 THERE are currently 793 billionaires in the world, according to international finance experts Forbes. And Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum - "Sheikh Mo" to his friends - is, if you listen to those in the know, one of the best of them. "He would probably be the shrewdest of the bunch," says Luisa Kroll, associate editor at Forbes magazine. When you consider the "bunch" includes the likes of Microsoft founder Bill Gates and the Sultan of Brunei, that's not a bad testimonial to have on your CV. Estimates of Maktoum's personal wealth are varied simply because so much of his money is tied up in major investments all over the globe, but Stan Lock, a stock trader for the investment management company Brewin Dolphin Securities, reckons he could "buy Liverpool with spare change". Maktoum certainly makes his money work for him and Dubai Investment Capital, the overseas investment arm of Dubai Holdings, recently acquired the Tussauds Group for £800m and Travelodge for £675m. His personal ambition, and the ambition of the Dubai government and the multitude of investment companies which he leads, is seemingly boundless. "Under Sheikh Mohammed," says Khalaf Al Habtoor, a billionaire construction magnate whose firm helped build hotels, hospitals and airport facilities in Dubai, "anything is possible". But the question is, why would he - or, at the very least, his associates - buy Liverpool Football Club? "It is partly driven by the desire of companies like Dubai International Capital to broaden their international portfolio," says Professor Tom Cannon, the Merseyside-born Dean of London Business School. "They are looking to build up a broad spread of investments in companies outside Dubai that are both stable and secure. "Their ambition is huge. They have recently bought Tussauds and the London Eye and they even tried to buy a number of American ports, including Philadelphia, but that was blocked by the US Senate." | 
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