Saif bin Ahmed Al Ghurair, a prominent Emirati businessman and founder of the Al Ghurair Group, died on Tuesday at the age of 95.
Who is Saif bin Ahmed Al Ghurair?
Born in 1942, Saif bin Ahmed Al Ghurair, a businessman in Deira, was engaged in his family's career in pearl fishing. They are developing small pearl fishing boats for longer trips, according to the Al Ghurair Group website.
According to the site, the late began at the time with his family commercial cruises to transport dates, fabrics and textiles between Iraq, Africa and India, and was later added to the gold trade.
On one of his trips to India, Al Ghurair lost an eye as a result of strong storms and strong winds.
By the end of the 1950s, Dubai began to witness rapid growth under the late Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, who supported his ambitious vision through large investments in infrastructure. Over time and under his management, the Group's business has expanded and diversified into retail, industry, real estate and banking.
In a 2016 Forbes ranking of the UAE's richest businessmen, Saif bin Ahmed Al Ghurair ranked fifth with a fortune of around AED 8 billion ($ 2.2 billion).