Gulf

1. Dalio’s Abu Dhabi praise
2. Mubadala’s CEO profile
3. Trump, crypto President
4. US senator’s rights push
5. Gulf airlines soar

A Doha museum exhibition reconsiders the legacy of Jean-Léon Gérôme.

Abu Dhabi emerges as global finance hub

Billionaire hedge fund investor — and UAE passport holder — Ray Dalio praised the emirate as a “renaissance state” and a haven amid escalating geopolitical tensions. “Neutral countries do the best [at times of war], not the winners or losers of war, who have to grapple with huge losses and damages,” Dalio said at Abu Dhabi Finance Week. “Smart, productive people establish offices and residences” in neutral states where the business environment is friendly.

Senior finance leaders controlling $42 trillion are meeting at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) this week, and some are establishing offices in the financial center. US private credit manager Golub Capital, a joint venture between Dubai-based asset manager Shorooq Partners and South Korean insurer Hanwha Life, as well as India’s largest early-stage VC accelerator 100Unicorns, all announced plans to be based in the district, according to Enterprise UAE.

The insider presiding over the UAE’s wealth

Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Mubadala’s CEO, is the “insider” that presides over the UAE’s $330 billion money machine, Bloomberg wrote in a profile. Al Mubarak, a rare non-royal at the top in the Emirates, has transformed Mubadala from a relatively unknown domestic investor to a global powerhouse, driving investments in artificial intelligence, finance, and healthcare. Mubadala’s portfolio is heavily weighted toward North America, with 41% of its investments there, but it is seeking to expand in Asia. Al Mubarak is also a key adviser to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed. BlackRock CEO Larry Fink said the Gulf and Abu Dhabi are bright spots in the global economy: “We all see the vision now. But it was Khaldoon who saw it first, and he made it happen.”

Eric Trump sees bitcoin at $1 million

Donald Trump will be the “crypto president,” the US the global “crypto capital,” and its biggest token, bitcoin, will hit $1 million. These are some of the bullish remarks by the President-elect’s son Eric at the Bitcoin MENA event in Abu Dhabi. Eric Trump said the world was at the “beginning of a financial revolution” and insisted his father wouldn’t allow the crypto industry to be over-regulated and saddled with high taxes. The Trump family and billionaire Steve Witkoff, the incoming Middle East envoy, back a crypto platform — World Liberty Financial — and the asset class has been embraced by governments and investors in the Gulf.

Senator to champion rights abroad

Jeanne Shaheen — set to become the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s highest-ranking woman ever — told Semafor that human rights should play a larger role in US foreign policy. From January, she will help shape congressional decisions on Israel, Ukraine, and China, potentially clashing with President-elect Donald Trump.

The New Hampshire Democrat, who voted to block a weapons transfer to Israel in November, criticized the Biden administration for being “too slow in pushing Netanyahu to come to a ceasefire,” while reaffirming her support for Israel’s right to self-defense. “We know that Israel is holding up humanitarian aid in northern Gaza. There are [hundreds of thousands of] people that are on the verge of starvation,” Shaheen said. “It’s not acceptable for a country that calls itself a democracy, that says it’s in support of human rights and freedom for people, to allow that to happen.”

Middle East airlines lead global profits

The profit per passenger earned by Middle East airlines in 2024, almost three times the global average. The industry is driven by strong economic growth, infrastructure investment, and the rerouting of European and US carriers due to Russian airspace closures, according to the International Air Transport Association. Net profit for the region’s airlines is projected to reach $5.3 billion this year and $5.9 billion in 2025, up from $3.1 billion in 2023. Gulf carriers — which dominate the region’s industry — have benefited from premium long-haul demand and government-backed tourism initiatives, remaining largely unaffected by conflicts.

Carlyle Co-Chairman David Rubenstein, Citadel founder and CEO Ken Griffin, former US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker, and KKR Co-Chairman Henry Kravis will serve as co-chairs of Semafor’s World Economy Summit on April 23-25, 2025, in Washington, DC.

The third annual event will bring together US cabinet officials, global finance ministers, central bankers, and Fortune 500 CEOs for conversations that cut through the political noise to dive into the most pressing issues facing the world economy.

Join the waitlist for more information and access to priority registration.

Artificial Intelligence

• Mubadala’s investment committee will include an AI consultant next year. Its CEO said: “In everything we do, AI is going to be fully ingrained.” — The National

Data Centers

• Property developer Damac Group plans to invest about $3 billion to build data centers across Southeast Asia as the region becomes a hub for AI and cloud services. It has set its sights on Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand. — Bloomberg

Taxes

• The UAE plans to increase the corporate tax rate on profits generated by multinational companies operating in the country from 9% to 15%. The tax will apply to companies with a minimum of €750 million in revenue in at least two of the past four financial years. — WAM

A new exhibition in Qatar recontextualizes the work of Jean-Léon Gérôme. The famous 19th century painter is most associated with Orientalism — a term and concept that has been the subject of much debate. Through Orientalism, Western artists depicted aspects of Middle Eastern, North African, and South Asian culture, and the movement has been criticized for exoticizing and patronizing these regions.

The Doha showcase is notable, Artnet wrote, because it is staged for a non-Western audience, and “fittingly leaves room for the lived experience and histories” of its visitors. The shifting boundary between reality and fantasy in Gérôme’s pieces is especially notable, and his work is important to study, the curator said, because “his visions, his creations shaped a worldview.”

Somaliland, a self-governing region within Somalia, could move closer to gaining recognition as an independent nation when Donald Trump returns to the White House in January, Semafor’s Yinka Adegoke scooped.

The potential recognition is not only about building relationships, but also “about strategic military and shipping interests in the region, as well as countering China,” Adegoke wrote.