Businessman Mohammed Al Amoudi is on Forbes list of the world’s richest people. (Photo: ikfoundation.org)
Tadias Magazine
By Tadias Staff
Published: Thursday, March 12, 2009
New York (TADIAS) – Ethiopian-born businessman Mohammed Al Amoudi, 63, who is now a Saudi citizen and resident of Jeddah, ranks 43 among the world’s richest people, Forbes Magazine announced.
The self-made businessman, whose net worth is estimated at 9 billion, amassed his wealth in construction and real estate in Saudi Arabia before investing on energy. He is one of Sweden’s biggest foreign investors with ownership of Svenska Petroleum and Swedish refinery Preem.
According to Forbes, the net worth of the world’s billionaires fell from $4.4 trillion last year to $2.4 trillion in 2009, while the number of billionaires was down to 793 from 1,125. “Billionaires don’t have to worry about their next meal, but if their wealth is declining and you’re not creating numerous new billionaires, it means the rest of the world is not doing very well,” Chief executive of Forbes Magazines Steve Forbes told reporters. “The typical billionaire is down at least one third on their net worth.”
Al Amoudi, who has donated more than $1 million to the Clinton Foundation, has so far invested more than $2 billion in Ethiopia. His landmark project in the country, the Sheraton Addis, with 293 rooms – including 33 suites, 5 restaurants, 5 bars, 1 nightclub, and a private bar, is considered one of the most luxuries hotels in the world. It is the most luxurious in Africa. He also operates a gold mine in the Oromo region of Ethiopia, currently producing 6 tons of gold annually and expected to double production by 2010.
Sheraton Addis. (Wikimedia)
Globally, New York City booted Moscow as home to the most billionaires, claiming 55. From the top 20 richest people, New York’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg was the only Billionaire who made money. Forbes reports Bloomberg’s net worth grew from $11.5 to $16 billion following a revaluation of his media company, Bloomberg LP. He is also the richest person in New York. In this economic downturn, Russia is the biggest loser, with the number of billionaires down to 32 from 87.
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He is not only a billionaire but a philanthropist also. He is donating an average of 10 million USD every month to Ethiopians in addition to what he has donated to the Clinton Foundation. We Ethiopians are proud of him. We know he will rise up in the billionaires ladder.
Wish him all the best.
Kidus
Norway
Kidus, where did you get that figure from? Alamudi is not doing great job for his country. I have a big doubt about him. Also, the gold mine that he has, I don’t think we (as a nation) got a good deal out of it.
Al Amoudi is a generous and great guy. He is the biggest private employer in Ethiopia. Heck, with the way things are going with the government in Ethiopia, I bet you he probably even be the biggest employer. Period.
He is someone we should all be proud of. He is self-made billionaire. That is an inspiration for a lot of young people.
He is spending just a tiny fraction of his wealth in Ethiopia. It is a pocket change for him, but it means so much to so many in the country. I personally know people who work for him and educate their kids in private school, etc, which could not have happened without his generosity.
It is true that the gold mine situation is indeed concerning. The gold belongs to Ethiopia and the people of the Oromo region where the mine is located. I think the profit should be shared among the people as well.
Frankly, I don’t mind Al Amoudi as President of Ethiopia. I will vote for him. At least we know for sure that corruption will not be an issue under his administration because he already got the cash.
Run for president of Ethiopia Al Amoudi, please run! Please run. Anything is possible!!!
Haimi
California
Mesfen, I think I understand what you are saying but I don’t think of his existence as something not so important. In fact he has been donating a lot of money in Ethiopia and has already invested $2 billion. I think his love for his country is just like you and I. And I think, considering our poor economy, the fact that he invests in billions is good enough to make him important or a good deal for Ethiopia.
Dear Haimanot,
Unfortunately, Al Amoudi is a Saudi citizen, which effectively rules him out as possible future President/Prime Minister of Ethiopia. In any case, even if he was qualified, he will turn Ethiopia into a land of disco and luxury resorts. We will pretty much become the Bahamas of Africa.
If we were to allow foreigners to govern Ethiopia (elected or hired), I would strongly recommend New York’s Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He, on the other hand, will turn Ethiopia to an efficient country in few years time. And he will demand Ethiopia’s legitimate right to the port of Assab. If diplomacy fells, he will grab it by force, giving Ethiopia once again access to the Sea. That’s a kind of leadership Ethiopia needs in the twenty first century. We need an Ethiopian Bloomberg.
Just a thought.
Al-Amoudi rose to be one of the worlds billionaires by exploiting the gold of Oromia region. He is doing whatever he wants without any fear from anybody because he is a friend of the regime. In my opinion he has done little for the country. All he does is chase his fortune despite what the country is facing politically or economically. It is obvious that his reign will end as the regime collapses from the empire. Especially he will face serious problem when his tentacles are removed from Borena’s gold region.
I know he has invested a lot and helped the country. But I have big grudges on the guy. First of all, I agree with the idea mentioned above saying that we don’t have a good deal as a country on the Gold mine. I know that he has not payed a penny of tax from the Gold mine until recent years and he started paying taxes from Gold income one year ago. So he is giving us in a spoon and taking with z big bowl. And his biggest mistake it trying to buy the Ethiopian mind with money during the 1997 election. Who the hell does he think he is? We Ethiopians have never been fooled by the money of z Italians either.
As an Ethiopian he has the right to be the supporter of any party but he shouldn’t try to influence others because he is a supporter. May be it was a bad play from the regime’s propagandists but he can shut that off if he wants, so we have to say he agreed to promote the regime with the thieves and he is one of them.
Mr. Al Amoudi is an opportunist who capitalizes on our emotions. True he gave money to this or the other Artist or charity. But by doing so, he gained access to our country’s wealth. His bids are uncontested. He spends an exuberant amount of money (bribe) on the corrupt politicians and gets what he wants. Our leaders named him “The Hero of The Millennium”.
A business man a hero? Just because he built Sheraton Hotel? Our current leaders don’t want us to be proud of our history (since none of them are pro-Ethiopia). So instead of calling the victims of Adwa, Metema, Mekdela or the courageous leaders of our independence (Thewodros, Yohannes, Menelik II), Al_amoudin was a hero and his pictures were everywhere on Meskel square.
For those of you who brag about Al-Amudin, I want you to read the article on The Reporter’s (Newspaper in Ethiopia) Editorial of Feb. 14, 2009. You will be surprised to find out that the Commercial Bank of Ethiopia was planning to foreclose Sheraton Addis since your “hero” was not paying back his loan!
We may vote him king if he first got baptized and christened as proper Ethiopian King.
Yes, Al-Amoudi is one of the most successful persons on earth. It is true that he has done a lot of generous acts in the country. And he is a philanthropist. He did and he is doing at least some constructions. Even though I don’t know this guy in person, I can tell about him from what he was doing in the country especially Oromia region. Guys, we don’t even know how much gold is being taken away on daily basis. In 10-20 years all the gold deposit in Borena area will go out and this will have direct effect on the currency exchange of our country.
Hi,
Personaly, I don’t care about Alhamudi. If he is billionaire good for him “Esu lebelaw ene Alagesam“. But I know for sure one thing about him, He loves the regime to death because the reason for his richness are them. Do you know how much he had when he came to Ethiopia? 2 billion dollars. The rest 7 billion was made out of Ethiopia. If you read in Forbes magazine, it mentioned that the gold mine that he bought it from the regime as “a jack pot”. Why do you think they called it “jack pot”? Because he got it almost for free. They were just fresh of the boat being a rebel, they just came from the jungle at that time, so they didn’t know much about finance. They didn’t know the value of gold is increasing always.They sold everything and put the money in their private banks in Asia and Europe.
Alhamudi does not want Democracy in Ethiopia because if the country becomes democracy accountability comes with it and he will not find a Government who tells him ‘Ethiopian fenchibat” as he mentioned it himself. He funded the Clinton foundations for a reason that to influence American politicians in decision making. Specially when it comes to democracy and accountability in Ethiopia. He will do anything he can to stop Ethiopians to witness true democracy.
He is really not contributing to the development of our country . . .would u pls mention for me one single company he has created and make the country to benefit from the advanced technology – -no way, all what he did is that, he get easy access to our countries economy during privatization and bought the already existing factories with almost free of charge like Russian Oligarch. . . I have never seen his companies bringing new technologies to Ethiopia, rather he exploits our country – - he started Salam Nurse Collage the so called biggest Hospital – -, MIDROC construction – - – , he is only interested in GOLD MINES and some tender through Dr. Arega . .specially in metal industries. Even in the metal industries – - that seams he is successful – - are mainly due to his direct access to the Tender and to get forcefully some projects that had been already studied and finalized during Derge Regime — he has never come up with his projects and technologies.
He always promised to give charity but – - most of them are only ” talk and talk” not ” walk the talk” – - he might occasionally give financial supports to our Athletics and artists, , , he knows that he can easily win the hearts of Ethiopian through them – - –
Alamoudi !! There are some that strongly believe that he is not doing enough and there others that think he is doing great. my saying here is that i heard this all the time …”he donated… he helped here and there…”. dude tell me if there is any specific donation that he does or did just to fight poverty. i need a website … a charity name … etc. let’s just not say he did this and that. one thing for sure yes i thank him for creating jobs for thousands of Ethiopians but hey it is business, you hire them and you invest .. you make money (as simple as that).
Regarding supporting this government here is the fact. If you want to make money (in such a big amount ! trust me you need the government to be on your side) . give bribe or whatever it is, you will get it. don’t tell me that he doesn’t play the dirty game behind … this is business… money …money … know how to play the game. he is not that damn, he knows how bad and corrupt the government is but sometimes you want to buy as much of the country as you can while you have the opportunity. and he is just doing that. Oprah and others do much more than he does for the amount of money he has. i will say his presence in Ethiopia is good for some but doesn’t heart us (may be for the time being).
Hello All,
All of you are right. I am writing from the center of the Country. It is not his money, it is our money he takes out from our treasury. Last year his rank was the middle of 70 now his going 43, he did not do anything new. Even most of his projects are not functional. Also commercial bank of Ethiopia is expected to collect 174 million birr from him.
And he is building mosques every few kilometers and next to every church.
wow…..good news for us (ethiopian)…..bravo Al-Amoudi
What a nonsense. You did nothing for your country, but here you are commenting and criticizing the GREAT ETHIOPIAN, who invests, not only in areas profitable, but in areas he think can allow him to discharge his social responsibilities. I can tell you that you will never see person like him, for generations to come.
We Ethiopian know only being a destructor for efforts of committed self-less persons.
God Bless Ethiopia
I love the guy!!
First of all, Ala Moudi was born in Ethiopia. So if he so chooses, it is his natural birth right as an Ethiopian to run for an elected public office including to be President or Prime Minister. No one can take that away from him. The only thing that is legally required (as it should be) is that he has to renounce his naturalized citizenship, which in his case is Saudi, and reclaim his natural birthright as an Ethiopian and ran for high public office. The question is, will he be interested? I highly doubt it. Plus, I highly doubt the Ethiopian people will ever entrust him with that responsibility. However, given the international notoriety he will generate running for office, and the fact that he can personally out spend the ruling regime, and the fact that he can afford to pay for his own protection, will make him one hell of formidable opponent. It will be amazing for Ethiopians to witness. But does he have the balls to do it? We know he’s got the cash and the power.
Someone suggested that he has to be “properly baptized and christened as a true Ethiopian King”. Please, stop this ignorance in the 21 first century. Say whatever you may about Alamoudi (about his business dealing, corruption, whatever), but don’t ever hate him because of this religion. That is unEthiopian. Ethiopia has been home to Judiasim, Islam, Christianity for longer than the rest of the world. So if Alamoudi wants to be President, he can be President and his religion is irrelevant….no he does not have to be Baptized in 2009.
Respect and Love.
wow…..good news for us (ethiopian)…..bravo Al-Amoudi
I beg to differ on a couple of points expressed above. First, Al-Amoudi is not a self- made billionaire. His father left him a considerable amount of wealth (in millions) invested in the areas of both construction and energy. Second, yes he is a successful business man but is he God sent? No. His corporation both in Ethiopia and Sweden is infested with corruption and illegal labor practices. In Ethiopia in particular, his Mid-Rock corporation is inefficient in that there are more projects that have been started than completed. When speaking of Al-Amoudi’s contribution in Ethiopia, there are two things that people can only point to in the past decade and half. One is, of course, Sheraton. The other is the goldmine project. There are obvious compelling reasons as to why these two projects are completed on time and operational. The name Sheraton is associated with a international corporation and required definitive commitment of time and follow through to the end. As for the goldmine, which one of us would be sleeping on an opportunity of a life time, a project to be in charge mining gold, diamond or energy.
If you really want to know what Al-Amoudi has done in Ethiopia, open not just your eyes but also your mind and you will quickly notice the number of unfinished projects that have been started or promised to be started. You will soon realize there is something that doesn’t add up. Please, understand that I am not beating the man up for what he has done. I am however, criticizing him and the people around him for the illusion they have managed to create which has obviously resulted in the delusional views sampled in the comments of the readers above and elsewhere in the world.
More power to Mr. Al-Amoudi who succeeded in turning a multi million dollar business into a multi billion dollar business; but he should not be viewed as God sent by me or any Ethiopian. This attitude comes from our traditional thinking that it takes a strong man or that special “Ethiopian god” to fix Ethiopia. We should instead think that it is our collective effort and dedication that will save Ethiopia and its people. While we appreciate what he may have done thus far, we should be proud of the hundreds of business men and women as well as the millions of hard working citizens who manage to contribute enormously with less resources and clout.
Mes
People, please, learn to give credit where credit is due. How else are we to communicate with each other to solve our country’s problem?
Alamoudi is an accomplished man and an inspiration at that. He was born in Ethiopia, just like you and I. He left Ethiopia at an early age, just like you and I. We came to America, he went to Saudi Arabia. And he hit the Diamond in the head, what you and I have been dreaming doing in the states. So give the guy a break.
He is a business man, simple and clear. He is the biggest foreign investor in Sweden so he deals with the Government of Sweden. He has to. He has invested over 2 billion in Ethiopia (mind you that is a big deal for Ethiopia, but it is so small for Alamoudi that he will certainly not go hungry if he looses it all). But still he has over 2 billion at stake, so he has to deal with whoever is in charge. Right now, it happens to be the current government. Let alone to 2 billion, I worry everyday about the $10,000 my brother took from us to start a paint factory or something. Trust me, I will work with any government to get my returns on my hard earned $10,000. Are you kidding me? But I don’t think he has any loyalty to this or that government except business. That’s why he is a Billionaire, we are still dreaming of becoming one. Show some respect for your fellow Ethiopian. Do you know how many families go home with the bread and meat, and teff for their children because he provides job for them. Think about it. You are barking at the wrong tree.
It is very sad we always talk non-related stuff when it come to Al Amoudi related concerns. Let’s all make it clear that yes Al Amoudi has invested in Ethiopia and he is one of the philanthropist persons who donates lots of money to different non-profit organizations in Ethiopia. That is great and we love him for that. But the way he is doing business in Ethiopia has never been transparent. Why is that? Borrowing government money, which is Ethiopian people’s wealth, without rule of law is something that should concern us a lot. The reporter newspaper saga is a big concern and need to be clarified by Mr. Al Amoudi and the government. If what is said is true Al Amoudi is not helping Ethiopia but destroying Ethiopia forever. It is like throwing 100 million dollars and profiting 100 billion dollars. Figure out the maths. Personally I am not taking anything for granted but I have a concern.
Al Amoudi should publicly address the following concerns for the sake of transparency and public information:
1. Gold – is there governmental oversight taking place? How much money is the government collecting in taxes? How is the business conducted?
2. Bank loan: Does Al Amoudi borrow money like other business entity in Ethiopia? Does he pay tax in it? How much?
3. Why does Al Amoudi get better treatment than other business people? Is it just the power of capital?
4. I can go on and on
To summarize, if Al Amudi loves his country he should make the above concerns clear and at least address it through his PR.
Well, if you think about it, 9 billion is not that much money these days. Just ask Bernie Madoff of Wall Street who has found a new Paint house: Prison. He stole 50 Billion of other people’s money. Can you imagine what 50 Billion can do, if Alamudi’s mere 2 Billion in Ethiopia can practically crown him king? Well, it turns out dear Bernie was Ponzi shimming billions out of thousands of unsuspecting clients. Let’s just hope that our guy has not begot his money in Bernie Madoff’s style or some other fishy-fishy shenanigans. We can only learn if something is rotten through real democracy and transparency (as mentioned earlier by someone, which I agree with 100%). If you want oversight, then you need Democracy. If freely, openly, democratically, and legally elected members of parliament can exercise oversight investigation, then we can find out if there were any fishy-fishy shenanigans. So, Democracy does not fall on your lap from the sky by itself, you have to make democracy fall on your lap from the sky on your own. You have to make it happen. And we don’t always have to look far for examples of Democracy: South Africa is a good neighborhood example.
Some one once said: you can never teach people how to govern themselves. That’s something they must learn on their own.
Thank you.
Wow! people.
We luck the so called respect to others’ idea and as Africans we luck to be wise. I have witnessed where China and India were years ago. I see my country boys telling me what our grand and grand fathers did in the past as a good or as bad. But, is it that important than how we can develop our country and be united as Africans? Believe me whether you are against or supporter of the government of Ethiopia. it doesn’t matter. We all are brothers and sisters and have a country called Ethiopia. So let this message rich everyone of my brother across the world be you are politician or teacher or professor, supporter or against …..we all are one and only one and when I say one and only one I don’t mean to disrespect those of you with a different idea of the meaning of one and only one. I respect your views and feelings and what ever it is that gives you a pain it is also my pain because you are my brother and we can solve any problem if we stand together for the common good.
I respect and give you my greetings now and then.
BMT
This billionaire is one in a trilion. I am so proud of his success. I think Al Amudi should share his secret of how to become a millionaire and then a billionaire and tri..
PS. I heard he also gives scholarships for Ethiopians in America or something like that. I am desperately applying for many scholarships, so if anyone know please send me his website.
tnx
He is really a great man! Long live.
We are proud of you. The whole family.
For the majority of the diaspora the Billionaires of an African brother is unacceptable, they believe only an American is capable of having that tag (billionaire) before his name. Thank god For this man- Mohammed Al Amoudi-to prove them wrong if they can handle the facts . God bless hard working Ethiopians.
That hub that is his biggest investment in Ethiopia, The Sheraton, is a gateway for his fellow citizens (Saudi men) and there is prostitution hub for “the business travelers”
Just like some of you thought, it is just business. The money is “ours” and is recirculating in our economy but he has the biggest colatortal of all “his money”. He does love Ethiopia and the endless “beauty” and “honor” she gives him.
We also need to reevaluate our motives in building or criticizing someone. He will have motive when he invests in Ethiopia. We just need to know if it “acceptable motive” for us to follow just because….
Just a thought to consider and reevaluate our endless devotion or criticism.
Some of the posts I read on this thread swing to both sides of the pendulum. Al-Amoudi is not immune to criticisms. However, few can argue that his cash flow has not provided employment, inspiration, and opportunities for a lot of people. The world is not perfect – and even Ethiopia is even less perfect. Given the choice to work with any regime and compromise to a few of their demands and get some projects done to help Ethiopia in any way rather than quit altogether because of this or that political party – I’ll would take the choice to negotiate with any party to get a few good things done. Also he is a business man not Mother Theresa. He could have taken his billions anywhere else and probably would get a higher margin of profit. However, he chose Ethiopia and for that I’m a little bit grateful. So I do have a lot of praise for him because as other people have said, it is in our Ethiopian blood to criticize others more but do less ourselves. The one thing I wish he would get criticized more for is his multiple girlfriends. In this age of AIDS ravaging Ethiopia, it would be a great example if he could at least stick to one or two people.
Mr. Al Amoudi is a generous man. He deserve these and wish him great prospects in the future. I am seeing that many people claiming as if he is doing nothing for Ethiopians. But these is totally wrong. We shouldn’t expect Mr. Al Amoudin’s money to be in every one of us Pocket. Just come to Ethiopia and see what he is doing. I ‘m not surprised only $2 billion invested in Ethiopia. This is totally a gift of him knowing nobody is working hard. If we work hard and willing to cooperate, I think he is eager to do double it. But the problem lies with those we Ethiopians. We are corrupt and make him do nothing. So, let us do work together showing our sympathy in practice and we will see what the consequence is.
Great discussion,
When I first heard about this guy in the early 90th, my assumption of him was that some corrupt Middle Eastern royal family guy with a few millions dollars to waste on drinks and on women in Ethiopian community in Washington DC area. During this time, we heard about him opening restaurants, paying hundreds of dollars tips to the waitresses, falling in love with one of the waiters in one of those Ethiopian restaurants in Washington DC and asking her to marry him. First, all this seems strange for many of us who heard story after stories about this guy. To make a comparison, many of my friends with little education and with no money in the bank have set criteria to the type of woman whom they would like to date in future. One of the criteria on their list was that their future woman should have college degree and should know how to communicate through email. A few Ethiopians whom I knew with a lot of money (of course no where closer to Al Amoudi’s, but they make closer to six digits), do not want to associate themselves with Habesha. Where as this new millionaire (that what I first though of him, not knowing that he was actually billionaire at that time too) wants to be the part of the average people: like you and me. He set no criteria on the woman whom he will fall in love with or to be friend with. I said to my friends this guy is the man of the people. He wants to be like us. We liked to show off here and there when it is necessary, and he did the same things to show off. In the mid and late 90th, we heard that he invested millions of dollars in Ethiopia. By this time, we know that his money not only created a job in Ethiopia, but also created a confidence among Ethiopians who were living abroad to invest in this nation that came out of over seventeen years of war and with new ethnic oriented governments in power. His investments attracted not only Ethiopians with money to invest in the country, but also attracted foreign investors to our country. Yes, some of you have stated excellent points about the gold mine, and yes let his PR people take some responsibilities in answering some of those concerns in order to have good PR with public, but remember where all of us came from: majority of us came from the country that offered us very little of education and wealth. We left our beloved country in search of better life and some of our people are doing the same at time: they are walking and running through the jangle of Namibia, Botswana, through southern Africa to reach South Africa. Others are walking through the desert in Libya, Tunisia, and through north western Africa to reach another land for better life. We all hope one day to return to our motherland with education and wealth to enrich our people. For some of us that hope not yet arrived, but all of us live with dream that one day we will make it. Al Amoudi made it. I think this what Al Amoudi did. He returned to his motherland with wealth and knowledge that he has accumulated from abroad. Let us not destroy our hero. The man of the people will always have a challenge, but the man of the people will always overcome those challenges.
First of all, I would like to say hello to everyone and as a Africa-American citizen of the United States. I’m highly impressed with (Mohammad Al Amoudi) because every time our people in Africa are shown to us it’s always in the negative. we are never shown black African Businessmen we are only showed the poverty side of African people. I don’t personally know what Mohammad Amoudi is doing for Ethiopia but from what I hear it sounds good. Last I would like to say to all the people who responded to him in a negative way WHY? don’t I hear your mouth open when investors from Europe and America take all your wealth and resources and leave y’all with not a pot to pi….ss in, I don’t hear y’all raisin these types of question like I hear you on this message board. peace
Hi everyone , I don’t personally know al amudi, but i am always amazed why we habesha or Africans are always ready to criticize……… guys, we should be proud of this entrepreneur. If we think that all of us should have a share company with him, then that is impossible. At least investing 2bill is better than nothing. Guys, we have enough yewech telat….
we should be proud of him
good job al amoudi …
For me he is my hero of life time. He is an amazing man. We Ethiopians lets follow what he did for his motherland. Not only amazed, but I love him personally tooo much.
Basically, he has employed more than any person in this poor country where politicians like to see people suffer. I know him very closely and he is a good guy. Though he has some major problems. He buys government big companies because other Ethiopian companies could not win the auction. Then, he does not build or do anything, just keep it. He is blocking other investors from buying big businesses in Ethiopia. He bought Piasa, but did not build. He bought debre zeit, did not do anything. Rethink, he has Meles on his side.
Forgive me, I am not a politician, but I do not like the way Ethiopia is operating. It is becoming the country only for the haves and politicians.
Greetings Brothers and Sisters,
I am a Bahamian business man educated in both the U.S. and Canada, currently residing in Canada. I find all your comments to be thought provoking and feel that this very discussion promotes a healthy democracy which is the ultimate responsibility. Coincidently, I am currently considering several promising business opportunities in Ethiopia. I am very excited about the opportunity that I have to contribute to all Ethiopian people through a business that will impact Ethiopia like never before. I say that to say this: I am not Ethiopian and nevertheless, I see tremendous lucrative business opportunities in your Home. How much more should you see your wealth? Mind you, I am not taking any particular position in your domestic affairs. I believe that Ethiopians at home and abroad love Ethiopia and rightfully so. Thats why I want to do business there and empower whomever the good Lord allows me to. Without prejudice I will all encourage Ethiopians to never sacrifice your values, the real wealth and attraction of Ethiopia, for the sake of money or even the promise of jobs. God has and God will continue to take care with His beloved Ethiopia no matter what.
I think this guy is doing a good job for his country. I know he can do better but atleast he has been able to feed so many families by giving them job opportunities ( He’s the second biggest employer next to the government).That is something.The gold thing is a joke.Do you know that last year it made a profit of only 24 million US. Thats not even 0.01% of his total net worth. Not forgetting that he donates triple that amount for more investments and his role as a philantropist. Come on.. not even if he stole from the whole country would he be able to be that rich.I dont think he will lose a penny if he goes out of Ethio but we the people will lose so much. So we should appreciate his presence. You may not see it now but he has done so much for the socio-economics of the Country. I wish him all the best.
Guys why do you think that his wealth has increased by 20% while other are in a major downturn. The gold mine alone would double his money. Don’t be mistaken by his insignificant donation.
I am proud of you, but I want to remind you something, please don’t forget the poor Muslims and building mosques. They need your help as you are a Muslim.
hey u guys why do u just criticize being abroad especially for those who haven’t contributed a cents for this country. this man is doing a lot for this country and again we the true ethiopian believe that he will do more.please all u guys rather than criticizing other just sit down and think what u have contribute for u country if u have do the right thing for ur country u will be the model even for other ethiopian abroad and in the country. ethiopia needs highly educated person rather than money because we already have big resources that can be transferred into money. so u ethiopian and ethuiopia lover come and invest in ethiopia it is the right place where u can double ur currency like our best bussines man Alhamouidin and even other rich peoples. please don’t waste ur time its time to catch the train…….
God bless ethioia
This story has recently appeared on several Ethiopian message boards. It’s been big news in London for months. Does anyone out there know this princess?
http://www.arabfocus.webs.com/
Saudi Asylum Princess Identity Revealed
Arab Focus has learned the identity of the alleged Saudi Princess given secret asylum in the United Kingdom early last year. The young woman, who is in her late 20′s is reported to be Sarah Mohammed Al-Amoudi, originally from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia and now living in London. Ms. Al-Amoudi told British authorities that she is the daughter of wealthy Jeddah businessman, Mohammed Al-Amoudi, who married her off to an elderly and disabled senior member of the Saudi royal family (a “prince”) when she was only 13 years old.
Mohammed Hussein Al-Amoudi, one of the world’s richest men, was born in Ethiopia to a Yemeni father and Ethiopian mother and received Saudi citizenship in the mid 1960′s. He has been linked (in the press) to the financing of organizations with associations to terrorist groups. The alleged princess, herself, has stated this to numerous individuals. For more on Mr. Al-Amoudi, please copy and paste the links below.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammed_Al_Amoudi
http://www.picsearch.com/pictures/business/world's richest people/richest people l-o/mohammed al amoudi.html
Ms. Al-Amoudi also told British authorities that her father was looking for her and she feared for her life. In a desparate attempt to flee Saudi Arabia, she acquired a Yemeni passport, based on her grandfather’s place of birth and used it to flee Saudi Arabia. Mohammed Yahya Al-Mutawakel, a senior Yemeni official and a senior member of one of Yemen’s most powerful families, confirmed Ms. Al-Amoudi acquired a Yemeni passport in early 2000 at the passport office in Aden, Yemen. The Aden passport office had major problems with corruption and the illegal issuance of Yemeni passports between 1999 and 2002.
In a related story, Arab Focus has learned that Ms. Al-Amoudi’s longtime lover was one of the four Blackwater contractors famously killed in Fallujah, Iraq on March 31, 2004. After being shot to death, their bodies were mutilated, set aflame and paraded through the streets, before being hung from a bridge, while the world watched in horror. The murderers were never caught. Officially, it was blamed on islamic militants, but according to sources close to the alleged princess, she believes that her family in Saudi Arabia was probably responsible for the death of her lover as an act of revenge. For more on the Blackwater killings, please copy and paste the link below.
From all the posts I’m reading, nothing can be so disappointing to hear ppl criticize their fellow’s success. Here is a tycoon who could’ve decided to invest his earnings in other nation but choose Ethiopian country to create opportunity to help others and what do u get? Negative, unmotivated, complainers, non-dreaming individual and all they think is the wrong aspect or concept of a person.
Rather then use The mans’ success to fuel their own inspiration to start and build businesses to move Ethiopia from poverty stricken nation to a boom town like China and India, Qatar, all we’re focusing are on the wrong things.
Learn a lesson here ppl. Model his success. Build something productive for yourself and your family.