Bakr bin Laden

Bakr bin Laden (born in 1946 in Mecca, Saudi Arabia) is the chairman of the Jeddah-based Saudi Binladin Group and the largest shareholder in the Group, with a 23.58% holding. He is also brother of Osama Bin Laden. Despite the region’s small construction sector, he has managed to expand the business. In March, the firm joined together with Qatari Diar to launch a joint venture holding company, which is expected to have a massive capital base. The new venture will have two umbrella firms, one of which will carry out mega contracting and construction works in Qatar and the rest of the world. It is also currently working on a $994.6m contract to design and build 30 parcels in King Abdullah Financial District, Saudi Arabia.

A major power broker in the Saudi business capital, Bakr tends to keep a low profile: "We have a mayor and all kinds of political heavyweights. But the true ruler of Jeddah is Bakr bin Laden," said a source for an article in the German magazine Der Spiegel.

Bakr bin Laden attended college at the University of Miami in Coral Gables, Florida, United States in 1979.