Nassef Sawiris
Egyptian businessman; executive chairman of OCI; co-owner of Aston Villa
| Nassef Sawiris
| |
|---|---|
| Born | 19 January 1961 (Forbes; adidas) |
| Nationality | Egyptian |
| Residence | Cairo (Forbes); Milan (adidas annual report) |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Executive chairman of OCI; largest shareholder of Orascom Construction; deputy chair of the adidas supervisory board; co-owner of Aston Villa |
| Education | University of Chicago (Forbes) |
Nassef Sawiris (born 19 January 1961) is an Egyptian businessman and investor. He is executive chairman of the Dutch-registered OCI, deputy chairman of the adidas supervisory board, and, according to Forbes, co-owner of Aston Villa Football Club with Wes Edens.[1][2] In December 2025 Orascom Construction and OCI announced a plan to merge into a new platform based in Abu Dhabi.[3] On 11 November 2026 the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list ranked Sawiris 370th in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$9.7 billion; Forbes lists the source of wealth as construction, investments.[1][4] In the annual World's Billionaires list published in 2026, Forbes had ranked Sawiris 362nd, at US$9.6 billion.[5]
Family business
Forbes Middle East says his father, Onsi Sawiris, founded Orascom Construction in 1950.[3] Forbes says Nassef split Orascom Construction Industries into OCI and Orascom Construction in 2015, and that his brothers Naguib and Samih are also billionaires.[1] According to Forbes Middle East, he bought his brother Naguib's shares in Orascom Construction in January 2025, taking his own stake to 42.36%. The company moved its listing from Nasdaq Dubai to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange in September 2025.[3]
OCI
Forbes describes OCI as one of the world's largest nitrogen fertiliser producers, listed on Euronext Amsterdam.[1] On 27 June 2025 OCI completed the sale of its global methanol business to Methanex in a deal valued at US$1.6 billion, and said it would return up to a further US$1 billion to shareholders. Its chief executive said the company had raised about US$11.6 billion in gross proceeds from asset sales over 18 months.[6] In December 2025 Orascom Construction and OCI Global announced plans to merge into a new Abu Dhabi-based infrastructure and investment platform.[3]
Adidas and sport
The adidas 2025 annual report lists Sawiris as deputy chairman of its supervisory board and a member since 15 June 2016, living in Milan.[2] Forbes says he owns nearly 6% of adidas.[1] It also reports that he bought a 5% stake in Madison Square Garden Sports, owner of the New York Knicks and Rangers, in December 2020, and that he bought Aston Villa together with Fortress Investment Group's Wes Edens.[1]
Philanthropy
Forbes says that in 2019 Sawiris pledged US$24 million to the University of Chicago, his alma mater, to support Egyptian students and an executive education programme.[1]
Wealth history
Forbes has included this entry in its annual World's Billionaires list in 20 of the editions from 2001 to 2026 checked for this profile, starting with 2007. The table gives the rank and estimated net worth in each annual list.[5][1]
| Year | World's Billionaires rank | Net worth (US$ bn) |
|---|---|---|
| 2007 | 226 | 3.9 |
| 2008 | 68 | 11.0 |
| 2009 | 196 | 3.1 |
| 2010 | 127 | 5.9 |
| 2011 | 182 | 5.6 |
| 2012 | 199 | 5.1 |
| 2013 | 182 | 6.5 |
| 2014 | 205 | 6.7 |
| 2015 | 225 | 6.3 |
| 2016 | 421 | 3.7 |
| 2017 | 269 | 5.6 |
| 2018 | 251 | 6.6 |
| 2019 | 252 | 6.4 |
| 2020 | 330 | 5.0 |
| 2021 | 297 | 8.3 |
| 2022 | 304 | 7.7 |
| 2023 | 305 | 7.4 |
| 2024 | 287 | 8.8 |
| 2025 | 289 | 9.6 |
| 2026 | 362 | 9.6 |
International and political links
This section uses the same ten headings for every profile in this series. Only specific, sourced actions are included; company-level and foundation-level actions are labelled as such. Where nothing was found, the entry reads "No documented involvement found in sources checked."
Israel (investments, operations, donations, contracts, statements)
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Zionist or pro-Israel organisations and lobbying groups
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Jewish communal charities
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Gulf states
In 2025 Orascom Construction moved its listing to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange, and later that year it and OCI announced a merger into an Abu Dhabi-based platform.[3]
China
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Russia
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
India
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Palestinian or Arab causes
No documented involvement found in sources checked.
Home government
Sawiris is an Egyptian citizen. Forbes lists his residence as Cairo, while the adidas annual report gives Milan.[1][2]
Other international links
He holds board and shareholder roles at adidas in Germany and OCI in the Netherlands, and part-owns the English club Aston Villa.[2][1]
See also
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 Forbes, Forbes profile record for Nassef Sawiris (Forbes data feed behind forbes.com/profile/nassef-sawiris/) Forbes, live record, read 11 November 2026, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 adidas, Supervisory Board adidas Annual Report 2025, 2026, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Khadijah Khogeer, Orascom Construction, OCI Global To Merge Into New Abu Dhabi–Based Infrastructure Platform Forbes Middle East, 9 December 2025, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ Forbes, Forbes Real-Time Billionaires data feed Forbes, live; downloaded 11 November 2026 16:19 UTC, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Forbes, Forbes World's Billionaires list data feed, annual editions 2001–2026 (one file per year at this path with the year substituted; all 26 files downloaded and read) Forbes, annual lists; downloaded 20 October 2026, accessed 11 November 2026.
- ↑ OCI Global, OCI Global Completes Sale of OCI Methanol to Methanex Corporation OCI Global, 27 June 2025, accessed 11 November 2026.