In June, Egyptian telecommunications billionaire Naguib Sawiris tweeted a cartoon of Minnie Mouse in a burqa, and Islamists worldwide threatened him with death.<\/p>\n
Now, as Egypt wavers between an Islamist and a democratic future, Sawiris wants to be his country\u2019s next leader \u2013 and he\u2019s founded a political party \u2013 the Free Egyptian Party \u2014 as he prepares to do just that, writes Abigail Esman for Forbes<\/em> magazine”<\/p>\n According to the Art<\/em> newspaper, Sawiris, who stands at number 310 on the Forbes<\/em> billionaire list (he\u2019s #2 in Egypt, just behind his father, Onsi, and one ahead of his younger brother), aims not only to establish a secular democratic government in Egypt, but to crown his plans with a national museum that will house his own collection of modern and contemporary art. (Many in the global art world may also recognize him as the one who pledged a $175,000 reward for the return of Van Gogh\u2019s Poppies\u201d stolen from Cairo\u2019s Mahmoud Khalil Museum in August, 2010 \u2013 a museum that also reportedly housed works by other major 19th century masters like Renoir, Gauguin, and Monet.)<\/p>\n Such philanthropy runs in the Sawaris family, which has shown itself to be deeply committed to cultural achievement and the kinds of experimental arts that define a forward-looking, democratic society: Onsi Sawiris\u2019 Sawiris Foundation for Social Development, for instance, offers annual prizes to young novelists, screenwriters, and playwrights with an eye towards stimulating Egypt\u2019s literary scene \u2013 even its more controversial works.<\/p>\n