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Onsi Sawiris (also written Sawires, أنسي ساويريس) is an Egyptian businessman and patriarch of the Sawiris family. He is the founder of the Orascom Group, a holding company with subsidiaries that operate in multiple fields that include tourism development, telecommunications, media, and construction. In addition to having a merit-based scholarship program in his name, he is also known for his charitable efforts, including his work with the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development, a charitable organization that was originally funded with an endowment from the Sawiris family. In addition to other awards and recognition, he is a Commander in the Order of the Crown, bestowed on him by Albert II of Belgium. As of November 2014, he is #19 on the Forbes list of Africa's 50 Richest people with a net worth of $1.9 billion.

Early life and education
Sawiris was born in 1930 and raised in Sohag, Egypt, a city in Upper Egypt on the west bank of the Nile River. The youngest of two siblings, his father was a lawyer and landowner. His older brother was encouraged to practice law while Swairis was expected to tend the family's land. He attended agricultural college, graduating after four years and beginning a pastoral lifestyle. It was shortly thereafter that he met and married his wife Youssriya. Farming was not one of Sawiris' passions, and it showed during his work. In an interview with Euroasia Industry, Sawiris joked, "In view of the deplorable results achieved, [father] became convinced that my place was elsewhere, as I was rapidly turning into a liability."

Career
Sawiris left farming and began a contracting firm in Upper Egypt with a few of his friends. The company began winning contracts in the Nile Delta region and relocated to Cairo to be closer to its projects. The Ministry of Irrigation awarded his company numerous contracts to dig waterways and basins. The success of the company prompted it to become a nationalization target under President Nasser who came into power after the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. The business was seized and became part of Nasser's socialist reform of Egypt. Sawiris was forced to become an employee of his own company, run by the government, working as the company's director for five years. His passport was also seized so that he could not leave the country and he was paid as a government employee throughout his remaining time with the company. Nasser's reforms had brought about a depressed economy in Egypt, making it difficult for Sawiris to earn a living and six years later he left Egypt after his passport was returned to him by the government.

With his wife still in Egypt and his three sons attending universities in different parts of the world, Sawiris went to Libya to rebuild his construction business. He was able to rebuild his fortune during that time, profiting on his expertise in construction in an oil-rich country experiencing rapid growth of its infrastructure. Anwar Sadat took over as Egypt's president in 1970 following Nasser's death, reinstituting a multi-party system and steering Egypt away from the political, and economic tenets of Nasserism.

Sawiris returned to Egypt in 1977 under Sadat's infitah policies after spending 12 years in Libya. He started out rebuilding his business (currently known as the Orascom Group), beginning with a small office and just five employees. His eldest son Naguib joined him in 1979, establishing and expanding the railway, IT, and telecommunication sectors of the company. His sons Samih and Nassef also joined the company, each managing different sectors of the company over time. Within 20 years, Sawiris' Orascom Group grew into a multibillion-dollar company.

In 1997, Sawiris divided up control of the Orascom Group amongst his three sons, each one charged with operating sectors according to their education and expertise. Naguib Sawiris became CEO of Orascom Telecom Holding, Samih Sawiris took control of the company's tourism and real estate sectors through Orascom Development, and Nassef Sawiris became the CEO of Orascom Construction Industries.

In early 2013, Sawiris and his son Nassef were placed on Egypt's no-fly list during the presidency of Mohamed Morsi. The travel ban was due to a tax claim against Orascom Construction Industries. The claim arose from the company selling its concrete manufacturing subsidiary in 2007 to the French industrial company Lafarge. At the time of the deal in 2007, Orascom was notified by the Egyptian government, then under President Hosni Mubarak, that it owed 4.7 billion Egyptian pounds in taxes. Under his presidency, Morsi claimed that the figure owed the government was 14 billion Egyptian pounds. The tax claim was said to be a vendetta against Sawiris for his opposition of the Muslim Brotherhood coming into power under Morsi and for him being a Coptic Christian. Morsi had previously attempted to harm the Sawiris family in 2011, calling on all Muslims to boycott any Sawiris owned company. The company entered into a settlement with the Morsi administration in 2013; however, the settlement was overturned in 2014. Prior to the settlement and its overturn, the travel ban was lifted on Sawiris who was not in the country when the initial ban was imposed.

Philanthropy
Sawiris is involved in numerous philanthropic activities, including the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development, a charitable organization that was founded with an endowment from the Sawiris family. The Foundation was the first family donor foundation created specifically for social development in Egypt. In her book Damned Nations: Greed, Guns, Armies, and Aid, Samantha Nutt uses Sawiris' charitable efforts as an example of philanthropy shaping development priorities and public policy. In 2000, Orascom Construction Industries launched a scholarship program bearing the name of Sawiris. The Onsi Sawiris Scholarship Program is a merit based scholarship awarded through the company. It includes full tuition, living allowance, travel and health insurance for recipients, who are also given internship opportunities within the company.

Awards and recognition
In recognition of his philanthropy and contribution to the business community, Sawiris was awarded an honorary Doctoral Degree. He received Knighthood of L'Order de Leopold in 1998. In 2008 he was bestowed Commander in the Order of the Crown by Albert II of Belgium, the same year that he was awarded the Order of the Polar Star in the presence of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden.