Wafic Saïd
Wafic Saïd | |
|---|---|
| Born | 21 December 1939 Damascus, Syria |
| Citizenship | Syrian, Saudi, Canadian |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Years active | 1959–present |
| Known for | Saïd Foundation Al-Yamamah arms deal The University of Oxford's Saïd Business School |
| Spouse |
Rosemary Thompson (m. 1969) |
| Awards | Sheldon Medal, University of Oxford; Grand Commandeur Ordre de Mérite du Cèdre of Lebanon and Ordre de Mérite of Morocco |
| Website | waficsaid |
Wafic Rida Saïd (Arabic: وفيق رضا سعيد) (born 21 December 1939) is a Syrian-Saudi-Canadian businessman, financier, and philanthropist who has resided for many years in Monaco.
Saïd lived in Syria, the country of his birth, until his early twenties, when he left for Switzerland and worked as a banker, before making his fortune in the Saudi Arabian construction industry in the 1970s. He came to public prominence after helping facilitate the Al-Yamamah arms deal between the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia in the 1980s. He established the Saïd Foundation in 1982 and the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford in 1996 with an initial £20 million donation. Saïd owns several properties worldwide, including Tusmore Park in Oxfordshire.
He is a Foundation Fellow of Somerville College, Oxford.