Olivier Fabre is a tennis pro at Professional Sports Services in Abu Dhabi. The 31-year-old, from France, has played tennis from a young age, with the sport winning him a university scholarship to study communications and business in the United States. He moved to the UAE three years ago and has since acquired a master’s in finance from Sorbonne Abu Dhabi.
Describe your financial journey so far.
I left college debt-free but in the midst of the financial crisis, so I continued working as a tennis pro while also selling sports shoes at Nordstrom, a big department store chain in the US. I first came to Dubai on a short contract in June 2012, then took a full-time job at the end of that year with Professional Sports Services, whose main business is tennis at Zayed Sports City. The first year here was tough. I was offered a competitive salary with commissions, but not housing and you have to pay a lot of expenses up front as an expat here. I was married and it was a financial struggle, that’s for sure. But I was never in any real debt – I used my savings. I cannot handle running up debt and then just making minimum payments or something like that. I have to pay it off – at least most of it – each month.
Are you a spender or a saver?
I’m definitely conservative. I try to save about 30 to 40 per cent of my salary each month. But I love also golf. I don’t mind spending Dh6,000 to Dh7,000 a month on golfing.
What is your philosophy towards money?
I believe in karma, financial karma. My choice is to stay out of debt. It’s a European attitude more than an American one. In the US you need to get a credit card to build up your credit score and so on; in France you don’t have that. I want to keep my finances straight. I want to have money to do certain things and be at a point where I don’t have to worry about small expenses: food, a mortgage or payments on my car. I want to have that level of financial freedom and not be extravagant, not going to restaurants every day. When I eventually go back to France I would also like not to worry about the quotidian expenses and have money for retirement.
Have you made any financial mistakes along the way?
I dabbled in stocks, conservatively. But it was just too stressful. Now I just have an insurance-related retirement fund. But my biggest financial mistake so far is buying a brand-new car in the US three years ago and then I moved here. I only sold it six months ago and lost a lot of money. It was a Toyota Camry, but I saw it as a long-term investment and paid the insurance, all the options. I bought it for $28,000 and sold it for $13,000.
If you won Dh1 million what would you do with it?
I would buy the best place I could in Paris, but it really wouldn’t go very far there.
What has been your best investment?
My golf clubs. I bought some amazing golf clubs: TaylorMade drivers and the irons by Mizuno. They are something I’m very happy having spent money on. I spent it without worrying about how it would affect my bank account. Hopefully, when my father visits I will be able to beat him. That is one of my objectives. Also, getting my master’s in finance at the Sorbonne Abu Dhabi. I was able to do it in just one year at a cost of Dh70,000. If I had done an MBA at school with a comparable name in the US it would have cost me more than $100,000 – maybe a lot more – and left me with a lot of debt.
What do you enjoy spending money on?
Golf. I see it as a long-term investment. We are not here to just work and I don’t mind spending on what I love. I play at Abu Dhabi Golf Club but I’m not a member – that’s big, big money.
amcauley@thenational.ae
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Wear a face mask.
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If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday Spezia v Lazio (6pm), Juventus v Torino (9pm), Inter Milan v Bologna (7.45pm)
Sunday Verona v Cagliari (3.30pm), Parma v Benevento, AS Roma v Sassuolo, Udinese v Atalanta (all 6pm), Crotone v Napoli (9pm), Sampdoria v AC Milan (11.45pm)
Monday Fiorentina v Genoa (11.45pm)
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SQUAD
Ali Khaseif, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Adel Al Hosani, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Mohammed Barghash, Salem Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Hassan Al Mahrami, Walid Abbas, Mahmoud Khamis, Yousef Jaber, Saeed Ahmed, Majed Sorour, Majed Hassan, Ali Salmeen, Abdullah Ramadan, Khalil Al Hammadi, Fabio De Lima, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Ali Saleh, Caio Canedo, Muhammed Jumah, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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Company%20profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The Specs:
The Specs:
Engine: 2.9-litre, V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Power: 444bhp
Torque: 600Nm
Price: AED 356,580 incl VAT
On sale: now.
CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
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The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
The specs: 2019 Lincoln MKC
Price, base / as tested: Dh169,995 / Dh192,045
Engine: Turbocharged, 2.0-litre, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power: 253hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 389Nm @ 2,500rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 10.7L / 100km
Company%20Profile
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A%20QUIET%20PLACE
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Small Victories: The True Story of Faith No More by Adrian Harte
Jawbone Press
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
MATCH INFO
Barcelona v Real Madrid, 11pm UAE
Match is on BeIN Sports