Who Is Egyptian Billionaire Nassef Sawiris? How Did He Become Richest Man In Northern Africa?

We are all aware of Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the richest man in Nigeria and the whole of Africa, whose net worth is estimated at $16.4 billion according to Bloomberg.

He is followed by Nassef Sawiris, an Egyptian billionaire and business mogul who runs the most lucrative part of his family’s business empire, Orascom Construction.

Orascom Construction is an engineering and building firm based in Cairo, Egypt. The company is Egypt’s first multinational corporation and stands at the core of Orascom Group of Companies.

Orascom was founded by Onsi Sawiris, Nassef’s father in 1950. Onis started out in agriculture before switching to construction and becoming one of the country’s largest contractors. The company was then handed down to Nassef and his brothers; Naguib, CEO Orascom Telecom Holding and Samih, CEO Orascom Development Holding

Orascom owns and operates cement plants in Egypt, Algeria, Turkey, Pakistan, Northern Iraq, North Korea and Spain.

According to Forbes, Nassef Sawiris is worth $8.5 billion and is currently the 297th richest man in the world and 2nd richest man in Africa. He also has other personal investments and dealings asides from the family business.

Here is a brief outline of Nassef’s major business portfolios a d achievements according to Forbes:

  • He runs Orascom Construction, one of the biggest construction companies in Egypt.
  • He has a 5% stake in Adidas and sits on the supervisory board of the company. This is his biggest and most lucrative investment according to Forbes.
  • He runs OCI, one of the world’s largest nitrogen fertilizer produces, with plants in Texas and Iowa.
  • Nassef Sawiris has a huge stake in West African Cement Company, Lafarge Holcim.
  • His latest acquisition is a 5% stake in New York-listed firm, Madison Square Garden Sports, owner of the NBA Knicks and the NHL Rangers teams.

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