Egypt’s Samih Sawiris Could Lose Billionaire Status

With the gradual decline in the net worth of the Egyptian businessman Samih Sawiris, it is likely that he might lose his billionaire status before the end of 2022. This is a result of the decline in the market value of his investments, which has seen the billionaire lose over $100 million since the beginning of 2022 from his proposed net worth of $1.1 billion.

The billionaire also saw his shares in one of his companies reduced through acquisition. At the beginning of the year, one of his companies, Andermatt Swiss Alps AG (ASA), a Swiss-based mountain resort company, sold a majority stake in Andermatt-Sedrun Sports AG to Vail Resorts, a U.S. resort company.

This saw Vail Resorts acquire the majority stake in the company. Vail Resorts owns a 55% stake in Andermatt-Sedrun Sports AG, followed by Sawiris with a 40% stake and a group of existing shareholders with 5%.

Although the Egyptian billionaire attained the status in 2007 when his net worth was valued at over $1.5 billion, the preceding year was followed by a double net worth of $2.9 billion.

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Despite the tremendous growth, two years later, he recorded a loss of $2.4 billion in 2010 and a gradual yearly decline in his net worth. Due to this, in 2015, he dropped off the Forbes African billionaires list.

The brother of the two wealthiest Egyptian billionaires, Samih Sawiris, made billions from his family’s investments in OCI N.V., a global producer and distributor of nitrogen and methanol products. He also made some of his wealth from his construction company, Orascom Development, which builds and operates resorts in Egypt, Montenegro, and Switzerland.

How he made his wealth

Apart from his stake in the family business, the Egyptian billionaire Samih Sawiris is the founder and chairman of Orascom Development Holding (ODH), a Swiss-incorporated company listed on the Swiss Stock Exchange.

Under his leadership as the chairman of the company for about 30 years until 2021, when he announced his plan to step down, he led the company to become one of the leading property developers within and beyond the borders of Egypt.

With years of hard work, the company created a diverse portfolio of world-class destinations in Egypt, the UAE, Oman, Morocco, Montenegro, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. This saw the company record a 464.5% net profit growth of $17.9 million (CHF17.5 million) in the first quarter of 2022. It increased from $3.2 million (CHF3.1 million) to $17.9 million (CHF17.5 million).

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