Creepy Crawlies

The men who manage the so-called sovereign wealth funds of the Persian Gulf for their governments are quickly becoming some of the world's most powerful money managers. They are using billions from Persian Gulf oil revenues to change the face of global finance by buying big chunks of blue chip companies, partnering with private equity firms to do buyouts, and increasingly snapping up companies on their own. As the credit crisis deepens, investment banks and buyout firms are stepping back from dealmaking to nurse their wounds. Gulf funds, which already have more assets than the entire $1 trillion buyout industry, are filling the void. Move over, Steve Schwarzman at the Blackstone Group (BX), and meet the new kings of Wall Street:

1. Bader M. Al Sa'ad
Kuwait Investment Authority

Assets: $213 billion (est.)

Fifteen percent of the fund is invested in emerging markets, buyout funds and hedge funds. That's about $32 billion.

2. Sameer Al Ansari
Dubai International Capital

Assets: $12 billion (est.)

Al Ansari has engineered six solo buyouts, including museum operator Tussauds Group, which he bought from Charterhouse Capital Partners for $1.6 billion in 2005. Last year, he bought a big stake in Sony (SNE) and hedge fund behemoth Och-Ziff Capital Management.

3. Soud Ba'alawy
Dubai Group

Assets: $7 billion (est.)

Ba'alawy is assisting Dubai's ruler to build a Wall Street of the Middle East. In September, he agreed to take a 19.9% stake in Nasdaq as part of a play for a stake in Sweden's OMX Group. The terms for the deal were approved in December.

4. David Jackson
Istithmar

Assets: $8 billion (est.)

Jackson, an American, has invested in more than 50 companies for the investment arm of government-owned Dubai World. In September, he bought luxury retailer Barney's for $942 million. Before that, he bought a 3% stake in the $20 billion European hedge fund GLG Partners.

5. Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabir Al-Thani
Qatar's prime minister and head of the Qatar Investment Authority

Assets: $50 billion (est.)

He is working with hedge fund activist Nelson Peltz to shake up British beverage company Cadbury Schweppes (CSG). Last year, Qatar's fund launched a bid for the British grocery chain Sainsbury.

6. Khaldoun Al Mubarak
Mubadala Development Company

Al Mubarak runs a fund of an undisclosed amount, but large enough to buy stakes in the Carlyle Group and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) last year. Another initiative: a multibillion-dollar green energy project called Masdar.