Najib Mikati was born on 24 November 1955 in Tripoli and “hails from a prominent Sunni Muslim family based in Tripoli,” placing the clan inside the city’s established Sunni notable class.[page:60] He earned an MBA from the American University of Beirut in 1980, attended a Harvard summer programme and completed advanced management courses at INSEAD, giving the family’s political face global business credentials.[page:60]

The family name “Mikati” in Lebanese usage marks both the patrilineal line and the Tripoli origin, with Najib’s patronymic recorded as Azmi.[page:60] This double anchoring — local notable family and international business schooling — is at the core of the clan’s political brand: rooted in Tripoli, wired into global finance.

In 1979, Najib’s older brother Taha Mikati founded Arabian Construction Company (ACC), headquartered in Abu Dhabi, which grew into one of the largest construction firms in the Middle East.[page:60] This gave the family its first major regional corporate platform, anchored in Gulf construction contracts rather than Lebanese domestic assets.[page:60]

Three years later, in 1982, Taha and Najib co‑founded Investcom, moving from concrete to cell towers.[page:60] The split is clear: Taha as the original entrepreneur in construction, Najib as the co‑founder who would later become the clan’s political frontman, while ACC and Investcom provided the cash flow that would fund everything else.

Investcom began as a mobile telecom operator and by 2005 had operations in ten countries including Ghana, Benin, Liberia, Guinea, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan and Cyprus.[page:60] The company was listed on both the London and Dubai stock exchanges, signalling a deliberate strategy to anchor a Lebanese family asset in international equity markets.[page:60]

In June 2006, MTN Group of South Africa acquired Investcom for US$5.5 billion, according to S&P Global and other financial sources.[page:60] Forbes and regional media treat this transaction as the moment the Mikati brothers crystallised their telecom fortune, converting years of emerging‑market risk into a liquid, globally recognised payout.[page:60]

After the MTN sale, the brothers founded M1 Group, described as a holding company with investments across telecommunications, real estate, fashion, energy and finance.[page:60] Through Investcom Holding and related vehicles, the family also owns the Lebanese news site Lebanon24 and an 11% stake in Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation International (LBCI), giving them media leverage at home.[page:60]

M1’s portfolio includes a major shareholding in MTN itself, ownership of the high‑end fashion brand Façonnable and real‑estate investments in London, New York and Monaco.[page:60] The group thus converts one telecom exit into a diversified, cross‑border asset base wrapped in a discreet family office structure.

Najib’s nephew Azmi Mikati is listed among his close relatives, alongside his brother Taha, signalling a direct family line into the management of M1 Group.[page:60] Separate biographical sources (linked from the main article) describe Azmi as CEO of M1 Group, effectively making him the operating head of the family holding, though the main Najib entry simply notes him as a relative.[page:60]

This three‑person axis — Taha, Najib, Azmi — forms the visible core of the Mikati business clan: the elder brother with ACC, the political brother with the premiership, and the nephew running the holding company day‑to‑day.[page:60] Below them, other family members remain largely out of view, with no detailed public genealogy beyond references to “the Mikati family” in ownership disclosures.[page:60]

Forbes lists Najib and Taha Mikati as the richest men in Lebanon, with each having an estimated net worth of US$2.8 billion in 2023.[page:60] The entry explicitly states that “Najib Mikati is the richest man in Lebanon along with his brother Taha,” underscoring the shared nature of the fortune.[page:60]

In Lebanese public discourse, “Mikati” is therefore both a political and oligarchic label: a family name that stands for telecom exits, Gulf construction contracts, media stakes and prime‑ministerial power.[page:60] The brothers’ ranking at the top of the national wealth table has made them a lightning rod in debates over inequality and corruption.

Najib Mikati served three times as prime minister of Lebanon — briefly in 2005, from 2011 to 2014, and again from 2021 to 2025 — while maintaining his status as a billionaire businessman.[page:60] He also held the public works and transport portfolio from 1998 to 2004, a period in which he developed a working relationship with Syrian president Bashar al‑Assad, before later distancing himself and resigning amid tensions over Syria’s war.[page:60]

This dual role has repeatedly raised questions about conflicts of interest, with critics pointing to M1’s telecom and infrastructure stakes while he oversaw public works and later the entire cabinet.[page:60] Supporters portray him as a technocratic “businessman premier,” while opponents cast him as the archetype of Lebanon’s billionaire political class.

In 2019, state prosecutor Ghada Aoun charged Najib Mikati with illegitimate enrichment via subsidised housing loans; the charges were dismissed in February 2022 by judge Charbel Bou Samra.[page:60] Separate investigations in Monaco into alleged money‑laundering were closed in 2023 for lack of sufficient evidence, with Mikati’s office calling the earlier accusations politically motivated.[page:60]

Najib was also named in the Pandora Papers leak in 2021, which detailed offshore holdings used by political and business elites; he denied any wrongdoing, and the family released statements describing their wealth’s origin as “ethical, legal and transparent.”[page:60] In 2025, France’s National Financial Prosecutor opened a preliminary probe into alleged fraud involving Mikati family assets, again prompting the clan to invoke the presumption of innocence while stressing confidence in the judiciary.[page:60]

Najib is married to May Domani (also written May Mikati), and together they have three children.[page:60] May has occasionally represented him at public events in Tripoli, where she has spoken against labelling the city a “city of terrorism,” signalling an active role in defending the family’s local image.[page:60]

Beyond Lebanon, Mikati owns the 79‑metre motor yacht Mimtee and maintains significant real‑estate holdings in London, New York and Monaco, according to yachting and property reports cited in the article.[page:60] These lifestyle assets visually anchor the clan’s wealth in the standard ultra‑rich geography of docks and prime‑city property.