In the span of one generation, the nation witnessed the rapid modernisation, following the discovery of oil, from a scattered tribal land with a primitive economic structure to the regional and global economic powerhouse the UAE became by the late twentieth century. Through interviews from those who steered and experienced the changes, The First Barrel of Fortune explores the development of not only the economy but also the changes on Emirati society’s three pillars – the tribe, Islam and the family. “He who does not know his past cannot make the best of his present and future, for it is from the past that we learn.” – Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan