Rami Makhlouf

Rami Makhlouf (Arabic: رَامِي مَخْلُوف, romanized: Rāmī Maḫlūf; born 10 July 1969) is a Syrian businessman and a maternal cousin of former president Bashar al-Assad. At the beginning of the Syrian civil war in 2011, he was considered one of Syria's richest and most powerful men. According to Syrian analysts, he was part of al-Assad's inner circle and no foreign company could do business in Syria at the time without his consent and partnership.

In 2016, he was reported to own Syriatel, the largest mobile phone network in Syria, along with other retail, banking and real estate companies. Makhlouf had a falling out with al-Assad in the spring of 2020 and was placed under house arrest, resulting in the arrest of many of his aides, along with the targeting of his companies by security forces. He was stripped of his shares in Syriatel, and the consortium he had established as the biggest investment vehicle in Syria was also taken off line. Makhlouf's remaining assets in Syria are considered to be insignificant compared to the billions he has transferred abroad on behalf of Bashar al-Assad.