david: this is, uh, my kitchen table, and also my filing system. over much of the past three decades, i've been an investor. [applause] the highest calling of mankind, i've often thought, was private equity. [laughter] and then i started interviewing. i watched your interviews, so i know how to do some interviewing. [laughter] i've learned from doing my interviews how leaders make it to the top. jeff: i asked him how much he wanted. he said 250. i said, fine. i didn't negotiate with him. and i did no due diligence. david: i have something i would like to sell. [laughter] and how they stay there. you don't feel inadequate now because being only the second wealthiest man in the world, is that right? [laughter] people who want to see great art often go to the louvre in paris. but now there is another louvre in abu dhabi. there is about to be a guggenheim in abu dhabi. who is behind building these museums and attractions in abu dhabi? it is mohamed al mubarak. he is the chairman of the department of culture & tourism in abu dhabi.

i sat down with him to talk about why abu dhabi wants to be a major cultural center and tourist attraction. for those people who are not familiar with abu dhabi, where is abu dhabi? mohamed: abu dhabi is the capital city of the united arab emirates and sits on the arabian peninsula. we are a connecting point between east and west, from present day and throughout history. david: the other major city people know in uae is dubai. mohamed: yes, sir. david: and so dubai and abu dhabi have attracted a lot of attention in recent years because they have a fair amount of wealth and a lot of tourism attractions. let's talk about at the beginning what your main mission is as the minister of culture and tourism. what are you supposed to be doing in your role? mohamed: what makes this job interesting is the passion it instills. in myself and all of my colleagues. we have something quite special in abu dhabi. and the united arab emirates. what is special is the continuous pursuit of the enhancement of quality of life. that is not just for tourists.

it is for residents. we work with partners to create experiences to cater to their needs. as you can see, in abu dhabi and in the uae, almost every single year there is addition of experiences, addition of institutions, addition of new concepts that come in and create these fantastic curated experiences for people to really cherish and enjoy. david: what is the population of abu dhabi? mohamed: so, the population of the uae is slightly over 11 million people. david: and abu dhabi is a fraction of that? mohamed: it's the largest land bank, the capital city, a little over 3.5 million people. david: your position is to make sure that people come here and understand what the attractions are of abu dhabi, but you are building a lot of things. how long have you been in this position? mohamed: 20 years. and at the department of culture and tourism, close to 10 years. i am very humbled and lucky to be working for a government that

has visionary ideas. their vision of investing and culture, and cultural institutions, have been set forth since the inception of this country. the idea of basically enhancing it with entertainment projects, projects that are theme parks, projects that are public parks, beaches, etc. it has always continuously evolved. david: for those not familiar with abu dhabi, when did it become, as part of the uae, an independent country? mohamed: as a country, 1971, but its history and the history of its people dates back thousands of years.

david: its found was zayed. >> the late founder of the country, he was a visionary man. through his vision you see this country being created that caters to the wants and needs of its people. its history has continued on by his son, the current president. david: when was oil discovered in abu dhabi? mohamed: oil was discovered prior to the formation of the country. it was discovered, and when it was discovered it was thought of as, how will i utilize natural resources, like we have always utilize natural resources, to find value and create value for our people. david: i see. before oil was discovered the main business in abu dhabi was what? mohamed: through time we always utilize our natural resources. whether it is pearls, copper, we have always been a trade partner. our ancient trade routes, whether through ancient mesopotamia or ancient china, we have always traded natural resources throughout time. we've always utilized that. the next up is utilizing the most important natural, which is us, people, human beings. david: let's talk about some of

the museums you are building or have already built. when i want to go see the louvre, i go to paris. but now i found out you have your own louvre. is that connected to the one in paris? mohamed: by name, but not by curatorial intent. the louvre abu dhabi is in partnership with the louvre paris, is in partnership with afm. that partnership is a long-standing partnership that flourishes, and that partnership is a transfer of knowledge that is being transferred on a daily basis. there is loans that come from different french museums. that is compounded with acquisitions we acquire for our assets and teambuilding we have created from the opening of this museum. david: do they lend you some things from time to time and you lend them things? mohamed: absolutely. david: are they going to lend the mona lisa anytime soon? mohamed: maybe. maybe. currently we have one of the most beautiful paintings in our museums at the louvre abu dhabi is da vinci's "john the baptist." and it is quite beautiful, because the way we have the

louvre abu dhabi is interesting, because it gives you a one-to-one view of everything you are looking at, whether it is a painting, whether it is an artifact. it creates a passionate interaction with what you are looking at. david: you are building another art museum called the guggenheim. the louvre is big enough, why do you need a guggenheim as well next door? mohamed: it is a good question. the beautiful thing about the uae and abu dhabi is, we live with over 200 nationalities. in doing so, they have become a part of the country's and city's fabric so we need to celebrate everybody's identity, heritage, everybody's history. and what a beautiful way in doing so with these beautiful institutions. these museums are educational institutions and community institutions. so we wanted to curate a story where you come to the cultural district, and if you allow me to curate the story, you start off at the natural history museum. at the natural history museum

you get a glimpse and understanding of how we came to be a how our earth came to be, how our universe came to be, from a scientific perspective. once you leave the natural history museum you go to the national museum. here you understand the history of this great land. not just a history of the country, but the people who have been a part of this land for over 300,000 years. you get a glimpse of the past, present and future in the uae. from there you maneuver yourself to the louvre abu dhabi, a beautiful universal museum. it is universal in its thematic approach. so there you basically see a part of you on equal pedestal with the entire world. and then you leave to the guggenheim abu dhabi, a contemporary art museum focusing on art from the late 1940's to today. but it looks at it from a truly global perspective. yes, you will see art from

pollock or rothko or warhol, but it is going to be side-by-side with artists from kenya and the philippines and all around the world. we wanted to make sure art inside the guggenheim abu dhabi is showcased not just from a western perspective but from a truly global south perspective. david: if you are building a contemporary art museum, why did you have an affiliation with guggenheim? what can they do for you? mohamed: it is a mixture of things, similar to the louvre. first it is a fantastic opportunity of transfer of knowledge, working side-by-side with that fantastic team in the guggenheim new york and working on how we can detail this museum together. compounded by that, you know, you are taking years and blueprints of acquisition committees, of curatorial committees, and you are taking them and evolving them to your wants and needs. david: museums are great. and i am involved with a number of museums myself in the united states. but also there are performing arts parts of the cultural world. are you involved in performing arts as well? mohamed: absolutely. unesco designated abu dhabi as a city of music. music is close to our heart. as i said, when you live with

over 200 nationalities, they bring in their musical touches to the story. our events calendar is filled music, with everything from classical music to hip-hop, to pop, to korean pop, to dance, and the list goes on. since covid, we have pretty much sold out every single live musical event, catering for all demographics. david: did you build a facility for these, as well? mohamed: yes, sir. yes, sir. david: let me ask you, who is going to go to all of these? because your population is not that big. do you have enough people that can fill up all these museums and performing arts arenas and so forth? mohamed: first and foremost is the "why?" as you rightfully said, why are we building these? when it comes to our cultural institutions, because we truly believe culture is the backbone of any forward-thinking society. culture has to be embedded in our dna. like it always has been. the institutions were not built for tourists. they are actually built for the residents here and the future

generations of residents in the united arab emirates. then you have the tourism story. last year we had a little under 5.3 million tourists. we are looking to target this year over 6 million tourists. david: where are the tourists coming from? mohamed: from all over the world. the top five destinations, you are looking at the indian market, chinese market, russian market, u.k. market, of course the western european market, whether germany or france. they are coming from everywhere. david: what about the americans? are they showing up? mohamed: absolutely. we are seeing a double-digit growth from american tourists. david: i was chairman of the smithsonian for a number of years and often when we had a popular museum attraction i would get calls from people who wanted tickets for free, but they wanted access. do you ever get that kind of request? mohamed: yeah, and like i said, these museums are educational institutions. all kids go in for free. all military personnel go in for free. anybody over the age of 60 goes in for free. and then anyone who is doing

research gets a heavily-subsidized aspect of the ticket. they also get the right to enter all of our research labs. like i said, they are educational and community facilities. david: what about private equity people? do they go in for free? mohamed: if they sponsor. [laughter] ♪

david: as we talk there is a fair amount of turmoil in some parts of the middle east. obviously, but what about this part of the middle east? is it affected by what is going on in israel, gaza, syria, and lebanon, or not so affected? mohamed: first and foremost, one thing we all as human beings look for is peace and harmony. nobody wants to see devastation happening anywhere around the world, regardless of if it is next to you or not next to you. the uae is home to over 200 nationalities from all over the world. different religions, different backgrounds.

the focus is really on how we keep our community safe and make sure basically we work with diplomatic ties to find a solution that caters for the wants and needs of the overall world when it comes to peaceful coexistence. david: in the united states there is a big concern about immigration into the country, as a political issue. mohamed: yes, sir. david: here you have a lot of immigrants coming in. more immigrants live here than people from the native part of abu dhabi, i assume. is that a concern? mohamed: not a problem. we are still a developing country. we are a developing city. everything is done through a well-thought-out strategy. it is not just, open our doors and everybody come in. you are looking for talent also. teachers, nurses, doctors, engineers. these are people helping us grow. david: sometimes when populations grow quickly you see a lot of crime. do you have a lot of crime here? mohamed: it is one of the safest cities in the world.

one, because there is a clear strategy and plan for that. but two, everybody lives here loves the way of life here. they want to sustain it. so everybody works hand-in-hand together to sustain that. david: in europe and the united states you often see in major cities, homeless people. i have not seen any here but maybe there are some. is homelessness a problem? mohamed: when it comes to the local population. this is where i always go back and say, the government continuously works on enhancing the quality of life of the residents of the united arab emirates. us as locals, we have opportunity for free land for housing. so, free housing, free medicare, subsidized power and water, and a job opportunity. so, you are given the tools to succeed. what you do after these tools is really up to you. david: let's talk about your background. where were you born? mohamed: i was born in paris. paris, france. i moved back to abu dhabi and grew up here.

i had a fantastic upbringing. you know, the community, society, it was amazing to be part of it. always a sense of how leadership is so close to the people on how it always wants to make sure the people are comfortable and happy. you know, my mother did an amazing job with my siblings and myself. we are very close together. my brothers and sisters, we were a tightknit family. david: how many siblings do you have? mohamed: i have an older brother and two older sisters. david: your brother runs an investment arm of abu dhabi. are your sisters involved with abu dhabi in some way like you are? mohamed: my sister works for the environmental agency here in abu dhabi. you know, she is an advocate of sustainability and safeguarding the environment. my other sister is a studied lawyer. and right now she has, probably, a very important job, which is focusing on her family.

david: your brother once told me that you have a big comic book collection. so, do you still collect comic books? and what are you going to do with them? mohamed: i fell in love with comics at an early age. i grew up, i remember as early as i can, every time i would find a superman comic or a batman comic or an x-men comic, whether d.c. or marvel, i would basically gobble them up. i ran up to my room and sat in my corner, and basically i loved the concept of creating something so imaginative, creating these worlds, these characters that are actually so detailed, but they have so much weight to them. emotional weight to them. i love that. i love the concept of storytelling. that is what my job is all about today. it is about storytelling. whether it is curating museums with a fantastic team, curating experiences in theme parks, it is storytelling in itself. david: to finish your own story, did you go to college in the united states? mohamed: yes, sir. i went to college in boston at northeastern university.

amazing four years in my life. david: what did you study? mohamed: i studied political science. david: you didn't study museums. mohamed: i was always infatuated with museums. david: when you went to college in boston and told people you were from abu dhabi, what did they say? did they know where it was? mohamed: i was lucky, you know? i went to a university and a place where you had international university kids from all around the world. so, they knew where uae, abu dhabi was. they did not have a lot of information about it. the funny thing right now is, every single student i went to school with has come to abu dhabi. and when they have come down here they have called me and said, remember i was with you freshman year, sophomore year? i have said, yes. they say, we have come here, and it is amazing. david: do they ask for free tickets to the louvre? mohamed: sometimes they do. i do not give my professors free tickets, but the students i do. david: if i was going to say to

you i am going to leave the country in an hour, i have an hour to visit something, what should i visit in my one hour? mohamed: due to our infrastructure, what i believe you can do in one hour, you being a cultural enthusiast, i would probably recommend you visit the mosque. and you see it is this beautiful mosque. david: one of the largest mosques in the world. mohamed: it is architecturally stunning. you get an understanding of the beautiful space. maybe spend 20 minutes there, and then if you have an hour i would say around eight to 10 minute drive to the oldest standing fort here in abu dhabi. it is in the center of the city. you also get a view of the city. spend 20 minutes there, and then eight minutes later you are at the louvre abu dhabi and then you are off the airport. currently at the louvre abu dhabi we have an amazing postimpressionist exhibition. some amazing van goghs. so, you tick that box. the future really lies on the idea that we have to stop. we do not have to stop.

we have to continuously evolve. we have to continuously be better. we have to continuously cater to the needs of what our future generation wants. ♪

david: so, abu dhabi and uae is part of the gulf cooperation council. which is a number of countries blessed with having some oil. i would say most of them have a fair amount of oil. they include saudi arabia, oman, kuwait, qatar, and bahrain. are these other countries jealous? saying, hey, we want to have some tourists, too. they do not have anything quite like you have. do they ever mention this to you? mohamed: on the contrary, we have heard outside press talk about, for example, competitiveness between even abu dhabi and dubai. but the fact of the matter is we all are complementary. similar to what we see in places like the u.s. or europe.

we are able to fly to the u.s., their bucket list is to go to new york, los angeles, chicago, new orleans, and the list goes on. same thing in europe. it is paris, london, rome, and the list goes on. when it comes to this region, it is widely connected. it is in close proximity to each other. so the tourists in reality will go to dubai, abu dhabi, doha. we are all complementing each other with different experiences. david: let's talk about another side of your life, which is building hotels or refurbishing hotels or apartment buildings. residential and so forth. this area has grown so much that it is seen that some parts, and people in dubai are saying there are not enough residential properties anymore for people who want to live here and work here. are you building more residential properties in abu

dhabi, and is this a real problem? mohamed: absolutely. it is a good problem to have. if you look at the growth story of a company, in 2008 we were launching two to three developments a year. fast forward to this year and we have launched 14 new developments. so, the scale is significantly larger. our market cap has grown fivefold. david: your company is a publicly traded company? mohamed: yes, sir. you talked about the development aspect. our development pipeline has grown eight fold. if you look from a numbers perspective you're going to say, who is buying? in 2021, 11% of my portfolio were international buyers. 2024, close to 30%. and these buyers are coming from all over the world. predominantly coming from southeast asia, asia, eastern europe, western europe, and you might say, why? now, why, to me, is a very easy question. because they are coming to a place where there is, like i said, a continuous pursuit of quality of life, one of the safest cities in the world, where safety comes first,

medicare comes first, investment of the government in education, medicare, infrastructure, public safety is always front of mind. it is a place where it is continuously evolving to create policies to cater for the needs of the investor, cater for the needs of the buyer, the homeowner. if you look at our sovereign funds, the adq's of this world, not only are they investing outside, but they are investing within. very important sectors. agritech, ai, education, infrastructure, logistics. that is creating massive job opportunities in the uae and people from all over the world are taking these opportunities. so, i almost look at the uae today as the land of opportunity. david: people are coming here and buying apartments. you do not have to be a citizen of abu dhabi to buy an apartment? mohamed: no, sir.

david: when you buy an apartment here can you become a citizen here? mohamed: you do not need to be a citizen to live here. in terms of your acquisitions there are new policies added for long-term residencies, golden visas for you and your entire family household, short-term residency visas, and at the same time there is opportunities for nationalization. david: are you going to do something else in government, or will you stay in the private sector? what is your future? mohamed: the future lies on the idea that we have to stop. we do not have to stop. we have to continuously evolve. we have to continuously be better. we have to continuously cater to the needs of what our future generation wants. and that is what makes the job special. because you are always thinking about the future. what is next for us? david: let's suppose you were to summarize, what you would like the average person in the world to know about abu dhabi?

what would you say is the message you want to convey to people? mohamed: seeing is believing. the fact of the matter is, we hear a lot of things, but in reality, take a step further. do your research and come. because once you see what is happening here, it is very special. it is a place that is really a place of belonging, a place of connectivity, a place of understanding. and everything we are doing is for the next generation, and the generation after that. so i would love for everybody to be a part of that with us. ♪