Prominent UAE businessman Majid Al Futtaim, who founded retailing and entertainment giant MAF, has died, Dubai's ruler said on Friday in a Twitter post paying tribute to one of the emirate's pioneers "who gave back to the nation."
Al Futtaim, who was born in the 1930s according to local media, in 1992 established Majid Al Futtaim (MAF), a conglomerate that develops shopping malls across the Middle East and North Africa.
He was ranked the third-richest Arab businessman by Forbes Magazine this year with a family fortune of $3.6 billion.
"May God have mercy on our brother Majid Al Futtaim, a pioneering businessman and one of the most important in Dubai and among its greatest men who gave back to the nation," Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum tweeted.
He referenced MAF's decision this year to hire 3,000 Emiratis over the next five years.
“Majid Al Futtaim was a visionary entrepreneur who transformed the face of business in the entire region and his lifetime achievements have been an inspiration for many,” the Majid Al Futtaim's business company wrote on Twitter. “Our sincere thoughts and prayers are with Mr. Majid’s family and loved ones during this difficult time.”
The Al Futtaim family's business empire dates back to the 1930s, when Dubai remained a small pearling village before the discovery of oil in what would become the United Arab Emirates. Al Futtaim was a family trading company allied with the city-state's ruling Al Maktoum family.
Over the decades, it became a trusted partner with foreign brands seeking business, such as Toyota in 1955. Other car manufacturers followed, as did retail brands.
Majid Al Futtaim Holding, founded in 1992, was Majid's business vehicle. With it, he became a retail powerhouse in the Middle East and beyond after working as a clerk at the Bank of Oman, which later became Mashreq Bank.
The firm became a franchisee of the French hypermarket chain Carrefour. It now runs over 300 Carrefour-branded supermarkets and hypermarkets across Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
Alexandre Bompard, the chairman and CEO of the Carrefour Group in France, called Al Futtaim’s death “very sad news” for the grocery giant as he had been an “exceptional partner.”
“We will pursue our common vision of trade,” he wrote on Twitter.
Al Futtaim built one of the city’s first major mall destinations at City Center Deira. Today, Dubai is known as a major shopping destination in part due to his firm's expansions.
Al Futtaim's showpiece mall, the Mall of the Emirates, is a major attraction in Dubai and is home to an indoor ski slope. It also invested in hotels and movie theaters.
