Egypt in crisis: Mubarak family profile

[Joanne98]

But while his personal wealth – estimated in some quarters to top £20 billion – may draw comparisons to the country's ancient rulers, his popularity among the Egyptian people is far less convincing.

During his unopposed time in office, he has managed to maintain a degree of relative stability, while enjoying good relations with the West and Israel.

But it has often come at a cost, with many of his opponents complaining of poverty, corruption and state brutality.

Married to Suzanne, the daughter of a nurse from Pontypridd, Wales, the 82-year-old former Air Force officer is no stranger to the perils of high office, having survived at least six assassination attempts.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/8291530/Egypt-in-crisis-Mubarak-family-profile.html

He's worth 20 billion!

[ananda]

1. Real justice would ...

... consist of ousting Mubarak and co-opting that entire 20b for the
poor people of Egypt.

[snagglepuss]

2. Globalsecurity has some interesting details about Gamal and the politics

in Egypt. One interesting fact is that Gamal started the privatization efforts that buttressed wealthy businessmen close to him. His base of support is the weathly business class not the army.


http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/egypt/gamal-mubarak.htm

[DCKit]

3. Not to mention the $30 billion stolen from the people of Tunisia. nt

[Demeter]

4. Correction--He's LOOTED $20B

He's not worth a plugged nickel as a human being or a national leader.

[wisteria]

5. So he is worth a lot of money-having a lot of money doesn't make one a bad person. n/t

[ret5hd]

6. I am pleased to see the depth of your grasp of the situation!

[wisteria]

9. Sorry, I am not a reactionary and I don't get pissed off just because people have amased wealth.

The man has lead the country for 30 years, pehaps 18 of them were real good, he risked his life and came close to assination several times because of his support and help to America. Frankly, I don't see him as all bad and evil as he has been portrayed here and elsewhere by people who didn't give a damn about Egypt up until a few days ago.

[yellowcanine]

12. How do you know what people "didn't give a damn about" until a few days ago??

I have been convinced for a long time that Mubarak had overstayed his welcome and was running a dictatorial repressive regime. The first 18 years? Kind of long to hang unto power, don't you think - not too mention that he has actually been rigging elections so that he could hang on for 30 years, not 18. Autocrats sometimes do good things. So what? Even Hitler brought order to Germany, stabilized the currency, and made the trains run on time. But are we going to excuse the crimes because he got some things right? No. The fact that Mubarak has been a friend of the U.S. does not excuse his oppression of the Egyptian people and silencing (and worse) of dissent. Assassination attempts are no measure of the worth of a political leader - good ones get assassinated, bad ones get assassinated.

[yellowcanine]

8. "Having" it, no, but "How" it was gotten, might. Tell me how a President of a country accumulates

that much money honestly?

[wisteria]

10. Most amassed money is not come by entirely honestly. Very few billionaires became that way by

playing nice and no one getting hurt in the process. There are exceptions, but that is how the world has been for ever and it is naive to think a few thousand people are going to change that.

[yellowcanine]

11. Maybe not but Mubarak has property and presumably bank accounts in the U.S.

This stuff could be seized and turned over to a legitimate Egyptian government if it is determined that the property was stolen from the Egyptian people. And under no circumstances should Obama permit him to hide out from his people in the U.S. Deport his butt back to Egypt if he shows up here.

[yellowcanine]

7. 20 billion DOLLARS? If true, no way he came by that honestly.

If any of that money is stashed in the U.S. we need to freeze those accounts.