Abbud Pasha

Who was Abbud Pasha?

Muhammad Ahmad Abbud Pasha was an Egyptian entrepreneur and business magnate.

Abbud established a construction firm in the early 1920s, which went on to become the most successful business group in Egypt of that era. By the 1940s, he owned the Sugar Company, the Khedival Mail Line as well as the Egyptian General Omnibus Company. In addition, he was the largest shareholder of Banque Misr, and obtained a seat on its board of directors in 1950. In the same year, he became the first Egyptian director of the Suez Canal Company, which was then owned by foreigners.

Abbud received the noble title of Pasha on 14 February 1931. He was also active in politics. He became a parliamentary deputy in 1926, representing the Wafd Party which he supported financially until Mustafa el-Nahhas became its leader in 1927. Abbud later reconciled with the party and started supporting it once again during its final years in power, and was close to party strongman Fuad Siraj al-Din.

Abbud Pasha died in London in 1963, and was reported to be among the ten richest men in the world at the time of his death.