physics

Naguib Sawiris

Naguib Sawiris is a physics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Naguib Sawiris rather than just read about it. In short: Naguib Onsi Sawiris (born 15 June 1954) is an Egyptian-American billionaire businessman. He is the chairman of Orascom Investment Holding and the former chairman and CEO of Orascom Telecom Holding.

Key takeaways

Naguib Sawiris belongs to physics; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Naguib Sawiris to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Naguib Sawiris from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Naguib Onsi Sawiris (born 15 June 1954) is an Egyptian-American billionaire businessman. He is the chairman of Orascom Investment Holding and the former chairman and CEO of Orascom Telecom Holding.

Early life Naguib Onsi Sawiris was born in Cairo, Republic of Egypt to a Coptic family, members of the Coptic Orthodox Church. His mother is Yousriya Loza Sawiris and his father is businessman Onsi Sawiris. He has two younger brothers, Nassef and Samih, both of whom are also billionaires. He received a diploma from the German Evangelical School in Giza, as well as a diploma of mechanical engineering with a master's degree in technical administration from ETH Zurich.

Political career Sawiris founded the Free Egyptians Party in 2011. The party decided in late December 2016 at its annual party assembly, without Sawiris to eliminate its board of trustees, which Sawiris was a member of. The board of trustees called for a postponement of the planned vote and called the vote a "coup"; the party was split between backers of Sawiris and party president Essam Khalil. Sawiris was dismissed from the party in February 2017, as he refused to appear before the party on charges that he insulted the board of trustees. However, according to Ragy Soliman, Sawiris remained a member of the party and the board of trustees.

Business career

Since joining Orascom, the family business, in 1979, Sawiris worked in the development of the railway, information technology, and telecommunications sectors of Orascom. Management decided to split Orascom into separate operating companies in the late 90s: Orascom Telecom Holding (OTH), Orascom Construction Industries (OCI), Orascom Hotels & Development and Orascom Technology Systems (OTS). Orascom Telecom Holding was established in 1997, and then Orascom Telecom Media and Technologies, in 2011, until the recent rebranding as Orascom Investment Holding (OIH), of which he is the Managing Director and CEO. In August 2012, Sawiris was appointed chairman of La Mancha Holding. In 2014, Sawiris raised more than US$4 billion when he sold his stake in his telecommunications companies to Russian company Vimplecom. In early 2015, Sawiris bought a majority stake in the pan-European television channel Euronews. He remained as the main shareholder until beginning the process of selling his stake to Alpac Capital in December 2021. In September 2015, he offered to buy an island off Greece or Italy to help hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the Syrian conflict. However, he conceded the plan could face challenges in terms of jurisdictions and customs regulation. In May 2016, Sawiris sold his stake in the Egypt-based TV channel ONTV to Ahmed Abou Hashima. In December 2016, Sawiris resigned as the CEO of Orascom Telecom Media & Technology.

The Ora Developers, formerly known as the Gemini Global Development, was launched in 2016. The company owns a $2.5 billion global real estate portfolio comprising the Silver Sands mixed-use project in Grenada, Ayia Napa Marina in Cyprus, and the Eighteen luxury residential project in Islamabad, Pakistan. In 2023, it was reported that Sawiris is considering an investment in Barrick Gold Corp's $7 billion Reko Diq copper-gold project in Pakistan. On 31 January 2024, the Iraqi government announced the signing of a contract with Ora Developers to develop the largest residential city in Iraq named "Ali Al-Wardi City". The planned new city, located approximately 25 km (16 miles) southeast of Baghdad and spanning a total area of 61 million m2 (660 million sq ft), includes "120,000 different housing units along with green spaces, urban amenities, and smart city technology to apply cutting-edge standards in sustainability and environmental preservation." The project is named after the Iraqi intellectual Ali Al-Wardi and aims to reduce population pressure on Baghdad.

Gold and mining Sawiris made significant moves in the gold and mining sectors in recent years, primarily through his ownership of La Mancha, a mining investment firm. Sawiris has invested in gold and mining through La Mancha, including projects in Africa and other regions. Sawiris has been involved in acquiring and financing mining assets, aiming to capitalize on the rising value of gold. His company has also made strategic investments in gold exploration projects in countries like Canada and Côte d'Ivoire.

Djezzy In the early 2000s, Sawiris's Orascom Telecom purchased a majority share in Algerian mobile network operator Djezzy. The company grew fast and became Orascom's most profitable subsidiary and one of Algeria's leading mobile service providers. In 2008, the Algerian government declared its intention to increase its stake in Djezzy and take greater control over the telecommunications sector. Sawiris saw this as a direct challenge to his ownership and a violation of the agreement under which Orascom had invested in Algeria. Two years later, in 2010, Russian company VimpelCom (now VEON) acquired Orascom and merged with it for $6.4 billion. In 2012, Sawiris filed a lawsuit against the Algerian government at the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), claiming $4 billion in damages. He argued that the government had waged a campaign of interference and harassment, ultimately forcing him to sell the company for a much lower price through the merger with VimpelCom. The dispute came to an end in 2014 when VimpelCom agreed to sell a 51% stake in Djezzy to the Algerian National Investment Fund (FNI) for $2.64 billion. In 2017, however, the ICSID ruled in favor of the Algerian government, dismissing Sawiris's $4 billion claim.

Personal life Sawiris and his wife, Ghada Gamil Sawiris, have four children together. Sawiris is fluent in Arabic, English, and German, and speaks some French. As of 2025, Forbes estimates his personal wealth at $5 billion.

Honours Egypt: Grand Officer of the Order of Merit. France: Commander of the Legion of Honour (2012 ; Officier on 2007). Italy: Grand Officer of the Order of the Star of Italy (2026 ; Commander on 2011). Pakistan: First Class of the Order of Excellence (2006).

Notes

References

External links Sawiris profile at Orascom telecom website Naguib Sawiris on Charlie RoseAbout - Orascom Investment Holding

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Naguib Sawiris

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Naguib Sawiris claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In physics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Naguib Sawiris before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Naguib Sawiris ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Naguib Sawiris

In research: Naguib Sawiris appears in physics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Naguib Sawiris in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Naguib Sawiris is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1954 births, 20th-century Egyptian businesspeople, 21st-century American businesspeople, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Naguib Sawiris outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Naguib Sawiris in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Naguib Sawiris means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Naguib Sawiris out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Naguib Sawiris in simple terms?

Naguib Onsi Sawiris (born 15 June 1954) is an Egyptian-American billionaire businessman. He is the chairman of Orascom Investment Holding and the former chairman and CEO of Orascom Telecom Holding.

Why does Naguib Sawiris matter?

Because it connects several physics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Naguib Sawiris?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Naguib Sawiris.