Wafic Saïd
Encyclopedia
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
) is a Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
n-Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
n businessman living in Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
and Paris.
Personal life
Saïd married British born Ann Rosemary Thompson in 1969. Their first son, Karim Rida Saïd, died in a swimming-pool accident in 1981 at the home of one of a Saudi Arabia royal family member.Wealth creation
Saïd started his business career in banking in 1963 at UBS Geneva. In 1969, he established a project development and construction management business in Saudi Arabia. The following two decades, during the period when Saudi Arabia was building its infrastructure, saw his group handle some of the largest public sector projects in the Kingdom.He became a billionaire
Billionaire
A billionaire, in countries that use the short scale number naming system, is a person who has a net worth of at least one billion units of a given currency, usually the United States dollar, Euro, or Pound sterling. Forbes magazine updates a complete list of U.S. dollar billionaires around the...
through his connections with the Saudi royal family
House of Saud
The House of Saud , also called the Al Saud, is the ruling royal family of Saudi Arabia and one of the wealthiest and most powerful dynasties in the world. The family holds thousands of members...
, acting as an advisor and consultant on many major infrastructure
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
, industrial and defence related projects including the multi-billion dollar Al-Yamamah arms deal, which was considered controversial at the time but Saïd believed it wasn't. He stated in an interview:
"It is no secret, I have great affection for Britain and I am a great admirer of Margaret Thatcher. I was asked by her government to advise and help them secure the al-Yamamah contract, one of the biggest procurement contracts ever, because of my wide knowledge of Saudi Arabia and my contacts there. I was convinced that this was a strategically important contract for both Britain and Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia needed the technology and Britain’s support for their air force, and Britain needed to save its struggling aeronautical industry and to create thousands of jobs. I am very proud of the small part I played in helping Prime Minister Thatcher secure 'the contract of the century' for Britain, but sadly some of the press chooses not see it that way."He is Chairman of Said Holdings Limited, an investment holding company, incorporated in Bermuda, with investments in Europe, North America and the Far East. It has diverse portfolios, which include fixed income
Fixed income
Fixed income refers to any type of investment that is not equity, which obligates the borrower/issuer to make payments on a fixed schedule, even if the number of the payments may be variable....
, quoted equities, hedge fund
Hedge fund
A hedge fund is a private pool of capital actively managed by an investment adviser. Hedge funds are only open for investment to a limited number of accredited or qualified investors who meet criteria set by regulators. These investors can be institutions, such as pension funds, university...
s, private equity
Private equity
Private equity, in finance, is an asset class consisting of equity securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange....
and real assets including real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
.
Philanthropy
In 1982 he founded The Karim Rida Saïd Foundation, now "Saïd Foundation", a UK registered charity that aims to bring positive and lasting change to the lives of children and young people in the Middle East and promote better understanding between Western and Arab/Islamic cultures.Saïd Business School
In 1996, Wafic Saïd donated £23 million to establish the Saïd Business SchoolSaïd Business School
Saïd Business School is the business school of the University of Oxford in England, located on the north side of Frideswide Square on the former site of Oxford Rewley Road railway station. It is the University's centre of learning for graduate and undergraduate students in business, management...
, at the University of Oxford
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...
and has since established a Strategic Development Fund for the School with a capital value of £25 million and committed another £15 million to start construction on a new building that will house the Saïd Business School Centre for Executive Education. Saïd also provided substantial funding for the establishment of the Wafic Saïd Molecular Cardiology & Gene Therapy Research Laboratory at the Texas Heart Institute, St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
. In 2003 he became the first recipient of the Sheldon Medal, which had been newly established by Oxford University to honour exceptional supporters of the University. He is also a member of Oxford University Court of Benefactors, Honorary Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford
Trinity College, Oxford
The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope , or Trinity College for short, is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It stands on Broad Street, next door to Balliol College and Blackwells bookshop,...
and Governor of the Royal Shakespeare Company
Royal Shakespeare Company
The Royal Shakespeare Company is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs 700 staff and produces around 20 productions a year from its home in Stratford-upon-Avon and plays regularly in London, Newcastle-upon-Tyne and on tour across...
. In April 2005, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Damascus University for his "important philanthropic contribution for Higher Education in Syria".
Other contributions
In 2000 Saïd commissioned architect Sir William Whitfield to design on the site of an old country houseEnglish country house
The English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a London house. This allowed to them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these people, the term distinguished between town and country...
a neo-Palladian
Palladian architecture
Palladian architecture is a European style of architecture derived from the designs of the Venetian architect Andrea Palladio . The term "Palladian" normally refers to buildings in a style inspired by Palladio's own work; that which is recognised as Palladian architecture today is an evolution of...
country house, Tusmore Park in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, England. In 2004 the Georgian Group gave Tusmore Park its award for the best new building in the classical tradition. He also has houses in Monaco, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and Marbella
Marbella
Marbella is a town in Andalusia, Spain. It is situated on the Mediterranean Sea, in the province of Málaga, beneath the La Concha mountain. In 2000 the city had 98,823 inhabitants, in 2004, 116,234, in 2010 approximately 135,000....
.
Saïd is Ambassador and Head of the delegation of St Vincent and the Grenadines to UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
since 1996 (hence his entitlement to the style 'His Excellency' chiefly used in the context of his diplomatic role).
In the Sunday Times Rich List 2007
Sunday Times Rich List 2007
The Sunday Times Rich List 2007 was published on 29 April 2007. The online edition was published on 30 April 2007.Since 1989 the UK national Sunday newspaper The Sunday Times has published an annual magazine supplement to the newspaper called the Sunday Times Rich List...
ranking of the wealthiest people in the UK he was placed 65th with an estimated fortune of £1,000 million.