EXCLUSIVE: Meet Mirwais Azizi – The man behind billion-dollar developments in Dubai

Arabian Business

29-04-2025

Inside a marble-clad office at Dubai's Conrad Hotel, Mirwais Azizi sits in a leather chair,
flanked by royal furnishings, a grand chandelier, and a discreet camera quietly
recording the meeting – standard protocol for the billionaire founder of Azizi
Developments
There's no room for ambiguity here. Every exchange is documented, archived, and intentional – mirroring the scale and meticulousness of Azizi's vision
Despite the grandeur, Azizi exudes calm and humility. Soft-spoken, often smiling, he
engages without airs. He makes it easy to forget you're in the presence of a man whose
developments span skylines and whose next project, Burj Azizi, will become the world's
second tallest tower.
The man behind hundreds of buildings and now the driving force behind the second-tallest tower leans back in his chair. Although sometimes short for words in English, he delivers his message with the clarity of a brand new skyscraper's glass façade.
In a rare interview – his first in over half a decade – the founder of Azizi Developments offered a glimpse into the mind of the man behind a multi-billion-dollar real estate legacy.
'Dubai is a good thing'
'You see nothing in business is stable all the time,' Azizi begins, his voice carrying the weight of wisdom earned through decades in Dubai's ever-evolving landscape. His words are direct, sometimes fragmented, but his meaning unmistakable. 'The market is normal, going up and down, but Dubai is a good thing.'
There's a raw, unfiltered quality to his observations. When he speaks of Dubai's recovery from the global crisis, his words are not polished corporate statements but genuine reflections. 'This is the recovery of Dubai is so fast… the infrastructure here was completely ready as COVID-19 happened, but recovery here is faster.'
His explanation reveals the mind of a man who sees patterns where others see chaos. The strategic location, the infrastructure, the security – all deliberately cultivated advantages that Azizi cited as reasons that allowed Dubai to rebound with remarkable speed.
The people's developer
The billionaire developer's eyes light up when discussing Azizi Developments' most ambitious project – The Burj Azizi. 'The second-tallest tower. The most luxurious tower in the world,' he said. With units ranging from AED7.5 million to an astonishing AED1 billion, he described it as 'not easy for everybody to purchase.'
Yet what defines Azizi isn't his focus on luxury, but his insistence on accessibility across market segments. 'We are producing this for the middle class, and also for people of less income… We start from the studio, one bedroom, two bedroom, three bedroom, up to largely expensive products.'
'We are working on being a friend of everybody. We are producing for everyone. But the important thing is even though the studio prices will be less, quality-wise, it will be the best, right?' he insisted. Equal quality, no matter the price.
There's something almost wholehearted in his next statement, 'Nobody comes in this world with the money. Everybody comes without clothes. We respect who purchase one studio the same way that we respect those who purchase a one billion dirham floor, for us – it doesn't matter – we respect both the same.'
Azizi speaks with a sentiment that is profound – asserting a belief in fundamental human equality that transcends wealth.
After more than three decades in Dubai, where his children have grown up and now have children of their own, he speaks of the city with the tenderness of someone describing a beloved family member.
'My children grew up here from first grade, studied here, finished school, finished university… now everyone is father or mother,'
This personal history fuels his determination to give back, 'Money is a good thing, but at the same time I also want to build the city. What I take something good, I want to return something good,' he said.
One way he's giving back is through culture, Azizi describes concrete plans for community contributions – 'We are now making this big community, but inside we are making a very nice opera. This opera will be for 2,500 seat plus, a theatre also for 400 people. This will be our gift for the city.'
'Doing something for the community need not be at our intention to make money… we should be making something like a legacy for the next generation.'
While Mirwais Azizi is best known as the man behind hundreds of buildings and now the visionary behind what will be the world's second-tallest tower, his most profound legacy may not lie in steel and glass – but in compassion.
, following the death of his daughter Farishta. The donation is the largest ever made by a private entity in the UAE's history, and behind it lies a deeply personal story.
'Tragically, over two years ago, my second daughter, Farishta, was diagnosed with cancer… On the 29 th of October last year, succumbing to the will of the Almighty, my dear Farishta passed away. We buried her here in Dubai – a home she had loved growing up,' he shared.
'I now feel even closer to this city, having interred a piece of my heart in its soil, like the link between the body and the soul,' he explained.
The loss reignited his drive to create long-term value for society. He praises Dubai's
education system, healthcare quality, and above all, its safety. 'As a father of girls, the safety of family members outside our home was paramount, but there was never any reason to worry. Even guests – of which we always had many – were always easy to host and entertain. All these are elements of a good, happy and rewarding lifestyle that only Dubai grants to people who choose to come here to live, work and visit here.'
'Sometimes it takes a loss of such magnitude to be reminded of the shared humanity that connects us all,' he said.
Azizi goes global – London, Australia, Germany and Canada
With strong connections to the city of Dubai and a portfolio spanning billions of dollars, Azizi's new ambitions stretch far beyond the city's borders, 'Now we will be starting soon in Central London. We will be building around five to six high-rise towers,' he revealed.
His global expansion plans roll off his tongue like items on a shopping list – Australia, France, Germany, Canada. When asked about Australia specifically, he revealed 'I've been promising, but now I've made the decision to go since we will be expanding to Australia.'
When asked if the global market risks becoming crowded, he brushes off the idea, 'The market is good, business very good, there will be a lot of companies coming'
'Everyone takes his naseeb, his kismat.' When he sensed a slight bit of confusion by the usage of the Arab-origin words that mean destiny, he said with a smile, 'I don't understand by English.'
Increased competition, he believes, makes for stronger cities. 'More investors are coming, more developers are coming, and this is becoming a more competitive market. This will be nice for the community, for the city, and the price will not be allowed to go up.'
When asked to gaze five years ahead, he describes it as a defining chapter, When asked to gaze five years ahead, he describes it as a defining chapter, Azizi Developments plans to build 400 to 500 towers in Dubai alone, alongside more than 70 hotels and dozens of retail,
leisure, and cultural destinations.
His voice rose with excitement as he described what's coming, 'And there will be many theaters, there will be opera work, there is will be many facilities, many luxury malls and that's only ours [Azizi].
'After five years the complete face of Dubai will change,' he said.
The perfectionist's process
Nothing reveals Azizi's character more clearly than his description of the Burj Azizi development process. For Burj Azizi, he personally oversaw over 1,000 meetings before construction began.
'Preparation before the construction started took five years. Five years. Only for the preparation,' he says. 'To build the tower? That's the most easy thing.'
That rigour applies across the board. Even mid-rise projects involve his close input. 'If
we building G (ground floor) plus 40 or 50 floor building, the head of the design makes a
presentation to me two or three times, just taking 15 minutes each time.'
As the interview closed, Azizi reflected on his ultimate legacy, 'Our goal is the quality wise, services wise and facility wise to be better and number one.'
His answer reveals a man for whom business success is inseparable from social impact, 'Not only to make money, money, money, but I should be investing many things into facilities for the community. I should also give for the next generation to make people proud and learn from this for his future.'
Finally, he distilled his mission into a single heartfelt vision – 'Develop the city to be much, nice and beautiful, and to be proud of everything that I build in the city.'
Beneath the billions in assets and the hundreds of buildings that bear his name, this is Mirwais Azizi's true testament. A legacy forged through commitment to a place that transformed his family's destiny, and to which he remains eternally grateful.
As the interview closes and he rises from his chair, he offers one final thought – a simple
phrase that captures both his philosophy and his optimism: