It Pays Well to Be Egypt’s Dictator

By editor Feb 4, 2011, 1:07 PM Author's Website

ABC reports that according to experts estimate, the Mubarak Family may have as much as $70 billion stashed away.

[Hosni Mubarak and his family] had a very lavish lifestyle with many homes around the country,” said [Aladdin Elaasar, author of "The Last Pharaoh: Mubarak and the Uncertain Future of Egypt in the Obama Age], who estimates the family’s wealth is between $50 billion to $70 billion.
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The Mubarak family [which made most of its fortune largely from military contracts during Hosni's days as an air force officer. He eventually diversified his investments through his family when he became president in 1981] owns properties in London, Paris, Madrid, Dubai, Washington, D.C., New York and Frankfurt, according to a report from IHS Global Insight.
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Christopher Davidson, [a professor of Middle East Politics at Durham University in England] said the family’s net worth, however — $17 billion for Mubarak, $10 billion for his second son, Gamal, and $40 billion for the family — are really just estimates.

“Of course, by definition, bank accounts in Switzerland are a secret so we cannot get a full picture,” said Davidson.

Don’t see how the Mubaraks didn’t make The Forbes 400 list of the richest people in the world. After all, the price of admission is “only” $1 billion. By the way, gross national income is $2,070 per family in Egypt with about 20% of the population living below the poverty line. But as I said, it pays mighty well to be the country’s dictator.