London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Jan 01, 2026

Egypt-born billionaire makes £5m donation to UK Conservative Party

Egypt-born billionaire makes £5m donation to UK Conservative Party

An Egyptian billionaire has given the UK Conservative Party its largest donation in 20 years.
Mohamed Mansour told The Telegraph he believes Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is “very capable” and “understands how growth is generated in the modern economy.”

Mansour donated £5 million ($6.2 million) to the party — the joint-second largest individual donation in UK political history after Lord Sainsbury of Turville gave £8 million to the Liberal Democrats in 2019 — arresting a decline in funding that had seen it overtaken by the opposition Labour Party in its ability to generate cash.

Between July and September, the Conservatives raked in just £3 million, compared to Labour’s £5.4 million, led in part by the defections of major donors such as millionaire Gareth Quarry after the departure of Boris Johnson as prime minister. Quarry accused the Tories of being “riven with arrogance and complacency.”

Mansour, though, said Sunak “gets the importance of technology and innovation. He can make a modern economy work for all citizens.”

Mansour said he valued stability in government, having lived through the upheaval of former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser’s rise to power.

Mansour wrote in The Telegraph: “When I was a teenager, my family’s assets were confiscated by the state. Egypt’s President Gamal Abdel Nasser, under the influence of his Soviet mentors, nationalized the cotton industry, taking my father’s business from him.

“But he did not stop there. Nasser was convinced that private property rights should not stand in the way of his socialist creed and took my family’s land, homes and other assets.

“My life changed overnight. I was already at university in the United States, but from this moment on, my family could not support me. I had to trade in my car, knuckle down and work as a waiter to pay my way through college. I came to know what it is like to go hungry and to struggle to pay for food and utilities.

“This experience left me with a lifelong belief in the importance of political stability, property rights and the rule of law.”

He called the UK “a place where the rule of law is paramount, property rights are respected, and with an enviable record of political stability.”

He wrote: “I want to give (Sunak) the best chance of having a full five-year term, and so have donated £5 million to the party’s election fighting fund. I look at what he has achieved in his first months in office and think what he could do in five years.

“I love and respect this country, which has welcomed my family and me so warmly. It has a proud history and noble traditions. I believe that it has great days ahead of it. I want to do what I can to help this country — the place where I am watching my grandchildren grow up — achieve its great potential.”

The Conservative Party currently lags around 17 percent behind Labour across UK opinion polls, with the next general election expected some time in late 2024.

Mansour has previously given donations amounting to £600,000 to the party, and sits on the government’s advisory investment council.

He is the chair of the $6 billion conglomerate the Mansour Group, and is personally valued at being worth around $2.9 billion.

In the past he served as Egypt’s transport minister from 2006 to 2009 under Hosni Mubarak, the late Egyptian president forced from office in 2011.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
No UK Curfew Ordered as Deepfake TikTok Falsely Attributes Decree to Prime Minister Starmer
Europe’s Largest Defence Groups Set to Return Nearly Five Billion Dollars to Shareholders in Twenty Twenty-Five
Abu Dhabi ‘Capital of Capital’: How Abu Dhabi Rose as a Sovereign Wealth Power
Diamonds Are Powering a New Quantum Revolution
Trump Threatens Strikes Against Iran if Nuclear Programme Is Restarted
Apple Escalates Legal Fight by Appealing £1.5 Billion UK Ruling Over App Store Fees
UK Debt Levels Sit Mid-Range Among Advanced Economies Despite Rising Pressures
UK Plans Royal Diplomacy with King Charles and Prince William to Reinvigorate Trade Talks with US
King Charles and Prince William Poised for Separate 2026 US Visits to Reinforce UK-US Trade and Diplomatic Ties
Apple Moves to Appeal UK Ruling Ordering £1.5 Billion in Customer Overcharge Damages
King Charles’s 2025 Christmas Message Tops UK Television Ratings on Christmas Day
The Battle Over the Internet Explodes: The United States Bars European Officials and Ignites a Diplomatic Crisis
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Join Royal Family at Sandringham Christmas Service
Fine Wine Investors Find Little Cheer in Third Year of Falls
UK Mortgage Rates Edge Lower as Bank of England Base Rate Cut Filters Through Lending Market
U.S. Supermarket Gives Customers Free Groceries for Christmas After Computer Glitch
Air India ‘Finds’ a Plane That Vanished 13 Years Ago
Caviar and Foie Gras? China Is Becoming a Luxury Food Powerhouse
Hong Kong Climbs to Second Globally in 2025 Tourism Rankings Behind Bangkok
From Sunniest Year on Record to Terror Plots and Sports Triumphs: The UK’s Defining Stories of 2025
Greta Thunberg Released on Bail After Arrest at London Pro-Palestinian Demonstration
Banksy Unveils New Winter Mural in London Amid Festive Season Excitement
UK Households Face Rising Financial Strain as Tax Increases Bite and Growth Loses Momentum
UK Government Approves Universal Studios Theme Park in Bedford Poised to Rival Disneyland Paris
UK Gambling Shares Slide as Traders Respond to Steep Tax Rises and Sector Uncertainty
Starmer and Trump Coordinate on Ukraine Peace Efforts in Latest Diplomatic Call
The Pilot Barricaded Himself in the Cockpit and Refused to Take Off: "We Are Not Leaving Until I Receive My Salary"
UK Fashion Label LK Bennett Pursues Accelerated Sale Amid Financial Struggles
U.S. Government Warns UK Over Free Speech in Pro-Life Campaigner Prosecution
Newly Released Files Shed Light on Jeffrey Epstein’s Extensive Links to the United Kingdom
Prince William and Prince George Volunteer Together at UK Homelessness Charity
UK Police Arrest Protesters Chanting ‘Globalise the Intifada’ as Authorities Recalibrate Free Speech Enforcement
Scambodia: The World Owes Thailand’s Military a Profound Debt of Gratitude
Women in Partial Nudity — and Bill Clinton in a Dress and Heels: The Images Revealed in the “Epstein Files”
US Envoy Witkoff to Convene Security Advisers from Ukraine, UK, France and Germany in Miami as Peace Efforts Intensify
UK Retailers Report Sharp Pre-Christmas Sales Decline and Weak Outlook, CBI Survey Shows
UK Government Rejects Use of Frozen Russian Assets to Fund Aid for Ukraine
UK Financial Conduct Authority Opens Formal Investigation into WH Smith After Accounting Errors
UK Issues Final Ultimatum to Roman Abramovich Over £2.5bn Chelsea Sale Funds for Ukraine
Rare Pink Fog Sweeps Across Parts of the UK as Met Office Warns of Poor Visibility
UK Police Pledge ‘More Assertive’ Enforcement to Tackle Antisemitism at Protests
UK Police Warn They Will Arrest Protesters Chanting ‘Globalise the Intifada’
Trump Files $10 Billion Defamation Lawsuit Against BBC as Broadcaster Pledges Legal Defence
UK Says U.S. Tech Deal Talks Still Active Despite Washington’s Suspension of Prosperity Pact
UK Mortgage Rules to Give Greater Flexibility to Borrowers With Irregular Incomes
UK Treasury Moves to Position Britain as Leading Global Hub for Crypto Firms
U.S. Freezes £31 Billion Tech Prosperity Deal With Britain Amid Trade Dispute
Prince Harry and Meghan’s Potential UK Return Gains New Momentum Amid Security Review and Royal Dialogue
Zelensky Opens High-Stakes Peace Talks in Berlin with Trump Envoy and European Leaders
Historical Reflections on Press Freedom Emerge Amid Debate Over Trump’s Media Policies
×