Mohammed Hussein Al-Amoudi
Residents of Addis Ababa say Mohammed Hussein Al-Amoudi can often be seen cruising Ethiopia’s capital in a Hummer, the large vehicle favored by the likes of rap stars and California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Amoudi is one of the wealthiest businessmen with origins in East Africa and was ranked this year by Forbes as the 43rd richest person in the world, with a net worth estimated at $9bn.
An avid football fan and music lover, he was born to an Ethiopian mother and an Arab father, and made his money mainly in Saudi Arabia and Scandinavia, later securing Saudi citizenship.
He made his first fortune in Saudi property and construction, but then diversified, moving chiefly into oil, but also mining and coffee, leather goods and tourism.
Amoudi’s business empire centers on the Midroc Global Group, a conglomerate that employs 24,000 people on four continents and has an annual turnover of more than $15bn, according to the 2008 annual report of Midroc Europe, one of its subsidiaries. Read the rest of this entry »
