Emirates: This is how much money employees at the court of the most powerful sheikh get

They are considered one of the richest families in the world: The Bin Zayed Al Nahyans, sheikhs from the United Arab Emirates and rulers of Abu Dhabi. They park their oil billions in prominent companies, also in the world of sports. For example in the traditional English club Manchester City, into which they pumped billions of pounds and made the club number one in the Premier League with all the money. It was so much money that even Fifa intervened in 2020 and banned the club from participating in the Champions League.

As generous as the sheikhs are with their investments, their employees only benefit to a limited extent from this wealth. Business Insider has internal documents from the court of Hazza Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the younger brother of the President of the United Arab Emirates and ruler of Abu Dhabi. Bin Zayed Al Nahyan is a former security adviser to the Emirates government and is Deputy Chairman of the Abu-Dhabi Executive Council, the local authority that enforces laws and decrees. So he sits in a crucial position in the power apparatus of the emirate.

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The sheik apparently maintains a two-class society

An internal wage statement from 2021 shows that the driver earns 3,000 dirhams, the equivalent of around 769 euros per month. The “office boy” gets 512 euros (2000 dirhams) per month, the butler in turn 1025 euros (4000 dirhams). The sheikh also employs a pet owner who earns 640 euros a month (2500 dirhams), a masseur with a monthly salary of 1281 euros and also a hygiene officer who gets 2050 euros (8000 dirhams). Income tax in the Emirates is among the lowest in the world, for example in Dubai or Abu Dhabi it is zero percent. The employees therefore have much more net from the gross than in Germany.

According to the World Bank, the average per capita income in the Emirates in 2021 was the equivalent of 41,667 euros. This corresponds to a monthly income of 3472.25 euros per month.

But there are also employees of the sheik who earn significantly more. For example, his personal manager gets 15,368 euros (60,000 dirhams) per month, his legal advisor 4866 euros (19,000 dirhams), his financial analyst 3842 euros (15,000 dirhams) and his HR manager 5891 euros (23,000 dirhams). The sheikh also maintains a small staff for his villa in Dubai and a six-strong travel team including a cook, butler and housekeeper.

According to the internal salary list from 2021, the sheikh spent a total of 175,809 euros a month (686,617 dirhams) on the salaries of his employees.

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The Embassy of the United Arab Emirates left a Business Insider questionnaire unanswered about the said salaries.

There is a fairly modern compliance catalog at court

The sheik has introduced a compliance catalog for his staff that is quite modern. For example, respectful cooperation is prescribed, misconduct towards colleagues will not be tolerated, says an “employee handbook” that we have. In the case of sexual harassment, the cases should be reported. An investigation will then be carried out, which could lead to consequences for the accused – up to and including his or her dismissal.

The internal compliance catalog has apparently already been applied. We have received a complaint from an employee who alleges repeated sexual harassment by one of his male colleagues. Specifically, it is about three incidents that the employee describes to his superior. One of the descriptions is serious. The complaint actually triggered a process, two witnesses were heard. One of the witnesses largely confirmed the allegations. The victim still works at the Sheikh’s court today.

The Embassy of the United Arab Emirates has also remained unanswered to Business Insider’s questions on the matter.