal in horse riding at the Asian Games.

14. Also, His Highness is fond of camel breeding, which requires considerable expenses.

Usually a “sheikh” is a man over the age of 40, this title can also be called the wives and daughters of sheikhs. Muslims who earn the title of Sheikh must be well versed in the teachings of the Koran, diligently study Islam and live according to the canons designated for them by the Prophet Muhammad himself. Sheikh can be a person if he has completed his studies at the University of Islamic Studies. It also includes giving lectures to students. Since Islam is the second largest religion in the world, second only to Christianity, the title of Sheikh is respected by the population of countries where more than 1 billion people use this religion.

5 Eligible Oriental Bridesmaids Oil reserves determine the number of wealthy families in the Middle East. Some sheikhs in this region are extremely wealthy and billionaires. In most Arab countries, the term "sheikh" is used by royal houses to refer to wealthy members of the royal family.

Traditionally in the Arab world it is customary to hide the size of the sheikhs' fortunes, but based on public information, one can make a list of the richest ... Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani - a fortune of $ 2 billion

The Sheikh is the current ruler of Qatar; he became emir after his father, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, who abdicated the throne in 2013. Thus, Tamim bin Hamad became the youngest reigning monarch in the world.

Sheikh Faisal bin Qasim al-Thani - fortune of $ 2.2 billion

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum - $ 4.5 billion fortune

Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani - $ 2.4 billion

The Sheikh was the Emir of Qatar from 1995 to 2013. During his reign, natural gas production amounted to about 85 million tons. And that made Qatar the richest country in the world with per capita income. He later abdicated the throne in order for his son to succeed the throne. Sheikh Hamad himself took over his father's throne, coming to power after a bloodless coup.

Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan - worth $ 4.9 billion

Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE and half-brother of the President of the country. Sheikh is the chairman of the Al Jazeera Sports Company, which owns handball, soccer, basketball and volleyball teams in Abu Dhabi. Sheikh Mansour also owns the English football club Manchester City and is the chairman of the Abu Dhabi International Oil Investment Company.

Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan - worth $ 18 billion

The Al Nahyan family has a total capital of about $ 150 billion. Sheikh Khalifa is the current Emir of Abu Dhabi and the President of the UAE. Officially, he became president in 2004, but in fact, he has been in office since 1990 due to his father's poor health. Burj Khalifa - the tallest building in the world - is named after him.