When a tech tycoon meets a Abu Dhabi royal, one might expect discussions about wealth, given that it seems to be the common factor. However, in the case of Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg and UAE’s Sheikh Tahnoon Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the son of Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the founder of the United Arab Emirates, matters took a more physical turn. Both the Silicon Valley centibillionaire and the chairman of the $790 billion Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund are known fitness enthusiasts. Their shared passion for mixed martial arts (MMA) has become part of their introductions, and it’s no surprise to see a camaraderie reflected in their recent Instagram post that brought the fitness enthusiasts together under one roof.
Unlike Zuckerberg and Musk, who vowed to meet in the ring, the atmosphere here was congenial, and the smiles in the images confirm this. The black-belt Sheikh, as the former National Security Advisor of the UAE is known, shared a post congratulating the Facebook founder on the launch of Llama 3.2, Quest 3S, and Orion. Their insightful discussions on leveraging technology for a better future concluded with some fun training together. There was no revelation about whether the man who chairs the First Abu Dhabi Bank engaged in some jiu-jitsu with the world’s fourth-richest man, worth around $200 billion, to test his prowess in agility and skill.
Sheikh Tahnoon returned to Abu Dhabi in 1998 as a skilled jiu-jitsu practitioner, while Zuckerberg started training in Brazilian jiu-jitsu (BJJ) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The social network mogul once shared during a three-hour podcast with computer scientist Lex Fridman, “People who train jiu-jitsu, you need to not have pride. Maybe to some degree, your ability to keep doing interesting things is your willingness to be embarrassed again, go back to step one, and start as a beginner, and get your ass kicked.”
Not a beginner anymore, the 40-year-old owner of the $300 million Launchpad superyacht won gold and silver medals in the white belt division at a tournament in Redwood City, California, in 2023. It is indeed the love for BJJ and MMA along with hopes of a promising future that brought the two men together, smiling and enjoying each other’s company.
Notes –
Bloomberg reports that Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan manages over $1.5 trillion in state assets and funds.
According to Focus Economics the GDP of Mexico is $1.5 trillion.
