The Royal Family Of Dubai - Insights To Dubai's Leaders....

The Dubai Royal Family

The United Arab Emirates is a federal constitutional monarchy. Wikipedia quotes this as meaning ''a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the guidelines of a constitution, whether it be a written, uncodified, or blended constitution.''

Seven Emirates constitute the UAE federation with the domineering ruling authority being the Dubai Royal Family, the al-Maktoum clan. This clan is a section of the Al Falasi family, a much respected tribal family that has been ruling parts of the Emirates since long ago - in the 19^th century a member of the al Falasi clan, Bani Yas, moved to Dubai. The Al Maktoums are descendants of Bani Yas.

Traditionally this family holds the posts of Vice-President and Prime Minster of the UAE. Sheikh Mohammad, the constitutional monarch of Dubai and the Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE, is often referred to as the ‘CEO of Dubai’ with Dubai labelled as ‘Dubai Inc.’

The Emirate of Dubai is largely owned and controlled by the Royal Family, either directly or through government organizations. They are highly respected for fulfilling the dream of ‘New Dubai’ in the post-oil economy by ploughing back profits earned from oil revenues into new sectors.

The financial and political capital owned by the Royals has given a boost to many areas like construction, tourism, sports and so on. The megalopolis that Dubai has become with its iconic buildings, malls and mega constructions can be directly attributed to the aspirations of the Royal rulers.

Dubai's Royal Family are great patrons of sports and games. Soccer, horse racing and camel racing are promoted heavily in the Emirate. Dubai is a also a great host of international cricket matches.

The Royal Family’s love for thoroughbred horse racing and breeding is legendary, a love that extends to camel racing too. They own the biggest horse breeding firms in the world.

The members of the Royal Family are avid sportspersons themselves, some of them winning medals in international sports. Many members have displayed keen interest in literature and culture. The Monarch is a poet himself.

The family size is constantly growing, with members added due to multiple marriages of the Emirs and their progeny. The present monarch has two official wives and some more known wives. The number of children from the official wives is more than a dozen.

The family’s wealth is estimated to be more than US $4 Billion. The royals have a love for luxuries and lavish lifestyle. The present ruler’s first marriage celebrations in 1979 cost around US$ 100 million.

The Sheikhs love their jets, yachts and big houses in the US and Europe. They own a yacht which can host up to 115 people and is believed to be the second largest yacht in the world.

Alongside their love for luxury the Royals are active in charitable works and support. They give huge donations for the cause of education, poverty alleviation in Islamic nations and other social causes.

If you want to know more, try this Wikipedia article on the Royal Families Of The United Arab Emirates.

The video beneath this article gives some insight into life in Dubai, and the ruling Family's impact on it.