Roy Abou Trabi: A Businessman With A Difference

Born to successful Lebanese parents, in the late 1980’s his father chose to move his family to the United Arab Emirates to build a better life. His wishes came true, after Robin completed high school and made his way to the United Kingdom to pursue his dream of becoming a filmmaker. 

Robin attended Middlesex University in England and earned a degree in filmmaking. However, due to personal circumstances, he was unable to remain in the United Kingdom, and after graduating in 2007, he made his way back to Lebanon. After investigating the economy and after careful consideration, Robin decided to start a business in cybersecurity. It was a bold move, but a lucrative one and he remained in the industry until 2012. 

In 2011, he got married to his long-term partner Laila Abou Trabi, and together, they have three children. Robin has always had a keen interest in business and has a powerful ability to determine where the next goldmine will be. In several interviews, when asked about his success, he has stated that he listens to his intuition. Over the years, he has learnt that the best time to invest is when the economy is at its worst.  Robin’s intuition led him to social media, and in 2012, he established several sports news and entertainment pages such as Ma3luma, Fi Sura, Thaqafa, and Bela Hadoud. In the first few months of starting these pages, he generated over 3o million likes. His partnership with Google Adsense between 2010 and 2017 led to driving traffic in the millions to his Facebook pages. 

Real Estate was an inevitable investment for Robin because in Lebanon, it has always been a successful business to invest in. In 2018, he made his name in the real estate industry and started heavily investing in properties. The ‘real estate rush’ was in full effect, and apartments that had not sold for years, were suddenly flying off the market. During this time the Lebanese economy was on the verge of collapse, but real estate was taking off like never before. As a result, people from all over the world started making large investments. Lebanon’s Central Bank stated that real estate saw unprecedented growth at the beginning of 2020 with investors making on average $60,000 profit per sale. Experts anticipate that the real estate industry is going to experience massive growth over the next few years. 

Robin purchased several acres of land and planted an abundance of pine trees. Pine trees are very important in Lebanon for a number of reasons; the main source of income in several villages is pine nut production, additionally, it is a very profitable investment. In general, the agriculture industry in Lebanon is an extremely successful one that provides an estimated 3.2 percent of the country’s gross domestic product. Furthermore, approximately 4% of the country’s employment comes from agriculture. 

Just as the real estate boom reached a crescendo, Robin transitioned into construction and built a residential building in Dahr El Ahmar. Once again, this was another brave decision because the construction industry was on the brink of collapse. Contractors were pulling out of deals by the thousands because they were not getting paid. The Lebanese government owed workers somewhere in the region of $600 million, and it appeared as if the industry was never going to recover. Despite what it looked like on the surface, Robin made another power move based on instinct and chose to invest anyway and he wasn’t disappointed. 

Since 2019, he has partnered with several companies and made a lot of lucrative deals including website domain investment with companies such as GoDaddy, Sedo, and Dan.com. He also co-founded the press release company PRShouts. In 2021, Robin developed an eCommerce app and website called WinnerX. It gives consumers the opportunity to win prizes such as cars, technology and cash with every purchase. After their names are entered into a draw, Dubai’s department of Economic Development pulls the names of the winners. To date, WinnerX has given away thousands of dollars in cash and other prizes. 

The only way is up for Robin Abou Trabi, he seems to dominate every market he enters and has carved several paths for himself that have taken him to great heights. Insiders say he has several more business ventures in the pipeline, and it will only be a matter of time before we see what he puts his hand to next. As one of the most successful business moguls in Lebanon, Robin has managed to diversify his investment portfolio in a unique way. His obscure perspective when it comes to evaluating the direction of the economy has led to a lot of criticism, but his results suggest that he is most definitely an expert. As Robin’s empire continues to expand, we wish him every success in his future endeavours. 

filmmakingLaila Abou TrabiLebanon’sRoy Abou Trabi