The dynasty that has governed Dubai since 1833, when the family broke from Abu Dhabi and settled at the Creek. The current ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, is also Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE; his father, Sheikh Rashid, drove the city's early transformation.

Their name is everywhere — the airport, the Solar Park, foundations, roads — because the modern city is, to a real degree, the family's project.