Egyptian businessman and politician Naguib Sawiris has an estimated net worth of $3 billion as of April 2016, according to Forbes. He is #589 in the Billionaires List (#367 in 2012), #2 in Egypt, and #9 in Africa’s Top 40 Richest List. Born Naguib Onsi Sawiris on June 15, 1954, his career began in 1979 with Orascom, the country’s largest private-sector employer and with the largest market capitalization. It has a 75% staje in Koryolink, the only cell network in North Korea. He founded Weather Investment, later called WIND Telecom, in early 2005. In October 2010, he and VimpelCom Ltd., Russia’s second-largest mobile phone operator, agreed to merge their phone assets for about $6.5 billion valued transaction.

Sawiris sold nearly all his shares in the VimpelCom. In June 2012, he sold his stake in Telekom Austria to Mexican billionare Carlos Slim who owns America Movil. After a month, Weather Investment has bought La Mancha, a Canadian mining company, for $317 million from French nuclear giant Areva.

As a politician, Naguib Sawiris is considered a nationalist and supporter of liberalism. He founded the liberal Free Egyptians Party as a result of the Egypt’s revolution. Since then, he has been vocally opposing the Muslim Brotherhood. He did not even back the election of President Mohamed Morsi.

Naguib Sawiris is a recipient of the French Legion of Honors and the Sitara-e-Quaid-e-Azam award. He was recognized as the 2011 CIC Globalist of the Year by the Canadian International Council (CIC) in November 2011.