What is Hadhramis

This chapter is intended to shed some light on a group of businessmen (known as the Hadhramis) who achieved commercial success outside and inside Yemen (their country of origin) and to gain insights into the factors behind this success. Very little has been written about these people. Moreover, most of what has been said about them was written by Western academics, historians, or politicians. As such, very important Hadhrami characteristics were missing from those writings. This chapter focuses on some of those characteristics. Most interestingly, it draws, in the authors' view, important conclusions of their implications for the success that many Hadhramis were able to achieve in business in some of the countries to which they migrated. The chapter takes a historical perspective by relying on secondary literature to record stories of Hadhrami commercial achievements as well as a small case study involving three highly successful Saudi businessmen of Hadhrami origin.