Abdul Razak Dawood net worth is estimated at about $1.5 billion in published reports, which places him ninth on the A1 Blogs Rich List 2026. He founded Descon, one of Pakistan’s largest engineering and construction companies, and served twice in government, as commerce minister under Pervez Musharraf and as an adviser to Imran Khan.
#9A1 Rich List- Net worth
- Est. $1.5B (Published estimate (PropertyAI.pk, 2026))
- Source of wealth
- Descon
- Industry
- Engineering, construction
- Self-made or inherited
- Self-made
- Citizenship
- Pakistan
- Residence
- Lahore
- Education
- Mining engineering, Newcastle University; MBA, Columbia
Table of Contents
Abdul Razak Dawood net worth in 2026
Published estimates put Abdul Razak Dawood’s net worth at around $1.5 billion. Forbes and Bloomberg do not track him, and Descon is privately held, so the figure is an estimate rather than an audited valuation. His wealth is tied mainly to Descon and to family investments built up over more than five decades in business.
Family and education
Abdul Razak Dawood is the son of Suleman Dawood and a nephew of the industrialist Ahmed Dawood, which makes him part of the same extended family as Engro chairman Hussain Dawood. He was schooled partly in the UK, studied mining engineering at Newcastle University and earned an MBA from Columbia University in 1968.
Founding Descon
He began his career in 1968 at Lawrencepur Woollen and Textile Mills and ran Dawood Hercules Chemicals until 1981. In 1977 he founded Descon, which grew into a major engineering, procurement and construction company working on power plants, oil and gas facilities, chemical plants and infrastructure in Pakistan and the Middle East. He led it as chief executive and chairman until 2018.
He also taught on the University of the Punjab’s MBA programme between 1975 and 1981.
Government roles
Dawood served as Federal Minister for Commerce from November 1999 to November 2002 under General Pervez Musharraf. From August 2018 to April 2022 he was Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment, with federal minister status, under Imran Khan, and for part of that time also advised on textiles and industry.
In those roles he focused on exports, trade agreements and textile policy, areas where his business background was directly relevant.
Education and philanthropy
He established the Suleman Dawood School of Business at the Lahore University of Management Sciences, named after his father, and has served on the LUMS board. He also founded the BARD Foundation, a non-profit in Lahore. To compare him with his relative, see our profile of Hussain Dawood.
Key dates
- 1968: earns an MBA from Columbia and joins Lawrencepur Woollen and Textile Mills
- 1977: founds Descon
- 1999 to 2002: Federal Minister for Commerce
- 2018: steps down as Descon chairman
- 2018 to 2022: Adviser to the Prime Minister on Commerce and Investment
How the A1 Rich List estimates net worth
We use Forbes’ real-time figure where Forbes tracks a person. For everyone else we use the most widely cited published estimate, from sources such as Wikipedia’s list of Pakistanis by net worth, the Sunday Times Rich List and Pakistani business publications, and we name the source on each profile. Where reports give a range, we rank on the midpoint. Private companies are hard to value, so treat every estimate as a guide rather than an exact figure.
Frequently asked questions
What is Abdul Razak Dawood’s net worth?
About $1.5 billion according to published estimates.
What is Descon?
An engineering and construction company he founded in 1977, working on power, oil and gas, chemical and infrastructure projects.
Is Abdul Razak Dawood related to Hussain Dawood?
Yes. Both belong to the extended Dawood family; Abdul Razak is a nephew of Ahmed Dawood, Hussain Dawood’s father.
See the full list of the richest people in Pakistan, and his biography on Wikipedia.
