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Walid Juffali
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Walid Juffali | |
|---|---|
| Born | Walid Ahmed Juffali 1954/1955 (age 60–61)[1] |
| Nationality | Saudi |
| Alma mater | University of San Diego Imperial College London |
| Known for | chairman of E. A. Juffali and Brothers |
| Net worth | £4 billion (June 2015)[2] |
| Spouse(s) | Basma Al-Sulaiman (1980-2000) Christina Estrada (2001-14) Loujain Adada (m. 2012) |
| Children | Four; Three with Basma Al-Sulaiman, one with Christina Estrada |
| Parent(s) | Ahmed Abdullah Juffali |
| Relatives | Khaled Juffali (brother) |
Walid Ahmed Juffali (born 1954/1955) is a Saudi billionaire heir and businessman. He serves as the chairman of E. A. Juffali and Brothers, one of Saudi Arabia's largest companies.
Early life[edit]
Juffali is the son of Ahmed Abdullah Juffali (1924-1994),[3] the founder of E. A. Juffali and Brothers, one of Saudi Arabia's largest companies.[4] His younger brother is Khaled Juffali, and his sister is Maha Juffali.[5] His brother Tarek Juffali died in 2006 from a drug overdose, and had been "a heavy heroin and cocaine user and also took Rohypnol and smoked 30 cannabis joints a day".[6]
Education[edit]
In 2012, he received a doctorate in neuroscience from Imperial College London.[1][9] His PhD thesis was entitled, "A Novel Algorithm for Detection and Prediction of Neural Anomalies", and his supervisor was Chris Toumazou.[10]
Career[edit]
Juffali serves as the chairman of E. A. Juffali and Brothers,[1] a position he has held since at least 2005.[11]
In 2005, Juffali was also chairman of Saudi American Bank, deputy chairman of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and Honorary Consul-General for Denmark.[11]
In December 2005, the Middle East Broadcasting Corporation (MBC) announced that Juffali would host its entrepreneurial reality show, The Investor, which would be shown early in 2006.[11] In her book Arab Television Today, Naomi Sakr, compared the show to the global TV franchise The Apprentice, but noted that each of the 13 pairs of would-be entrepreneurs had to be from the same family, to reflect the "family aspect of business in the Arab world".[12]
Juffali also has a separate company, W Investments, a private wealth management company.[9] The CEO is Jamil El Imad, who is also managing director and chief scientist of his NeuroPro company.[13]
Legal immunity[edit]
On 9 November 2015, The Daily Telegraph reported that Juffali had gained legal immunity in the UK, having been appointed as St Lucia's "Permanent Representative" to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), which is headquartered in London.[1]
Two days later, St Lucia's Office of the Prime Minister issued a statement, confirming that Juffali was appointed to the role in April 2014, "that all necessary due diligence was done prior to the appointment", and it declined the request from his ex-wife's lawyers to "lift the diplomatic immunity of Dr. Juffali to compel Dr. Juffali to testify in the civil suit ... this is a civil matter in which it does not desire to get involved."[14]
Personal life[edit]
Juffali's first wife was fellow Saudi, Basma Al-Sulaiman, who received £40 million in a divorce settlement in 2000.[2] They married in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in 1980, where they lived in a marble palace. Guests of Juffali in Jeddah included Margaret Thatcher, John Major and George H. W. Bush.[15] They had three children.[16]
In 2001 Juffali married Christina Estrada, an American former Pirelli Calendar model, but they divorced in 2014.[1] Estrada started divorce proceedings in 2012, after he married Loujain Adada (Saudi law allows up to four wives), and has made a claim against Juffali for at least his three UK properties, which include a seven-bedroom home in Knightsbridge, London, in a converted church, valued in total at about £60 million. Juffali and Estrada have a teenage daughter.[2]
Juffali was one of three Saudi businessmen who donated at least $1 million to the Clinton Presidential Center.[17]
In November 2012, Juffali married the 25-year-old Lebanese model and TV presenter Loujain Adada in Venice.
E. A. Juffali and Brothers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Private | |
| Founded | 1946 |
| Headquarters | Jeddah, Saudi Arabia |
Key people
| Walid Juffali, chairman Khaled Juffali, vice chairman |
| Website | http://www.eajb.com |
Ebrahim A. Juffali and Brothers is Saudi Arabia's largest commercial enterprise. Founded in 1946, its expansion coincided with the country's growth, and by the mid 1970s, the Juffali Group had firmly established itself as the largest business house in the Middle East, with 49,218 employees worldwide.[1]
Juffali was responsible for developing the first power generation (electricity), and telecommunication in Saudi Arabia. as-well as television concessions.[2]Later on the Al Juffali group introduced many other fields to Saudi Arabia such as power utilities, construction, insurance, telecommunications, and vehicle manufacturing and distribution. Their joint venture partners include international companies such as, Daimler AG, Bosch,Dow Chemical, Fluor Corp, Carrier, DuPont, Ericsson, IBM, Liebherr, Michelin, Massey Ferguson, Siemens AG, Nabors Industries.[3]
The group's growth, steered in large part by His Excellency Sheikh Ahmed bin Abdullah Al-Juffali (1914–1994), and his brothers, Ebrahim and Ali. The company is run by their sons, Sheikh Khaled and Sheikh Walid Al Juffali. They are also supported by their cousins and professional staff managing a wide range of investments, manufacturing, finance, real estate, distribution, and oil drilling throughout the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and North America.[4]
Tuesday, 1 December 2015
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