An international report on the number of wealthy people in Egypt has sparked societal controversy in light of the economic suffering experienced by millions of citizens, and questions about the extent of the widening class gap in a country with a population of more than 100 million people.
About 17,000 Egyptians own more than one million dollars, according to a report issued by Henley & Partners on wealth in Africa for the year 2022.
Egypt ranked second as the richest country on the African continent in terms of individual wealth at $307 billion, a difference more than double that of the richest country, South Africa, which has a wealth of $651 billion.
According to the report - which was issued last week - the number of Egyptians who own more than 10 million dollars is 880, while the number of those who own more than 100 million dollars does not exceed 57 people.
As for those whose fortunes are estimated at more than one billion dollars, they number 7 out of a total of 21 billionaires on the continent, and thus Egypt includes the largest number of billionaires in Africa.
On the other hand, poverty rates in Egypt are 29.7%, according to the latest data of the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics.
The richest Cairo
The Egyptian capital is the third richest city in Africa in terms of private wealth, amounting to 128 billion dollars, or 42% of the total private wealth in the country, according to a report by Henley & Partners.
8,200 millionaires live in Cairo, in addition to 4 billionaires.
Alexandria ranked 13th among the richest cities in Africa, with $23 billion of private wealth and 1,700 millionaires living there.
According to the international report, private wealth in Africa has shrunk since 2011 by 7%, and the wealth of individuals in Egypt alone has declined by 23% over the past decade.
Reports by other financial institutions show a decline in the volume of wealth in Egypt. A report issued by Afrasia Bank indicated that the total private wealth in Egypt amounted to $330 billion in 2017.
In 2019, a report by the Knight Frank real estate consultancy confirmed the presence of 764 ultra-rich people in Egypt, each of whom owns assets of more than $30 million.
Cairo is the third richest city in Africa (Al-Jazeera)
Government skepticism
It seems that the recently announced figures about the wealthy have angered the Egyptian authorities, as Al-Watan newspaper quoted government sources as skeptical of the information provided by the Individual Wealth Report.
The government source - whose identity Al-Watan did not reveal - stressed the difficulty of providing an inventory of the wealth owned by individuals in light of the multiplicity of its aspects and forms between money in banks, real estate assets, investments or land.
He pointed out that the bodies entrusted with directing these assets and investments - including banks - do not disclose the accounts of individuals, and these data remain confidential.
The newspaper pointed out that the "Henley & Partners" report did not provide the calculation mechanism that was relied on to calculate the wealth or the official source of the information.
She indicated the lack of credibility of the information received about the wealth of the Egyptians on the lists of "Forbes" magazine about the world's wealthy, which does not pay any attention to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is the largest oil country in the Arab world, as it is devoid of any Saudi wealthy.
Since 2018, Forbes has excluded the wealthy Saudis from its lists, due to the lack of information about them, according to what the American magazine announced earlier.
Last April, Forbes announced the list of the richest Arabs for 2022, which included 6 Egyptians. The list was topped by Egyptian businessman Nassef Sawiris, with a total fortune of $7.7 billion.
societal role
For his part, Member of Parliament Mohamed Al-Samoudy submitted a request for a briefing directed to the Prime Minister and the Governor of the Central Bank regarding the private wealth of Egyptians.
The parliamentarian questioned the societal role of businessmen in light of the economic conditions that Egypt is experiencing, resulting from the repercussions of the global economic crises caused by the Corona pandemic and then the Russian-Ukrainian war, according to his opinion.
He stressed the inevitability of the wealthy to come together to play their societal role towards the neediest groups during the coming period.
Al-Samoudi said - in a television statement - that the wealth of individuals represents 5.5 trillion pounds, while the allocations for financial and social protection within the state's general budget do not exceed 8 billion pounds, meaning that it represents about 0.2% of the private economy.
In the same context, Professor of Economics at Cairo University Sherine El Shawarby said that wealthy people and those belonging to the middle class have a role in society.
She added that the concept of social justice needs a new vision, especially in light of the current economic conditions, stressing the need to implement progressive taxes so that the percentage paid by the richest man in the country is not equal to a citizen whose wealth is one million or even 10 million pounds.
And she called - in a press statement - for the adoption of a new tax category for the owners of the largest wealth, and in parallel to support the owners of local industries that provide job opportunities and hard currency.
As for the size of private wealth, the economics professor believed that 17,000 millionaires is not a large number compared to the population of Egypt.
distribution of wealth
On the other hand, the announced figures about the wealth of Egypt are not surprising for the professor of finance and investment at Cairo University Hisham Ibrahim, as he saw that the Egyptian economy enjoys great investment opportunities that push towards more profitability.
Ibrahim listed the reasons for the inflated wealth of thousands of Egyptians, including the increase in the price of the dollar against the pound, which is an advantage for those who receive income in hard currency, and the spread of so-called family business projects, where members of the same family help each other in investment and profit.
Forbes' list of rich Arabs included members of one Egyptian family, the brothers Muhammad, Youssef and Yassin Mansour, and the two brothers, Nassef and Naguib Sawiris.
Inflation also helped increase the wealth of individuals, as the prices of land and real estate they owned rose, according to the professor of finance and investment.
Annual inflation rates in Egypt rose to 14.9% last April, according to the Central Agency for Mobilization and Statistics.
As for the extent of the fairness of the distribution of wealth in Egypt, Hisham Ibrahim saw - in his statements to Al Jazeera - that there are flaws and defects in the structure of the distribution of national income among citizens.
He explained that capitalist policies in general increase the widening of the gap between the poor and the rich, which applies to several countries, including Egypt, stressing the need to work to raise the efficiency of income distribution, taking into account the distinction of those who make a greater effort and have higher innovative capabilities where they have greater investment opportunities, and therefore He has more income.
Mostafa Shaheen, professor of economics at the American University of Auckland, said that the number of wealthy people in Egypt is very few compared to the total population, in light of the figures announced recently by Henley & Partners.
He indicated - in a statement to Al Jazeera Net - to the decline in social justice in Egypt, which prompts the need to reconsider tax policies and follow up on the entry of citizens.
Shaheen said that the lower classes are suffering the most under the current economic conditions, and the middle class has declined.
As for the societal role of the rich, the economics professor considered that the legal and political environment is not conducive to the performance of a societal role by those who are able, pointing to the security and institutional restrictions on charitable societies and mosques.