DUBAI - Prominent UAE businessman Majid Al Futtaim, who founded retailing and entertainment giant MAF, has died, Dubai's ruler said on Friday in a Twitter post paying tribute to one of the emirate's pioneers "who gave back to the nation."
Al Futtaim, who was born in the 1930s according to local media, in 1992 established Majid Al Futtaim (MAF), a conglomerate that develops shopping malls across the Middle East and North Africa.
He was ranked the third-richest Arab businessman by Forbes Magazine this year with a family fortune of $3.6 billion.
"May God have mercy on our brother Majid Al Futtaim, a pioneering businessman and one of the most important in Dubai and among its greatest men who gave back to the nation," Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum tweeted.
He referenced MAF's decision this year to hire 3,000 Emiratis over the next five years.