By Nada Hamouda
Egyptian billionaire, Nassef Sawiris, just took his family name into the international football industry. As he bought a controlling stake in the troubled Championship club, Aston Villa, from the Chinese owner, Tony Xia.
On Friday, NSWE group, founded and owned by Sawiris and the American Businessman Wes Edens, took over the English club with a 55 percent stake for about $39 million. The investors aim to promote the club back into the Premier League as last season, Aston Villa narrowly missed rejoining the lucrative competition.
Aston Villa, founded in 1874, currently competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. “We believe that together we bring business and sports experience that will help strengthen the club; to ensure Aston Villa can return to its rightful place in the upper echelons of English football,” Sawiris and Edens said in the official statement.
Moreover, the Sawiris family is most widely known for being Egypt’s richest family who are also members of the Coptic Christian minority. Nassef Sawiris is the youngest, but also the wealthiest of his two siblings. The 57-year-old Egyptian is estimated to be worth $6.8bn by Forbes.
However, brother Naguib Sawiris, with a net worth of $4.1bn, is the most popular of the three. His company, Orascom Telecom has investments in media and technology enterprises in Egypt, Lebanon, Pakistan, and more.
Samih Sawiris ($850m) is the tourism expert. He builds and operates resorts in Egypt, Montenegro, and Switzerland.
