São Paulo – This year’s edition of Arabian Business magazine’s list of the world’s 500 most influential Arabs and their descendants includes seven Brazilians. The first Brazilian in the list, cardiologist Adib Jatene, is in the ninth place in the global standing. The list also includes Renault-Nissan group president Carlos Ghosn (14th), Indycar driver Tony Kanaan (189th), businessman Faisal Hammoud (198th), writer Milton Hatoum (373º), stylist and businessman Amir Slama (418th) and the mayor of the city of São Paulo, Gilberto Kassab (441st). Amir Slama is of Iraqi descent, and the others are of Lebanese descent.
Jatene was the Health minister of Brazil and director general of the Heart Hospital (HCor), in São Paulo. In the list, he appears as one of the most influential Arab descendants due to having developed a surgical technique that corrects anomalies in the hearts of newborns.
"Whenever I am celebrated, recognised for my work, I feel very pleased. I developed my career based on the surgery and am grateful for the recognition,” stated the former minister, who was honoured by the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce in March.
The author of "Ashes of the Amazon", "The Brothers" and "Tale of a Certain Orient", among others, writer Milton Hatoum believes that his name is in the list because his books were translated into several languages and as he has granted interviews to the Arab press. The Lebanese edition of "The Brothers", translated by Safra Jubran, even got a postface by the author.
Hatoum says, however, that having his name included in the list does not change his work. "I do not consider myself influential and my name in this list does not alter my work as a writer. Today, the only thing that makes me happy is playing with my kids, living with a wonderful person, having great friends and good readers and reading good books that surprise me and give me pleasure,” he said.
The publication shows that "within or outside the Middle East”, Carlos Ghosn requires little introduction – as all know who he is. He became the president of Renault in 2005, after managing Japanese carmaker Nissan and making it revert losses of US$ 6 billion into a profit of US$ 2.7 billion in one year.
Indycar driver Tony Kanaan is in the 189th place in the list because he is considered one of the best drivers, as he was Indycar Champion in 2004 and as he was the first Brazilian to run all laps in a season, despite never having won the Indianapolis 500. The 198th in the list is businessman Faisal Hammoud. The founder of importer Monalisa, Hammoud’s life is lived both in Brazil and Paraguay. He was one of the thinkers of the Mercosur, the economic bloc that includes Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina.
Another prominent Brazilian is stylist Amir Slama, the creator of the Rosa Chá brand, which now belongs to Marisol. The last in the list – among the Brazilians – is São Paulo city mayor Gilberto Kassab. A former alderman, former state representative and former federal representative, Kassab was elected deputy mayor of São Paulo alongside mayor José Serra, in 2004, and was inaugurated mayor in 2006, when Serra resigned to run for state governor. In 2008, Kassab was re-elected mayor.
The first place in the Arabian Business list is Saudi prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Al Saud. The owner of a fortune estimated at US$ 19.6 billion by Forbes magazine, Bin Talal has led the list since it was started, seven years ago. Arabian Business said that this year he was in the first position due to his philanthropic work in his eponymous foundation. Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation operates in four areas: reduction of poverty, humanitarian aid, relations between East and West and support to women.
In the second place in the list published by Arabian Business is Google’s former marketing director in the region, Wael Ghonin. He is considered partly responsible for the wave of protests that resulted in the resignation of Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak, in February. Ghonin created a Facebook profile called "We are all Khaled Said", in reference to a young businessman beaten and killed by the Egyptian police. According to Arabian Business, under pseudonym Al Shaheed ("The Martyr"), Ghonin invited his 350,000 Facebook friends to a protest on Tahir Square, in Cairo, on January 25th. Ghonin was arrested, but set free days later.
In the third place in the list is Mohammed Bin Hammam, from Doha, Qatar. He presides the Asian Football Federation and is one of the architects of the campaign that resulted in the country winning the right to the 2022 Football World Cup. Hammam aims to be the next president of the International Football Association (Fifa) replacing the Swiss Joseph Blatter.
The subeditor of Arabian Business, Edward Atwood, said that the main evaluation criteria of editors in the making of the list was the influence that those chosen have on the daily life of millions of people. Arabian Business is edited in English and in Arabic and is focussed on the business world of the GCC (Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Oman).
*Translated by Mark Ament
