French Montana Is Marrying Into One Of The Richest (And Luckiest) Royal Families In History

Last night, it was revealed that rapper French Montana had become engaged to Princess Sheikha Mahra of Dubai. Rumors of their romance first swirled last year when the couple was spotted together at Paris Fashion Week walking hand-in-hand. Ever since, they've been spotted jet-setting from Dubai to Morocco (his home country), to Paris, and back again.

French Montana has a net worth of $50 million. By our count, that makes him one of the 40 richest rappers on the planet. Not too shabby in the grand scheme of things… but compared to the fortune of the family he's marrying into, $50 million is a drop in the bucket. Or more accurately, a drop of oil in a bottomless bucket that has transformed French Montana's soon-to-be in-laws into one of the richest royal families in history. And it all happened in just the last few decades…

via Sheik Mahra/Telegram

An Extremely Lucky Discovery

Princess Mahra's full name is Mahra bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The Al Maktoums have ruled Dubai for nearly two centuries. As you probably know, Dubai is one of the richest places in the world — a city-state overflowing with so much money that the police drive Bugattis, Rolls-Royces, Ferraris, and Lamborghinis (that's not a joke, look it up!).

But Dubai's obscene wealth is a relatively new feature. As recently as the early 1970s, Dubai was a dirt-poor fishing and pearling backwater, dependent on small-scale trade and plagued by poverty, where most families lived in simple barasti huts made from palm fronds, and the main export was dried fish.

Everything changed in 1966. That's the year oil was discovered in the offshore Fateh field, a discovery that instantly altered Dubai's destiny. Three years later, the first shipments of crude left its shores, and the Al Maktoum family suddenly controlled a resource that would generate unimaginable wealth. Check out this time-lapse of Dubai from the 1970s to 2025, it's truly unreal:

The United Arab Emirates

When oil was first discovered in Dubai in 1966, the region was still a loose collection of sheikhdoms known as the Trucial States, overseen in part by the British. In 1971, six of those emirates — Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Fujairah, and Umm Al Quwain — banded together to form a new country: the United Arab Emirates. Ras Al Khaimah joined a few months later, bringing the total to seven.

Technically, the UAE is a federation of semi-autonomous states. Each emirate is ruled by its own Sheikh, and together they form the Federal Supreme Council, the highest constitutional authority in the nation. The council elects one of the rulers as President of the UAE — a position that has traditionally gone to the ruler of Abu Dhabi — while the ruler of Dubai has traditionally served as Vice President and Prime Minister. Shared matters like foreign policy, defense, and the armed forces are handled at the federal level, while each emirate retains control over its own resources and much of its domestic governance.

The Al Maktoum Dynasty

At the time of Dubai's oil discovery, the city was ruled by Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, who led from 1958 until his death in 1990. Sheikh Rashid used Dubai's newfound oil wealth wisely, reinvesting revenues into infrastructure, ports, and trade zones that would lay the foundation for the city's explosive growth.

When Sheikh Rashid died in 1990, his son Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum became the ruler of Dubai. Sheikh Mohammed would go on to transform the city into a global financial hub and tourism powerhouse, overseeing megaprojects like the Burj Khalifa, the Palm Islands, and Emirates Airlines. Today, Sheikh Mohammed has a net worth of $16 billion. That makes him not only the richest person in Dubai, but the richest person in the United Arab Emirates.

Sheikh Mohammed has an estimated 26 children from as many as 11 wives. Among them is Sheikha Mahra bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, French Montana's fiancée. She was born in 1994 to Sheikh Mohammed and Zoe Grigorakos, a Greek socialite who appears to no longer be legally married to the Sheikh.

Sheikha Mahra

Sheikha Mahra grew up in the inner circle of Dubai's ruling family but has also cultivated a relatively modern and public-facing persona. Unlike many royals in the region, she maintains an active presence on Instagram, where she shares family photos, cultural celebrations, and glimpses of her daily life.

In April 2023, Mahra married Sheikh Mana bin Mohammed bin Rashid bin Mana Al Maktoum, another member of Dubai's extended royal family. The wedding was a lavish affair attended by high-ranking dignitaries and royals. Just months later, the couple honeymooned in Greece, paying homage to Mahra's maternal roots, and in the spring of 2024, they welcomed their first child, a daughter.

But the marriage quickly unraveled. In July 2024, Mahra shocked the world by announcing her divorce on Instagram with a dramatic post that read:

"Dear Husband, as you are occupied with other companions, I hereby declare our divorce. I divorce you, I divorce you, and I divorce you."

The message appeared to invoke the Islamic practice of triple talaq, though in this case it was Mahra herself issuing the declaration. The post went viral before being deleted, but it confirmed her split from Sheikh Mana.

Just a year later, Mahra is once again making international headlines — this time for her engagement to rapper French Montana.

The Wealth of Sheikh Mohammed

The vast majority of Sheikh Mohammed's power and wealth comes thanks to his near-total ownership of Dubai Holding, a state-backed conglomerate that manages between $30 billion and $70 billion in global assets. The portfolio includes luxury hotels, real estate, media companies, and investments that stretch far beyond the Middle East. He is also one of the largest private landowners in the United Kingdom, controlling vast estates worth billions.

Sheikh Mohammed has been the driving force behind many of Dubai's most iconic developments. He oversaw construction of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world; the sail-shaped Burj Al Arab hotel; the man-made Palm Islands; and massive business zones like Dubai Internet City. In 1984, he also launched Emirates Airlines with a $10 million seed investment, which grew into one of the world's leading international carriers.

Of course, his fortune isn't just visible in skyscrapers and airlines — it has also been on full display in his personal life. His 2019 divorce from Princess Haya of Jordan resulted in a record-breaking $735 million settlement, the largest in British legal history. Court filings from the case revealed an almost unimaginable lifestyle: the couple once spent £2 million on strawberries in a single summer; their two children each received £10 million annual allowances; they traveled on a custom Boeing 747; and their household was staffed by nearly 80 employees. The family also enjoyed access to a $400 million superyacht and palaces worth hundreds of millions.

Will Sheikh Montana Inherit Billions Someday???

As dazzling as the Al Maktoum fortune is, it's unlikely that French Montana will ever have personal access to billions of dollars through this marriage. For one thing, Sheikha Mahra has roughly 25 siblings, many of them sons. In traditional Arab royal dynasties, the lion's share of inherited wealth flows to the male heirs, especially the crown prince, rather than being divided equally among daughters.

That doesn't mean Princess Mahra will be left with nothing. On the contrary, she is expected to live the rest of her life as a well-supported royal with access to extraordinary privileges. She will likely receive generous allowances, enjoy the use of private jets, superyachts, palaces, and staff, and maintain the prestige and influence that comes with being one of Sheikh Mohammed's daughters.

I'm also sad to report that French Montana will not inherit a royal title from this marriage. In Gulf monarchies like Dubai's, royal titles are reserved for members of the ruling family by birth. Foreign spouses who marry into the family, especially non-royals, don't automatically become "princes" or "sheikhs." So, no, we won't soon be calling him Sheikh Montana 🙁

So while French Montana may not suddenly become a billionaire or a prince/Sheikh by marriage, he is now connected to a dynasty whose lifestyle and resources rank among the most opulent in history.