Under the title "An Egyptian Businessman Gains Billions of Pounds in a Week," Al Arabiya published news about the latest update on billionaire wealth data released by the American magazine "Forbes." It revealed a significant increase in the wealth of Egyptian businessman billionaire Nassef Sawiris, reaching its highest historical levels, without disclosing specific reasons for the rise. Sawiris' wealth was approximately $8.7 billion as of Monday, an increase of $200 million, equivalent to over 3 billion Egyptian pounds, in the last 10 days, according to "Forbes" data reviewed by "Al Arabiya.net."
Nassef Sawiris maintained his position as the second wealthiest person in Africa for the third consecutive year, while his global ranking on the Forbes Billionaires Index improved to 297 from 330 in 2020, although this is not his highest global ranking, which was 252 in 2019. During the year of the coronavirus, Sawiris' wealth grew by around $3.3 billion, up from $5 billion last year.
"Forbes" attributed the primary reason for Sawiris’ wealth to a 6% stake in the sportswear company "Adidas." Additionally, Bloomberg's Billionaire Index shows other contributions by Sawiris in OCI NV, as well as a stake in LafargeHolcim, the largest cement company in the world.
In a year that turned global economies upside down due to the coronavirus pandemic, threatening people's livelihoods worldwide, the number of billionaires expanded, with new members joining the exclusive club and accumulating more wealth, starkly contrasting with the reality faced by the majority of humanity. In this regard, "Forbes" reported that its latest billionaire list includes a record number of 2,755 billionaires, topped by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos for the fourth consecutive year. "Forbes" also indicated that the collective wealth of billionaires worldwide reached $13.1 trillion this year, up from $8 trillion last year.
