Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris’ wealth grows $1.5 bln – Forbes

Egyptian business tycoon Nassef Sawiris’ wealth grew by around $1.5 billion or 25 billion Egyptian pounds, Forbes magazine said on Monday.

Nassef made more money in the past few months, taking his fortune to $7.9 billion or 131 billion pounds, compared to $6.4 billion in early March, the magazine added.

He runs OCI, one of the world’s largest nitrogen fertilizer producers, with plants in Texas and Iowa; it trades on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange. He also owns a majority stake of 55 percent in the British football club Aston Villa FC.

Egypt’s billionaire growth in the past few months was attributed to Aston Villa’s promotion to the Premier League last May and the recent strategic partnership between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and OCI N.V, Forbes said.   The partnership reached earlier in June aimed to form the biggest nitrogen fertilizer platform in the Middle East and North Africa.