Zahid Group

A Jeddah family group whose equipment partnerships extend into manufacturing and services. Zahid Group traces its business to 1943 and is headquartered in Jeddah. Its own site describes 15 sectors, while a June 2026 Forbes Middle East profile reports more than 7,300 employees in 33 countries. The group's history shows how equipment distribution led to related operations such as manufacturing and services. A Zahid-led consortium also took Barloworld private. Its reported workforce floor is smaller than Abdul Latif Jameel's but larger than the 2024 group workforce published by Oman's Zubair Corporation. **Key stats** - 7,300+ employees reported by Forbes Middle East in 2026 - 33 countries in the same profile - 15 sectors on the group website - 1943 founding of M.M. Zahid **Advantages:** Industry coverage beyond the original trading business; a base in industrial equipment; documented participation in a cross-border acquisition. **Trade-offs:** The selected workforce figure comes from a secondary profile; older group brochures use different counts; consortium transactions cannot be read as sole ownership. **Best for:** Readers looking for a family group with a stronger industrial emphasis than the retail-heavy entries above it. **Watch for:** Treat deal value as the transaction's stated value. It cannot be used to infer the family group's balance sheet or wealth. **Vote:** Should cross-border industrial acquisitions count more than workforce in a ranking of family businesses?