Ranking of Jordanian on Forbes billionaires list falls sharply

AMMAN – Jordanian billionaire Ziad Manasir slipped in annual ranking of global billionaires released by Forbes magazine this week. 

Manasir ranking dropped sharply from 609 in the 2014 billionaires list to 1,638 this year, according to Forbes, which estimated his fortune at $1.1 billion down from $2.8 billion last year. 

The 49-year old businessman is the owner of Amman-based Manasir Group and the construction firm of  Stroygazconsulting, which has close ties with Russia's state-owned gas producer, Gazprom. 

Forbes attributed the sharp decline in the value of Manasir's fortune to sanctions imposed against Gazprom over Russia's role in eastern Ukraine. 

The sanctions have cut into Manasir's business. 

Forbes said that Stroygazconsulting is implementing a number of projects in Russia that include metro construction in Moscow, the Kolyma highway in Russia's Far East and various sports facilities. 

Other major clients of Stroygazconsulting, besides the gas monopoly, include Rosavtodor, a federal agency behind road construction in Russia.

Manasir was born in Jordan, went to Russia as an exchange student and attended the Azerbaijan Oil and Chemistry Institute, Forbes said, adding that as a student, he began buying and selling computers and cars, and he later moved on to trade in yellow phosphorus, timber and oil products.

In the mid-1990s he bought a construction factory in Tyumen and started building residences for Gazprom workers there.

Manasir owns several large investments in Jordan in the fields of oil and construction.

As he is based in Russia and holds its nationality, Forbes listed Manasir among the richest Russian businesspeople as he came in 73rd place. 

Forbes said that a record of 290 newcomers joined the billionaires list this year. 

Forbes said that Bill Gates' net worth rose to $79.2 billion in 2015 from $76 billion last year to put him at the top of the magazine's list of the world's billionaires for the second consecutive year.

In second place is Mexican telecommunications mogul Carlos Slim Helu, with a net worth of $77.1 billion. 

Next is investor Warren Buffett, who moved up one slot this year with a net worth of $72.7 billion.