Mirwais Azizi

Mirwais Azizi is an Afghan-born real estate developer based in Dubai.

His firm Azizi Developments has delivered more than 45,000 homes since he founded it in 2007 and is currently developing more than 150,000 units in Dubai.

Azizi Developments is building Burj Azizi in Dubai, set to become the second-tallest tower in the world at 2,379 feet.

Azizi fled his native Afghanistan for the Soviet Union in 1989 with just $500. He moved to Dubai in 1994 trading cigarettes, later expanding to oil packaging and exporting and real estate.

Azizi is a major philanthropist in the UAE and Afghanistan, focusing on hospitals, housing and education.