ABU DHABI, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Alsaud remains the wealthiest Arab this year with a fortune of 18 billion U.S. dollars, a business journal of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) reported Sunday.

    The 2009 Arabian Business Rich List showed that Prince Alwaleed, chairman of Kingdom Holding Company (KHC), tops the list for the sixth consecutive year.

    He has managed to increase his wealth by nearly 1 billion U.S. dollars despite the global economic downturn, the Arabian Business said.

    It said that although the value of shares in KHC is slightly less than the same period last year, an increase of Prince Alwaleed's cash deposits and a rise in value of some assets mean that his wealth has actually increased.

    According to the report, the Saudi prince's wealth also includes major companies outside KHC, which last year were valued at 560 million U.S. dollars, an engineering consultancy worth close to 12 million dollars, the real estate valued at 3.18 billion dollars, and other major assets valued at 1.7 billion dollars.

    Prince Alwaleed owns transportation assets of 822 million dollars, including the world's first private A380 super jumbo, dubbed the "Flying Palace," Arabian Business said.

    The Saudi prince's wealth is also made up by his jeweler collection, his investment in a French port and his stakes in Lebanese and Palestinian companies, it said.

    The journal said the final part of his holdings -- in pure cash in banks -- and an upgrade in the valuation of companies outside KHC umbrella by several hundred million dollars put him on 18 billion dollars.

    The figures have been confirmed by the prince's private office in Riyadh, Arabian Business said.

    Prince Alwaleed, born in 1955, was ranked earlier this year by Forbes as the 22nd richest person in the world. He has been nicknamed by Time magazine as the Arabian Warren Buffet.