Salman F Rahman is one of the top-known businessmen and politicians of Bangladesh. He has been the first person in Bangladesh who has made the place on the list of the top richest people in the world. Hurun Global is a Beijing’s report which publishes the world billionaire number every year. It published Salman F Rahman’s name as 1685th billionaires in 2017.
He is prominently known as Salman F Rahman. He is the Co-founder and Vice president of the largest conglomerate of Bangladesh, Beximco Group.
He became a member of parliament in 2018 and 2024. Now he holds the rank of a cabinet minister. However, he works as the Investment Adviser for the Private Sector Industry to Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Table of Contents
Biography of Salman F Rahman
In his 69 years of life, there are many facts about his career, business, personal life, net worth to know about him. Let’s go through the article to know about him.
Early-stage
Salman F Rahman was born in 1952 on 23rd May in Dhaka District’s Dohar Upazila. He is the second child of father Fazlur Rahman and his mother, Syeda Fatina Rahman.
He has an elder brother named Ahmed Sohail Faisur Rahman. Faisur Rahman is also the co-founder and Chairman of Beximco Group.
Educational Background of Salman F Rahman
He has done his higher secondary education at Notre Dame College in Science. Then he took his bachelor’s degree in physics from Karachi University in Pakistan.
Career as a Businessman
In 1966, Salman F Rahman started his career by operating his family’s jute mill business along with his brother Faisur Rahman. Later it was nationalized by the Bangladesh government in 1971 after independence.
Then, the two brothers founded the Beximco group (Bangladesh Import and Export Company Limited) in 1972. They export crushed foods and seafood in different countries like Britain, Germany, Netherlands, France, Belgium, etc. He also imported medicines in the initial days of Beximco.
Beximco Pharmaceutical was the first subsidiary of the Beximco group. It was founded in 1976 by the Rahman brothers. Beximco Pharma was the first drug company in Bangladesh to sell products in the USA and be on the list of Alternative Investment Market of the London Stock Exchange.
The first overseas retail garment business of Beximco was Yellow, a clothing brand founded in Karachi, Pakistan. Later it expanded its outlets in different cities of Bangladesh and Pakistan. Not only this, in 2014, it announced the opening of new outlets in Toronto, New York City, and Dubai. But the corporate headquarter of Yellow is in Beximco Industrial Park, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
At present, Beximco has four public companies- Bangladesh Export and Import Company Limited, Beximco pharmaceuticals, Shinepukur Ceramics, and Beximco Synthetic limited. The rest of the 17 companies are held privately.
Career as an Investor
In 1982, the Rahman brothers established AB Bank along with Dubai-based Galadari Brothers. But in 1985, due to some reasons, Salman F Rahman sold his shares, and his other partners bought them.
Later, both brothers purchased 30% of the share of IFIC bank. It does not end here. In 2010, Salman F Rahman became the Chairman of the bank. He became Chairman for the second time of IFIC Bank in 2016. Now it is a leading private commercial bank in Bangladesh.
In 1995, Salman F Rahman started an English newspaper named “Independent,” published in Dhaka. At present, it is one of the leading newspapers in Bangladesh.
Then he started a private 24-hour news channel of the same name Independent in 2010. It has an official Bangladesh government license. Now he is the Chairman of the Board of Editors of both the Independent Newspaper and News channel.
Career as a Politician
Salman F Rahman started his political career in the middle of 1990. He founded his political party named “Samriddhya Bangladesh Andolan” then. After that, in 2001, he joined the Bangladesh Awami League. At that time, he was a nominee for the Dhaka-1 Dohar Upazila constituency but could not succeed.
Though he did not win the election, he did not stop. In 2009, he became the private sector development advisor to the President of Bangladesh Awami League and Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina. From here, he starts his successful political career.
In this continuation, he became the private sector development advisor to the President of Bangladesh Awami League and Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina, for the second time.
Then, again he got the nomination for Dhaka-1 (Dohar-Nawabganj) constituency in the general election of Bangladesh from Awami League. And this time, he succeeded and won by a considerable amount of votes.
In this election, he secured a total of 86.5% votes. That’s how he introduced himself as a member of the Bangladesh national Parliament in 2019 and held cabinet minister’s rank.
At present, he is successfully serving as an investment advisor to the prime minister and helping to shape up the country’s business and economic growth with his proactive steps over the years. Another politician, businessperson and actress.
Leadership & Contribution
Salman F Rahman is such a multidisciplinary person. There is a wide range of fields that he has gone through successfully. He has a particular interest in sports, especially Cricket. In this continuation, presently, he is serving Abahani Ltd, the largest premier sporting club in Bangladesh as a chairman.
He worked as the President of the SAARC Chamber of Commerce & Industry, an Apex trade organization of the SAARC region.
There are many more key positions he held in different organizations. Let’s see all of them at a glance.
Chairman
Board of Governors of Bangladesh Enterprise Institute
Board of Directors of IFIC Bank Ltd
Independent newspaper
Independent Television
Chairman of Abahani Ltd.
Vice-Chairman
Beximco Group
President
SAARC Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Federation of Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI)
Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce & Industry of Dhaka (MCCI)
Bangladesh Association of Pharmaceutical Industries (BAPI)
Bangladesh Association of Publicly Listed Companies (BAPLC)
Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA)
Association of Television Channel Owners (ATCO)
LPG Operators Association (LOAB),
Salman F Rahman has founded the largest private-sector group in Bangladesh that has been growing over the years. It has been actively exporting products globally.
It has its operations and investments across diverse industries such as pharmaceuticals, ceramics, real estate, marine food, textiles, etc. In a few years, Beximco became the largest conglomerate business in Bangladesh and the premiere contributor of Bangladesh GDP(Gross Domestic Products).
Personal Life
Salman F Rahman is married to Syada Rubaba Rahman. They have a son named Ahmed Shayan Fazlur Rahman and a daughter named Shamaila Narmeen Fazlur Rahman.
Shamaila was born on 22 January 1978 in London, UK. She was a very meritorious student pursuing Legal Studies with a wonderful personality. Unfortunately, she died in a tragic accident in London on Sunday 7th October 2001 at the age of 23.
Her namaz-e-janaza was held after Zohar prayers on 11th October at the Gulshan Central Mosque and buried alongside her grandfather Late Mr. Fazlur Rahman at the family graveyard at Azimpur. On Friday the 12th of October, her qul khawani held after asar prayers at family residence in Gulshan. May Allah grant her the happiest and heavenly abode in eternal peace.
Net Worth of Salman F Rahman
As Salman F Rahman has invested in diverse industries, it’s pretty apparent his net worth won’t be that less.
According to the list of billionaires in the world published by Beijing-based Hurun Global in 2017, Salman F Rahman has a net worth of $1.3 billion. In this list, he was ranked 1685 among 2257 people in the world.
So it’s not so surprising that he is the 3rd ranked ten richest man in Bangladesh. However, he denies the fact about the net worth. He said that the reports were not his wealth; it was under his business portfolio.
Controversies
In 2007, Wikileaks alleged Salman F Rahman that he is one of Bangladesh’s largest bank loan defaulters. He was even arrested on charges in 11 cases in 2008 but got bail from the Bangladesh high court in the case of bank default.
In 1996, he was also charged for the stock market-related case but the high court quashed the claims declaring they had no merit in 2015. As a man of versatile virtues, he has been always in a safe and good image despite some claims against him. However, in 2024, after the student-led movement, he has been put to jail on some allegations.
Wrap Up
Salman F Rahman is indeed a multidisciplinary person. He is a prominent businessman and political figure in Bangladesh. He is the founder and chairman of BEXIMCO Group, one of the largest and most diversified conglomerates in Bangladesh, with interests in sectors such as textiles, pharmaceuticals, media, and many more. He has taken the pharmaceutical industry of Bangladesh to the next level.
In addition to his business pursuits, Rahman has also been active in politics and public service. He has served as an adviser to the government of Bangladesh on various economic and development issues, and he has also played a key role in promoting Bangladesh’s economic relations with other countries. Rahman is known for his commitment to corporate social responsibility, and he has supported a range of charitable and philanthropic causes in Bangladesh and abroad.
Mr. Rahman is a highly respected (along with allegations) and influential figure in Bangladesh, known for his entrepreneurial spirit, business acumen, and dedication to public service. Though there are some controversies, his contribution to Bangladesh’s economy and GDP is noteworthy.
2 comments