The Abunayyan and Al Muhaidib families together own at least 26.3% of ACWA, a Saudi company valued at $34.9 billion, according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index calculations. Their stake highlights how private fortunes are growing outside the oil sector.

Saudi Arabia produces more than 11.1 million cubic meters of desalinated water each day, according to the Saudi Water Authority. About half of the world’s installed desalination capacity is concentrated in the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Bloomberg reported.

ACWA’s desalination portfolio now reaches a combined capacity of 9.2 million cubic meters per day across 108 projects in 15 countries, and the company manages roughly $117 billion in investments, according to its 2025 financial results. This scale makes ACWA one of the world’s largest private desalination operators.

In 2025 ACWA reported net income of approximately 1.9 billion Saudi riyals (about $507 million). The Public Investment Fund is its largest shareholder, holding 44.2% of the company, as disclosed in the same financial report.

Analyst Prateek Bhatnagar, an analyst at Jefferies, said long‑term water supply contracts protect ACWA from short‑term economic downturns, and its operations in many countries lower the risk of disruption at any single plant. The comment underlines why investors see desalination as a stable, high‑growth path beyond oil.