ADIA Headquarters in Abu Dhabi
Sheikh Ahmed bin Zayed al-Nahayan, a younger brother of Abu Dhabi’s ruler, manages what is thought to be the world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund.
The pilot of the sailplane was rescued and is in good condition, the state-run news service said, adding that the search for Sheikh Ahmed was in progress. The glider went down near the Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdallah Dam, which forms the lake. It is located near the Atlantic coastal town of Skhirat, some 35 kilometers south of the capital city Rabat and site of one of Morocco’s royal palaces.
The search could be particularly arduous because of recent heavy rains that have pushed up water levels.
Sheikh Ahmed was No 27 on Forbes’s list of the world’s most powerful people last year and is in his early 40s.
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), of which the sheikh is managing director, is believed to have assets of around $500-$700bn, including a stake in Britain’s Gatwick airport and residential property in major cities, Reuters news agency reports. Analysts believe ADIA is the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, with estimates of its size having ranged from less than $400 billion to $875 billion and beyond.
Its investments include a $7.5 billion cash injection into Citigroup Inc. in 2007. Stocks and other equities in the developed world make up the largest class of the fund’s assets, ranging from 35 to 45 percent of its holdings.
Between 35 and 50 percent of ADIA’s investments are typically in North America, and another 25 to 35 percent are in Europe.
The fund, like other investors, is believed to have lost considerable value during the market downturn before bouncing back somewhat over the past year.
While Sheikh Ahmed is the brother of Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, who as well as ruling Abu Dhabi heads the UAE, he is not immediately in line for the succession. He took charge of ADIA in 1997, according to a BusinessWeek profile in 2008. He’s also chairman of Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahayan Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation.
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority could not be immediately reached for comment on the disappearance of the brother of the ruler of Abu Dhabi.
