Christian Billionare & Art Collector Could be Egypt's Next President

FORBES MAGAZINE
By Abigail R. Esman

Minnie Mouse in a burqa

EGYPT - In June, he tweeted a cartoon of Minnie Mouse in a burqa, and Islamists worldwide threatened him with death. Now, as Egypt wavers between an Islamist and a democratic future, billionaire telecom scion and art patron Naguib Sawiris wants to be his country’s next leader – and he’s founded a political party – the Free Egyptian Party — as he prepares to do just that. According to The Art Newspaper, Sawiris, who stands at number 310 on the Forbes Billionaire list (he’s #2 in Egypt, just behind his father, Onsi, and one ahead of his younger brother), aims not only to establish a secular democratic government in Egypt, but to crown his plans with a national museum that will house his own collection of modern and contemporary art. [link]