Onsi Sawiris
Onsi Sawiris[1] (also written Sawires,[1] Coptic: ⲁⲛⲥⲓ ⲥⲉⲩⲏⲣⲟⲥ, Arabic: أنسي ساويرس;[1]) (August 14, 1930 – June 29, 2021) was an Egyptian businessman. He was the patriarchal head of the Sawiris family and founder of the Orascom Group conglomerate.[2]
Early life[]
Sawiris was born January 2, 1930 in Sohag, Egypt – June 29, 2021 in El Gouna, Egypt) to Naguib Sawiris, a lawyer, and his wife, the youngest of four children.[2][3]
Sawiris received a bachelor’s degree in agricultural engineering from Cairo University in 1950 and managed his family’s 52-acre farm for two years after graduation.[4]
Career[]
In 1952, Sawiris established his own construction company, Onsi & Lamei Co, which began as a road and waterways contractor. In 1961, the business was nationalized under then Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser and later became known as the El Nasr Civil Works Company. Mr. Sawiris continued to run the nationalized business for five years.[3]
He was prevented from leaving the country for six years in the 1960s.[5]
After a period of time in Libya, he returned to Egypt in 1976 during the regime of Egyptian president Anwar Sadat and founded Orascom for Constructions and Trade as a general contracting and trading company. The name was later changed to Orascom for Construction Industries, and the investment portfolio expanded in the 1980s and the 1990s to include tourism, hospitality, computing, and cell phone networks, under the government of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.[2]
Today, the Orascom conglomerate is are run by his three sons, Naguib Sawiris, Samih Sawiris and Nassef Sawiris.[4]
In 2003, the Sawiris family held the three largest stocks by market capitalization on the Cairo exchange: Orascom Telecom, Orascom Construction Industries and MobiNil.[6]
He was estimated to be worth approximately $1.2 billion according to Forbes in 2017.[7]
Personal life[]
Sawiris was married to Yousriya Loza Sawiris and had three sons Naguib, Samih, and Nassef.[3]
Sawiris was a member of Egypt's Coptic Christian minority community.[8]
See also[]
- Orascom Telecom Holding S.A.E.
- Orascom Construction Industries (OCI)
References[]
- ^ a b c "أنسى ساويرس «خبرة فى الخامسة والثمانين»: الأرض لمن يزرعها وليس للأفندية (حوار) | المصري اليوم". www.almasryalyoum.com (in Arabic). Retrieved June 29, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Egyptian Billionaire Onsi Sawiris dies aged 90". EgyptToday. June 29, 2021. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
- ^ a b c "Remembering our founder". OCI.
- ^ a b "Onsi Sawiris, Patriarch of Egypt Billionaire Dynasty, Dies at 90". Bloomberg. June 29, 2021.
- ^ Tryhorn, Chris (February 2, 2010). "The Sawiris family: from entrepreneurs to media owners". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
- ^ Faucon, Benoit (September 9, 2003). "Egypt's Orascom Has Become Telecom Force in Arab World". Dow Jones Newswires. Retrieved June 29, 2021.
- ^ Onsi Sawiris – Forbes Forbes. Retrieved May 11, 2011.
- ^ "Onsi Sawiris (1930 -2021): Serving with honour and compassion". Watani. June 30, 2021. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
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- 1930 births
- 2021 deaths
- Coptic businesspeople
- Egyptian businesspeople
- Egyptian people of Coptic descent
- Egyptian billionaires
- Sawiris family
- People from Sohag Governorate
- African business biography stubs
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