Mohammad Al Gaz

Who is Mohammad Al Gaz?

Mohammad bin Abdallah bin Mohammad Al Gaz, was a significant figure in Dubai politics and business during the thirty year period after the 1950s.

Born in what is now Dubai, U.A.E., circa 1930, Al Gaz was from the Al Bu Falasah family, a sub-sect of the larger Bani Yas tribe, which has ruled Dubai for almost two hundred years.

Often pictured in photographs with the late ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Al Gaz's role in politics was primarily as a friend and aide to the late ruler, and later as the first Chairman of the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates.

As the first major businessman from the ruling tribe of Dubai, Al Gaz was part of a small group of highly ambitious businessmen in the 1960s who pursued the goal of modernizing the city, notables of them include Al Gaz's longtime business partner Jumaa Al Majid, Majed Al Futtaim and his cousin Abdullah Al Futtaim, Abdullah and Saif Ahmad Al Ghurair, and Obeid Al Mulla. In his early efforts after the federation of the country to bring in foreign companies, Al Gaz's holding company, United Arab Agencies, acquired a large number franchises, including Pepsi Co., Nissan Motors, Royal Philips Electronics, Opel Cars, etc. By the 1980s, Al Gaz was also a major property owner with approximately 40 high-story buildings developed and owned by his private company. In addition to his business interests, Al Gaz was a devoted philanthropist and is credited with the development of the first private charitable society in Dubai's history.