The twenty wealthiest Middle East Arabs are worth more than $123 billion primarily due to the spiraling price of crude oil, according to the Middle East Times in Egypt. Seven of the top 20 are from Saudi Arabia, which contains 25 percent of the world's oil reserves. Saudi investor Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Alsaud's worth was estimated earlier this year at $20.3 billion. Since then, he has raised another $2.3 billion through a public issue of his holding company.

Half a dozen of the richest billionaires have made money in the banking industry, with Dubai's wealthiest banker Mashreqbank's Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair's worth estimated at $8 billion.