Orascom: Sawiris Family Feasts Openly

By JULIETTE ROSSANT After honoring me in January with a profile on Guler Sabanci (see previous article), The Economist has again honored me this week with a second profile of yet another of my Middle East billionaires, the Onsi Sawiris family, owners of the far-reaching Orascom group of companies. Pardon me, but I've never had a publication which I respect so much -- The Economist! -- follow my work so closely. (Forbes called the Sawiris family "Princes of Egypt": The Economist is calling them "The New Pharaohs." I have been covering the Onsi Sawiris family of Egypt for Forbes for many a year -- since 1997. I got them onto the Billionaires List in 2001 and then tracked Orascom Telecom for its expansion, its consolidation, and its partnership with Microsoft's MSN service. I gather the Sawiris family are not as reluctant about press coverage as they once were -- particularly after last month's announcement by Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak to open presidential elections to candidates from more than the ruling party, after 25 years of emergency law (see the BBC and The Economist), not to mention today's news about the freeing of political rival and opposition party leader Ayman Nour (see The Jerusalem Post, The Guardian, and The New York Times). And the Sawiris family, like Guler Sabanci and her family, are serious foodies -- even restaurateurs. They own restaurants not only in Cairo but at their El Gouna resort on the Red Sea. (My mother wrote about our visit to El Gouna in her second autobiography, Return to Paris: A Memoir, pp. 168-169.) In addition, the family has created the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development, "the first family foundation dedicated to social development in Egypt" whose mission at job creation. The board includes all three sons of founder Onsi Sawiris: Naguib, Nassef, and Samih. Previous articles: Iftar With Rafik Hariri "G" is for Wine: Guler Sabanci Catch me on C-SPAN today at noon (ET) Previous articles for Forbes on the Sawiris family: Gates Eyes the Middle East Out of Africa Under African Skies Onsi Sawiris & Family (2001 Billionaires List) Princes of Egypt Onsi Sawiris (1997 Heavy Hitters) --> back to superchefblog