Capping his 23-year career by playing in Saudi Arabia has made Cristiano Ronaldo soccer’s first billionaire.

The Portuguese superstar’s fortune was pegged at $1.4 billion in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which took note of the two-year contract he signed in June with Riyadh’s Al-Nassr team, worth a reported $400 million in tax-free salary and bonuses.

Ronaldo, 40, the all-time top scorer in men’s international soccer, played for some of Europe’s leading clubs before moving to Saudi Arabia, including Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus. He is captain of both Al-Nassr and Portugal’s national team.

Off the field, Ronaldo signed a decade-long deal with Nike in 2016 for nearly $18 million annually and endorsed brands including Armani and Castrol that have added over $175 million to his net worth, Bloomberg reports.

With 660 million followers around the world making him the world’s most popular personality on Instagram, Ronaldo has put much of his fortune to work at home.

He has invested heavily in Portuguese media and publishing interests, as well as in branding, real estate and his CR7 business empire that extends into hotels, apparel, and licensing, the news agency reports.

Aldar Properties, Abu Dhabi’s biggest real estate developer, is shifting gears from luxury villas to more inclusive projects aimed at everyday residents.

Flush with cash after years of booming growth, the company now plans to build homes priced between $136,000 and $816,000, along with rental options for workers earning $1,360 to $5,450 a month.

It’s also rolling out affordable schools, community shops, and even a new Gulf credit fund to help smaller builders access financing, CEO Talal Al Dhiyebi told Bloomberg.

As Abu Dhabi draws in a wave of global professionals, Aldar’s new focus signals that the emirate’s leaders want the government-owned developer to evolve to serve not just the wealthy elite, but the teachers, nurses, and engineers who are now struggling to keep up with rising rents.

Blackstone, the world’s largest alternative asset manager, is joining forces with Abu Dhabi’s Lunate to launch a $5 billion logistics investment platform across the Middle East.

The new venture, called GLIDE, will focus on developing new “Grade A” logistics assets and evaluate selective acquisitions and sale-and-leaseback transactions, the investment firms said on Monday.

Lunate is an Abu Dhabi-backed alternative investment manager founded in 2023 that oversees over $110 billion in assets. “This partnership combines global scale with regional expertise to unlock a market ready for transformation,” Lunate Managing Partner Khalifa Al Suwaidi said.

Jon Gray, Blackstone’s President and Chief Operating Officer, said the venture will capitalize on Lunate’s growing presence in the Gulf.

“The profound economic transformation underway in the GCC, driven by pro-growth policies, favorable demographic shifts and broad-based economic diversification, is creating powerful momentum for sectors like logistics,” Gray said.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is pushing the deadline forward 10 years for New Murabba, one of its flagship mega-projects for redeveloping the kingdom’s sprawling capital city of Riyadh.

Facing growing deficits and falling oil prices, executives at the sovereign wealth fund say the massive new business, entertainment and residential development won’t be finished until 2040, a decade past the completion date earlier projected, Arabian Gulf Business Insights reports.

Still on schedule, however, is the project’s striking centerpiece known as the Mukaab, a 400-meter-high (1,300-foot), cube-shaped tower housing a shopping mall, hotels, restaurants and residential buildings.

According to the revised schedule, New Murabba should be able to complete construction of a 45,000-seat soccer stadium in time for Saudi Arabia hosting the 2034 World Cup.

The UAE’s largest sovereign wealth fund is ordering a large and luscious scoop of Häagen-Dazs.

Teaming up with Goldman Sachs, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is investing in U.K.-based Froneri, owner of the premium ice cream maker, signing a deal that values the company at around $17.6 billion. Froneri is a joint venture between European buyout firm PAI Partners and Swiss food giant Nestlé.

PAI said on Thursday it completed a $4.2 billion deal that creates a new ownership structure for its 50% stake in Froneri, with a subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund becoming a “significant minority co-investor.” A corporate vehicle led by Goldman Sachs Alternatives is also taking part.

“Froneri is a leading global consumer business with strong prospects for the future, Hamad Shahwan Aldhaheri, Executive Director of ADIA’s Private Equities Department said.

“This transaction offers a compelling opportunity to support the company for its next phase of growth alongside experienced and proven partners.”

ADIA, which manages more than $1 trillion in assets, said last month that it plans to focus on private equity deals while diversifying its portfolio through alternative investments and private credit.

Besides Häagen-Dazs, which operates in more than 90 markets around the world, Froneri sells ice cream under the Oreo, Cadbury and Milka labels.

OpenAI has vaulted past Elon Musk’s SpaceX to become the world’s biggest startup after a share sale to investors including Abu Dhabi firm MGX valued the artificial intelligence giant at $500 billion.

Mubadala and G42-backed MGX, Thrive Capital, SoftBank Group, Dragoneer Investment Group and T. Rowe Price were among the named parties who bought $6.6 billion worth of stock from current and former employees.

The sale fell short of the $10 billion-plus limit on stock the company allowed for sale, potentially indicating the confidence of staff in the long-term trajectory of the business, Bloomberg reports.

It was the third major investment in OpenAI by MGX, which took part in a fundraising round earlier this year that valued the company at $300 billion, after making an initial investment in 2024.

OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman have a tight relationship with the UAE, where the company agreed earlier this year to partner with AI powerhouse G42, Oracle and Nvidia to build a 1-gigawatt computing cluster called Stargate UAE.

Altman met with UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed and Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, the National Security Adviser who oversees some $1.5 trillion in UAE assets, in Abu Dhabi on the weekend. He was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Mohamed bin Zayed University of Artificial Intelligence at a ceremony on Friday.

Riyadh-based Merak Capital has set up an $80 million private equity fund to support the fashion industry in Saudi Arabia, anchored by the kingdom’s Cultural Development Fund.

The Fashion Fund will invest across the industry, supporting Saudi labels, as well as beauty brands, e-commerce and technology companies working with apparel.

Saudi Arabia hosted its first ever fashion shows in 2018 and has since established Riyadh Fashion Week and Red Sea Fashion Week.

The sector is poised for significant growth, with fashion and luxury expected to hit $42 billion by 2028, according to industry tracker Fashion Futures.

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is pursuing its goal of dominating the global gaming industry by executing the largest leveraged buyout in history.

The kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund, which manages assets of about $925 billion, is leading a consortium that agreed to pay $55 billion for Electronic Arts, the U.S. maker of such hit video games as “Battlefield” and “The Sims.”

The investor group also includes private equity firm Silver Lake Partners and Affinity Partners, the firm headed by Jared Kushner, son-in-law of U.S. President Donald Trump. 

The PIF, which already owns 9.9% of EA, plans to roll over its stake into the new ownership structure. The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of fiscal 2027, subject to regulatory and shareholder approval.

Kushner said he has admired EA’s “ability to create iconic, lasting experiences, and as someone who grew up playing their games – and now enjoys them with his kids – I couldn’t be more excited about what’s ahead.”