Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman launched a gigantic development alongside the Grand Mosque in Mecca that aims to almost double the holy city’s capacity to host Muslim pilgrims coming from around the world.

The new plan, introduced by the Saudi leader on Wednesday as the King Salman Gate project, is part of a broader push to modernize Mecca’s municipal services and accommodate 30 million visitors annually by 2030, up from about 18 million last year.

The development will span nearly a quarter the size of Manhattan, covering 12 million square meters of space (130 million square feet). Managed by RUA AlHaram AlMakki Co., a subsidiary of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, the project will include residential towers, hotels and retail space in addition to worship areas. 

The real estate surrounding Islam’s holiest sites in Mecca and Medina has become a magnet for hotel chains, developers and apartment owners, drawn by the guaranteed demand that comes from the religious obligation of Hajj. High-end lodging and property rentals in the surrounding districts have produced strong returns, encouraging more private and institutional participation.

Saudi authorities are also updating regulations to open parts of Mecca and Medina to additional foreign capital. While special restrictions will remain for property ownership in the holy cities, broader reforms in Riyadh and Jeddah are designed to attract outside investors and integrate the religious tourism sector into the kingdom’s diversification plans.

While IBM, Deloitte and Cisco touted AI deals on Day 3 of Gitex Global 2025 in Dubai, rap entrepreneur Sean “Jay-Z” Carter sat down in Abu Dhabi with Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed – gatekeeper of the UAE’s trillion-dollar investment funds – to talk about the music business’s tech horizons.

Sheikh Tahnoon, the UAE National Security Advisor, Deputy Ruler of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, said in an Instagram post on Wednesday that he talked with Carter, Chairman of Roc Nation, about “technological transformations driven by artificial intelligence” as well as “strengthening the emirate’s position as a leading global destination for culture, creativity, tourism, and entertainment.”

Also sitting down with Sheikh Tahnoon were Jay Brown, Vice Chairman of  Beverly Hill private equity fund MarcyPen Capital Partners; Elbert O’Neal Robinson Jr., CEO of the fund; and UAE Ambassador to the U.S. Yousef Al Otaiba.

Back in Dubai, executives from the 6,800 international companies present at GITEX jostled amid the crowds to negotiate deals, including a partnership to help companies in the Middle East adopt AI faster by combining IBM’s technology with Deloitte’s regional consulting expertise. Cisco, meanwhile, unveiled its “Make AI Work for You” program tailored for the region to simplify AI infrastructure and strengthen security.

Headlining GITEX on Tuesday was Sam Altman, founder and CEO of OpenAI, who appeared virtually in Dubai in a discussion with Peng Xiao, CEO of Abu Dhabi’s tech powerhouse G42, sitting onstage.

“Cooperation is key – no company or country can reach the full potential of AI alone,” Altman said. “We are witnessing the greatest transformation in human history. That’s why we must constantly raise our goals.”

By midday it was standing-room-only as one of the world’s biggest tech and AI gatherings kicked off.

Cramming into the exhibition halls at Dubai World Trade Center on Monday were exuberant crowds trying to get a glance of the future: from fully autonomous AI-powered cars to a pink feather-boa clad humanoid robot rubbing shoulders with its warm-blooded compatriots.

GITEX Global 2025, now in its 45th edition, and sister event Expand NorthStar, a startup and investor event running in parallel at Dubai Harbor, brought the city to a standstill early on Monday morning, prompting the police issue a notice to motorists to avoid the area if possible.

The five-day event, which has drawn more than 6,800 companies from 180 countries, is growing so big that it will be moved next year to Expo City Dubai, the futuristic site developed for Expo 2020 Dubai, which has now been transformed into a permanent city and free zone. It will also be shuffled forward into December to coincide with the cooler tourist season. 

Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohamed bin Rashid, along with his son, Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan, were seen touring exhibits with a large entourage in tow on Monday morning.

Among the major companies participating are Abu Dhabi AI powerhouse G42, Google, Microsoft, Huawei, AMD, Cerebras, Qualcomm, and Tenstorrent.

Hassan Aljohani, the Vice President for Business Development at Saudi Arabia’s Neo Space Group, came to the event to show off the company’s near real-time geospatial intelligence and a sovereign mapping platform to the wider region.

“We see GITEX as the ultimate platform to showcase and establish familiarity, connections and partnerships with the like-minded innovative institutions,” Aljohani said.

Investment banker Dina Powell McCormick received the annual ABANA Achievement Award on Thursday night, recognizing her work in fostering cooperation between financial professionals in the U.S. and in the Middle East and North Africa.

McCormick, a former White House advisor to President Donald Trump who is Vice Chairman, President and Head of Global Client Services at BDT & MSD Partners, was presented with the award at a dinner reception at the Waldorf Astoria in New York by Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Managing Director and CEO of Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala sovereign wealth fund.

Before joining BDT & MSD, McCormick, 52, was Deputy National Security Advisor during Trump’s first term and Deputy Undersecretary of State for Public Affairs and Public Diplomacy in George W. Bush’s administration.Besides her government service, McCormick worked as a banker at Goldman Sachs, eventually becoming a partner and member of the management committee. She was born in Cairo and is married to U.S. Senator Dave McCormick, a Pennsylvania Republican.

The award dinner, which was held at the Waldorf Astoria, was co-chaired by an array of top Wall Street figures, including BlackRock’s Larry Fink, Jane Fraser of Citi, Nir Bar Dea of Bridgewater Associates, Harvey Schwartz of the Carlyle Group, Jenny Johnson of Franklin Templeton, Byron Trott and Gregg Lemkau of BDT & MSD Partners, Gary Cohn of Apollo Global Management, and Chuck Davis of Stone Point Capital.

ABANA, initially named the Arab Bankers Association of North America, is a networking organization for leaders of the financial services industry who work in fields such as private banking, asset management, real estate, private equity and venture capital.

Among recent winners of the ABANA Achievement Award are Mubarak, who received it last year, Yasir Al-Rumayyan, Governor of Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund; Stephen Schwarzman, CEO of Blackstone; Farouk Bastaki, Managing Director of the Kuwait Investment Authority; and David Rubenstein, Chairman of Carlyle Group.

Riyadh Air plans to launch its first commercial flights this month after delays in Boeing aircraft deliveries pushed off the new carrier’s debut by almost a year.

The Saudi startup, which is owned by the Public Investment Fund, will start daily service to London Heathrow Airport on Oct. 26, adding flights to Dubai International Airport in November once it receives its first Boeing 787 widebody jet.

Tickets for the general public are expected to go on sale in December, following an initial phase limited to staff of the PIF sovereign wealth fund, Riyadh Air employees and their families, CEO Tony Douglas said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Backed by billions from the Saudi fund, Riyadh Air aims to attract luxury travelers from established Gulf rivals Emirates and Qatar Airways as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s broader plan to diversify the economy beyond oil.

The new airline ordered more than 150 aircraft from Boeing and Airbus but none of them have been delivered. Riyadh Air plans to fly to 100 cities by 2030.

Saud Al Nowais, the UAE’s longtime commercial attaché to the U.S., is stepping down from the post he has held for 17 years to return to the UAE to focus on other investments.

Al Nowais said in a LinkedIn post on Wednesday that he will take a new job at the UAE’s Executive Affairs Authority after a period at Columbia University in New York, where he will study venture capital.

The 41-year-old diplomat, who worked under UAE Ambassador Yousef Al Otaiba in Washington as an economic policy adviser and liaison for businesses in the UAE and U.S., said he will use the coming months to “prepare for a change in direction in my career and pursue my passion for investing.”

Al Nowais, who has been active in providing early funding for MENA-based startups as an advisor to Arab Angel VC , is the founder of Goldcleats(dot)com, an online platform and phone app for young soccer players looking to get recruited to play professionally.

He is also founder and Chairman of Epic Padel USA, which operates clubs where the popular racquet sport is played and raised $10 million in a seed funding round last month.

Recounting highlights from two decades working in the U.S., Al Nowais cited his participation in negotiating the so-called “123 Agreement” on peaceful uses of nuclear energy in 2009, as well as his role in resolving policy issues on aviation, tariffs and the “Gray List” for anti-money laundering regulations.

Al Nowais also recalled the embassy’s role in the Abraham Accords that normalized relations with Israel, his work preparing for U.S. President Donald Trump’s visit to the UAE in May, and the opportunity to attend the U.S. National Defense University.

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.