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Sheikh breaks City record with fastest £1.5 billion profit
Jonathan Prynn and Nick Goodway02.06.09
A Sheikh today entered the record books with the quickest billion-pound stock market profit.
Sheikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan - owner of Manchester City and a member of Abu Dhabi's ruling family - was almost £1.5billion better off after he sold a share in Barclays in the City, seven months after bailing it out.
City observers said no one in the world had ever made so much money so quickly from buying and selling shares. David Buik of brokers BGC Partners said: "No single investor has been able to go in and out on this scale. But then we have never experienced volatility like this, and I don't think we will see anything like this again."
The Sheikh was, alongside investors from Qatar, one of the major backers of Barclays's £7.3billion bail-out last October at the peak of the global financial meltdown.
His investment helped Barclays avoid the humiliation of partial nationalisation suffered by fellow high-street lenders Royal Bank of Scotland, HBOS and Lloyds TSB.
But the deal was controversial as many City investors complained the Middle Eastern rescuers had been allowed to buy into Barclays too cheaply.
There was further ill feeling over the £40million fee paid to the deal's British "broker" Amanda Staveley, a former girlfriend of Prince Andrew, and her private equity firm PCP Capital Partners. Today's dramatic sale is also an embarrassment for Barclays Chief Executive John Varley, who last October described the Sheikh as a long-term investor.
The 39-year-old Sheikh, who is married with two children, said he wanted to raise the money for investment in oil exploration. Forbes magazine earlier this year estimated his personal wealth at $4.9billion (£3billion) putting him 104th on the list of wealthiest billionaires, one place ahead of Sir Philip Green.
But he is best known in Britain for his £200million purchase of 90 per cent of Manchester City last September, a deal also arranged by Ms Staveley.
Despite talk of attracting the world's biggest names in football to the club, the investment has proved disappointing with a mid-table finish in the Premiership last season. Today some fans called for the windfall to be recycled into the club.
Today's stock market sale means the Sheikh has sold around half his investment in Barclays. He effectively bought shares in the bank at 153p each when they stood at 205p in the market.
They later plunged as low as 51.2p in January leaving the Sheikh nursing a paper "loss" running to hundreds of millions of pounds. However, Barclays shares have recovered dramatically since as fears of a catastrophic financial collapse have receded.
Today brokers Credit Suisse placed around 1.3billion shares in the stock market at 265p a share, giving the Sheikh a profit of £1.48billion on his original £2billion investment.
Reader views (11)
Clever fellow I say.
- Pedro, Dubai UAE
Wealthy people will always be wealthy and whilst the mega rich will see their own wealth rise and fall they will still profit from the loss of others. Pensioners who relied on interest from savings and those who needed their bank share dividends to support their income have of course have contributed to this man's "happiness"
- Mike M, Bedford England
Ya pays ya money and the Sheiks rejoice.
Beats working for a living.
- Kate, London
It's interesting to read all the UK originating comments, there seems to be one theme to them! Whining!
I think he deserves credit for taking a risk as an investor and now reaping the rewards for it.
Don't forget that he initially lost 66% of his investment on paper and that Barclays is a British bank which faced bankrupcy, that deal helped them get back on their feet without causing many Brits with Barclays shares and accounts hardship. So in a way the Brits are the winners afterall!
- Tareq, Dubai, UAE
You can't buy looks though..... 
- Dan, Los Angeles, CA
Haha!
You mean: "Everyone buy a bicycle, that will reduce the price of oil and then I can drive more cheaply."
But seriously, you're right. Governments keep telling us they don't want us to drive, but they'd be terrified if we all took up their advice - they'd have to start taxing oxygen!
- John, London
This guy provided cool-headed and much-needed liquidity in a time of stock market panic knowing that Barclays didn't need any Government bailout.
He was proven right, thousands of Barclays stockholders as well as pension funds are the better off for it, and the Taxpayer was saved a fortune.
Oh, but an Arab made some money! Should be a law against it!
- Tim, London
Everyone buy a bicycle; that will reduce the price of oil, and at the same time, decimate oil billionaires, and help the planet far better than getting rid of plastic shopping bags at Marks and Sparks.
But you won’t; will you?
The Oil Companies, the Stock Markets, and Governments all over the World want you to buy more cars, and pay for lots of tanks full of petrol week in and week out.
The most efficient vehicle ever made was the humble bicycle; buy one and be free of debt and hassle.
- Mickyinlondon, london
More of our money leaving these shores.
- Gary, brentwood
slimey looking sod isnt he?
- Kedge, marlboro wilts
At the end of the day this money has to come from somewhere, which in this case will be the at the end of the long string - you and I. How much longer will 'ordinary' people put up with this?
- Paul B, London
