Conservative Party treasurer Mohamed Mansour awarded knighthood

Billionaire businessman and philanthropist has investments in companies worldwide, but considers London his home

Mohamed Mansour, billionaire businessman and philanthropist, has been knighted. Bloomberg / Getty Images

Businessman and philanthropist Mohamed Mansour, who gave £5 million ($6.3 million) to the Conservatives in 2023 and is a senior treasurer at the party, was knighted for business, charity and political service on the recommendation of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Thursday.

Egyptian-born Mr Mansour is the billionaire owner of Mansour Group, the industrial conglomerate based in Cairo with a turnover of $7.5 billion.

The business has partnerships with General Motors and Caterpillar, and has interests across banking and real estate, and owns the McDonald’s franchise in Egypt and the country’s largest supermarket chain.

Mr Mansour is also the co-owner of a Major League Soccer club in San Diego, California.

He first started giving cash to the Conservatives in 2016 and the donation he made last year is the largest the party has received since 2001.

Mr Mansour is friendly with Nadhim Zahawi, the former party chairman and chancellor, and he admires Mr Sunak.

“I believe this country has a very capable Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak,” he told the FT.

“He understands what growth is about in a modern economy. He understands innovation and he understands technology, which is vital to the future of growth.”

Mr Mansour says he is sustained by a feeling that business and government can work as one, that the former can bring skills and expertise honed in commerce.

In 2005, he was Egypt’s transport minister under Hosni Mubarak, trying to add private-sector know-how to the nation’s creaking railway network.

He stayed in post until 2009, before moving to the UK and setting up Man Capital, his family office with investments across the world.

Egyptian businessman Mohamed Mansour - in pictures

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  The chairman of Mansour Automotive, Mohamed Mansour, at a ceremony where he signed an agreement with China's SAIC Motor in June 2019 to make cars in Egypt. Xinhua

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  Mr Mansour, chairman of the Mansour Group, has been knighted in the UK. Bloomberg / Getty Images

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  Mr Mansour and his wife Fafy during their wedding in 1979, flanked by Egyptian president Anwar Sadat and his wife Jehan. Hawthorn

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  Mr Mansour with his old fraternity brothers James Boedicker and Clyde Bogle, at their old home in Raleigh during his visit to NC State University in 2022. NC State University

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  Mr Mansour as minister of transport for Egypt. Photo: Hawthorn

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  Mr Mansour with his mother. Photo: Hawthorn

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  Mr Mansour with US president George HW Bush. Photo: Hawthorn

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  Mr Mansour and his wife Fafy with the then Prince of Wales, now King Charles III. Photo: Hawthorn

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  The witnesses to Mr Mansour's wedding in 1979 were Egyptian president Anwar Sadat, centre, and vice president Hosni Mubarak, left. Photo: Hawthorn

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  Mr Mansour on crutches during a vacation in Europe, circa 1962, with his brothers. Photo: Hawthorn

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  Loutfy Mansour, father of Mohamed. Photo: Hawthorn

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  Mr Mansour's kindergarten class at Victoria College in Alexandria, Egypt. He is back row, third from left. Photo: Hawthorn

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  Mohamed Mansour and his brothers Ismail and Youssef explore their father's car while he watches. Photo: Hawthorn

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  Mr Mansour at the pyramids at Giza in Egypt. Photo: Hawthorn

Mr Mansour, who holds a degree in engineering from North Carolina State University and an MBA, was one of the first to invest in Facebook, Airbnb and Uber, and he is co-founder of 1984 Ventures, a Silicon Valley venture capital firm.

“The UK could become a major force in innovation and technology by encouraging the right young men and women to come and stay and prosper," he said.

"I would also like to see the stock exchange, the FTSE, encourage new start-ups and be able to keep them there.”

The Tory treasurer is devoted to London.

He lives in Belgravia and his family also live in the city.

“I consider London to be the capital of the world," Mr Mansour said. "I travel all over the world and I have never found anywhere to compare to it.”