THE MIDDLE EAST’S

63. Darwish Holding

Established: 1900s
Country: Qatar
Chairman & Managing Director: Bader Abdullah Al-Darwish

Darwish Holding was founded when Abdullah Darwish, alongside his brothers Kassem and Abdulrahman, took over their father’s business, which he had established in the 1900s. Today, the group employs over 3,000 people, with 800 global brands across nine divisions, including retail, wholesale, malls, real estate, investments, and technology. Fifty One East, the retail arm of Darwish Holding, is the first and among the largest department store chains in Qatar, housing luxury brands such as CHANEL, Rolex, Boucheron, L'Oréal, Sony, and Fnac, some of which have been represented by the group since the late 1940s.