A Journey to Unstoppable Wealth
The late Egyptian President Abdel Nasser nationalized his family’s fortune before becoming the world’s largest General Motors distributor. From Alexandria to London, from a pizza shop worker to the leader of one of the region’s largest family businesses, the journey of Egyptian billionaire Mohamed Mansour reveals the ups and downs of the wealthy, how to cope with crises, and how to persevere through life despite various obstacles. This is the Mohamed Mansour billionaire story that continues to inspire generations. He was diagnosed with cancer after graduating from university in North Carolina, but he successfully recovered. In an interview with Egyptian television last year, he said, “Thanks be to God, thanks to the doctor and hope, I was able to overcome the ordeal and the disease was completely eradicated.” Sir Mansour (76 years old), as he likes to be called (the second Arab and Egyptian to receive the title of “Sir” from the Queen of England), was unfamiliar with poverty. He was born into an aristocratic family; his father was, according to his description, the world’s largest cotton exporter. However, life doesn’t always go smoothly, and some nights are dark.
Pizza Worker
His diagnosis of kidney cancer wasn’t the first time Mansour had faced a huge challenge. Three years before his diagnosis, the Egyptian billionaire received a letter from his father informing him that his expenses had been stopped. Former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser confiscated his family’s fortune and nationalized their cotton company, leaving Mansour suddenly penniless. The 18-year-old moved out of his brothers’ home and into a cramped dorm off-campus, trying to make ends meet on the “tips” customers left for him at the pizza parlor where he worked to support himself and his brothers, Youssef and Ismail. Mansour describes the difficult experience as a major life lesson, one that taught him the value of hard work and perseverance. The Mohamed Mansour billionaire story shows how hardship and humility laid the foundation for his rise.
An Accident Nearly Lost One of His Legs
At the age of ten, Mansour was involved in a tragic accident that nearly led doctors to amputate one of his legs, had it not been for his persistence and refusal to accept the decision, maintaining his smile and hope for improvement and returning to sports. He was bedridden for nearly three years before he was able to get back on his feet. Mansour used the time of his injury to read and learn, developing himself. This accident reveals another dimension of Mansour’s personality, which sees no time in life as cheap to waste or as an excuse to give up on dreams, pushing himself to new limits. Mansour’s wealth is estimated at USD 3.5 billion, according to the Forbes Billionaires List.
After completing his studies in the US, Mansour returned to Egypt to work with his father, who had successfully re-established a cotton company. However, the economic opening opened up opportunities for his father, Lotfy Mansour, to start a new business in the automotive sector, initially through a partnership with General Motors. The dreams were simple: The project aimed to manufacture 50 cars annually with a profit margin of EGP 1,000 per car. Last month, Mansour celebrated the production of one million cars. He said his company is one of the largest distributors of General Motors in the world, and with the replication of the experience with Caterpillar; the Mansour brand became the largest distributor of the large equipment company in the world.
The family’s profits grew rapidly over the following decades of partnership with General Motors, and they entrusted investment banks and asset managers with the placement of funds. Mansour said that the establishment of Man Capital, the family office that operates from London, where Mansour still resides, was intended to be the investment arm of the group, and to use internal consultants.
He Invested in Facebook, Twitter, and Spotify
This approach helped speed up investment decisions at the early stages of the lives of tech giants. His company invested in Facebook, Twitter, Airbnb, and Spotify in the early stages before they were listed on the stock exchange. Since 2010, the company’s business has continued to expand into new fields such as technology, renewable energy, and education. Today, it is one of the largest investors in the British coffee chain “Cavinero” and wind energy projects.
Mansour believes that innovation and out-of-the-box thinking are the keys to success. This belief has led him to invest in technology startups such as Facebook, Twitter, and Uber, making him one of the first investors in these successful companies. The Mohamed Mansour billionaire story continues to evolve as he backs artificial intelligence and global philanthropy.
Today, Mohamed Mansour focuses on artificial intelligence, believing it to be the next revolution that will change the world. Through his investment company, Man Capital, he invests in companies developing AI technologies, emphasizing that these technologies will revolutionize our daily lives.
Mohamed Mansour is not only a successful businessman, but also someone who believes in the importance of giving back to society. Through his Right to Dream Foundation, he seeks to support young people and provide them with educational and training opportunities, believing that young people are the future.
Despite his advanced age, he still believes in taking risks, saying, “There is no return without risk.” Mansour said his investments in technology companies carried a lot of risk, and he still holds stakes in some companies, while exiting others. He added that his next steps would focus on artificial intelligence through a venture capital firm established in San Francisco called “1984.”
Mansour and his sons founded the Right to Dream Foundation, a global organization focused on education and sports, and owns soccer teams in San Diego, Egypt, and other countries. He said that Right to Dream was represented by seven players at the Qatar 2022 World Cup, in addition to more than 140 professional players playing for teams in the English Premier League and other major leagues.