Sawiris buys gold worth half his $5.7 bln fortune ... Is there a crisis ahead?

A growing number of major investors have begun looking into the difficult market conditions and are sending unreassuringly signals about the market performance, most recently Egyptian billionaire Naquib Sawiris, who bought gold with half of his $ 5.7 billion fortune!

On Monday, Sawiris, who is considered Egypt's second-richest man, after his younger brother Nassef, said in an interview with Bloomberg that he believed gold prices were about to reach $1,800 an ounce when it is $1,300 now, expecting violent market corrections when stocks start to fall in value.

Gold is often considered as a long-term source of wealth, a reserve against financial crisis and economic turmoil. When one of the largest investors in the world, with a wide range of businesses ranging from telecommunications, real estate, construction, hospitality and investment banks spends half of its fortune in gold, this indicates that markets are heading for more difficult periods in their history if Sawiris and other world billionaires’ predictions were to be true.

In a recent Interview, Bill Gates stated that a financial crisis and an economic recession similar to that of 2008 is about to happen in the near future. Yet he expected that it will have a positive impact in the end.

In response to a question about his predications regarding the future economic crisis, Gates said: “This is certain, but it is difficult to determine the exact timing.” At the time, he was joined by renowned American businessman Warren Buffett, who too believes that a possible crisis is in development.

Defending his investment decision when he bought gold worth $2.85 billion, Sawiris said that Chinese demand will not stop and people will turn to gold as a safe haven in times of crisis saying: “We are witnessing many crises at the moment. Look at the Middle East and the rest of the world, and President Trump is not helping,” in reference to the controversial decisions of the US president.

North Korea peace deal

Meanwhile, Sawiris has high hopes on a peace deal with North Korea, where he has many investments that have been criticized. Sawiris’s presence in North Korea has been a pressure factor from Western countries for the Egyptian billionaire considering that the self-isolated country is under sanctions because of its nuclear program, but Sawiris considers himself a “goodwill investor”.

The normalization of relations with North Korea will eventually enable Sawiris, after a decade, to turn his profits there and reap more revenue. The Egyptian billionaire has built a luxury hotel there, and he is also credited for the establishment of the first North Korean telecommunications company Koryolink.

Sawiris advized Trump about his planned meeting with North Korea's leader, saying: “Do not bother him, promise prosperity in return for concessions on the nuclear issue.”

He added: “I know North Koreans, they are very proud, they will not surrender under threat and bullying, just smile at them, talk and sit down, only then will they come to you.”