Nassef Sawiris sold $12.8bn in cement and $11.6bn in fertilizers, and is now betting $50bn on America

Most billionaires build one empire and spend the rest of their lives protecting it. Nassef Sawiris has built two, sold both near the peak, and is now constructing a third.

Born on January 19, 1961, in Aswan, Egypt's southernmost city, into a Coptic Christian family, Sawiris is the youngest son of the late Onsi Sawiris, who founded the Orascom Group in 1950. His brothers, Naguib and Samih, also became billionaires. Together, the three brothers represent a combined fortune of roughly $16.6 billion, making the Sawiris family one of Africa's most consequential business dynasties.

Nassef's path was not handed to him in finished form. He earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Chicago in 1982, joined the family group the same year, took management control of its construction activities in 1995, and became CEO of Orascom Construction Industries when it was incorporated in 1998. He then spent the next decade scaling it into a cement and construction powerhouse across Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

Then he sold it. In 2008, he offloaded the cement and building materials division to Lafarge for $12.8 billion, timed almost perfectly before the global financial crisis gutted construction valuations worldwide. The proceeds funded the next bet.

He moved into fertilizers the same year, acquiring the Egyptian Fertilizer Company and building what would eventually become OCI NV, a Dutch-listed nitrogen and chemicals producer. A consortium of investors led by Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates invested $1 billion in OCI NV in January 2013 to support the company's relisting from the Cairo Stock Exchange to NYSE Euronext Amsterdam. OCI Global grew into one of the world's largest nitrogen fertilizer producers, with major plants in Texas and Iowa and an annual capacity of 17.2 million metric tons.

Then he sold that too. Over the past two years, OCI disposed of more than $11.6 billion in assets, including its global methanol business, its Iowa fertilizer plant and its European operations. In March 2026, Sawiris stepped down as executive chair of OCI Global, citing other professional commitments.

The third empire is taking shape around a simpler logic: America needs to build things, and Sawiris knows how to build them. He is preparing to direct up to $50 billion of capital over the next decade into U.S. infrastructure, channeling funds through equity and credit into sectors including transport networks, data centers and large-scale construction. The vehicle is a merged entity combining OCI and Orascom Construction, which already holds a $14 billion project backlog and owns Weitz, a U.S. subsidiary that has delivered airport terminals, data centers and university housing since 2012. The combined group is to be listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.

KPMG figures show that OCI and Orascom have delivered a combined internal rate of return exceeding 39% since Orascom's 1999 listing, paying out over $22 billion in dividends to shareholders. That track record is what Sawiris is now leveraging to pull in partners for the U.S. push.

The investment portfolio extends well beyond construction. Through his NNS Holding vehicle, Sawiris acquired a stake in Adidas AG in 2015 and was appointed supervisory director in 2016. In March 2026, Adidas nominated him to replace outgoing chairman Thomas Rabe, which would make him one of the most prominent non-European figures at the top of a major global consumer brand. His NNS Group holds roughly 6% of the company. In sport, he co-owns English Premier League club Aston Villa through V Sports alongside American billionaire Wes Edens, with approximately £360 million in debt-free share capital injected into the club. He also holds a 6.3% stake in MSG Sports, whose assets include the NBA's New York Knicks and NHL's New York Rangers.

Forbes pegs his net worth at $9.6 billion in its 2026 Africa rankings, placing him fifth on the continent. He has relocated to Abu Dhabi and Italy, exiting the UK following changes to non-domicile tax rules.

He is married to Sherine and has four children. The family office, NNS Group, now operates from Abu Dhabi.

In April 2026, Sawiris raised his stake in Orascom Construction to 43.39%, a quiet but unmistakable signal that the third act has already begun.