The making of Arabtec

Hasan Abdullah Ismaik, CEO of UAE-based construction company Arabtec.With a background in real estate and oil, Ismaik also owns a stake in German sports club TSV Mϋnchen von 1860 GmbH and sits on the board of several UAE- and Jordan-based companies.
Arabtec was one of the worst casualties of Dubai’s 2009 real estate market collapse and debt crisis. Between 2008 and 2009, its annual profit fell 48% to $134 million. At the time, it was reportedly owed well over $272 million, mostly from troubled Dubai government-owned developer Nakhee
He is a new billionaire thanks to an increased stake in the publicly-traded business. Ismaik now owns 20.5% of the Gulf’s largest builder, putting his net worth at $1.4 billion per today’s share prices.
Ismaik, 37, joined Arabtec in August 2012 following a C-suite shakeup that ousted longstanding CEO Riad Kamal and CFO Ziad Mahzoumi. The changes came just months after Aabar Investments, the investment arm of Abu Dhabi government’s International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC), bought a 22% stake in Arabtec Holding becoming its largest shareholder.
The first Jordanian national to join Forbes’ wealth rankings, Hasan Ismaik is also the third-youngest billionaire in the Middle East.

Culled from Forbes