Insiders | Iran, UAE, United States
Thomas Kaplan, the billionaire pushing Abu Dhabi's interests in the Middle East
By turns a mining entrepreneur, art collector, and protector of endangered animal species, the Swiss-American billionaire Thomas Kaplan is becoming an ever-closer associate of Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan (MbZ). In early 2019, Kaplan has been showing his collection of Dutch art at the Louvre Abu Dhabi museum, only two years after Mohammed bin Zayed personally appointed him to head the International Alliance for the Protection of Heritage in Conflict Areas (ALIPH).