Age, Biography and Wiki

Wafic Saïd was born on 21 December, 1939 in Damascus, Syria, is a Businessman and philanthropist. Discover Wafic Saïd's Biography, Age, Height, Physical Stats, Dating/Affairs, Family and career updates. Learn How rich is he in this year and how he spends money? Also learn how he earned most of networth at the age of 84 years old?

Popular As N/A
Occupation Businessman
Age 84 years old
Zodiac Sign Sagittarius
Born 21 December 1939
Birthday 21 December
Birthplace Damascus, Syria
Nationality Syria

We recommend you to check the complete list of Famous People born on 21 December. He is a member of famous Businessman with the age 84 years old group.

Wafic Saïd Height, Weight & Measurements

At 84 years old, Wafic Saïd height not available right now. We will update Wafic Saïd's Height, weight, Body Measurements, Eye Color, Hair Color, Shoe & Dress size soon as possible.

Physical Status
Height Not Available
Weight Not Available
Body Measurements Not Available
Eye Color Not Available
Hair Color Not Available

Who Is Wafic Saïd's Wife?

His wife is Rosemary Thompson (m. 1969)

Family
Parents Not Available
Wife Rosemary Thompson (m. 1969)
Sibling Not Available
Children Not Available

Wafic Saïd Net Worth

His net worth has been growing significantly in 2023-2024. So, how much is Wafic Saïd worth at the age of 84 years old? Wafic Saïd’s income source is mostly from being a successful Businessman. He is from Syria. We have estimated Wafic Saïd's net worth, money, salary, income, and assets.

Net Worth in 2024 $1 Million - $5 Million
Salary in 2024 Under Review
Net Worth in 2023 Pending
Salary in 2023 Under Review
House Not Available
Cars Not Available
Source of Income Businessman

Wafic Saïd Social Network

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Timeline

1926

Saïd was the youngest son of Rida Saïd, a prominent Syrian ophthalmologist who was the Syrian Minister for Higher Education and who had founded the Syrian University in Damascus in 1926 under the request of the then King Faisal.

Saïd's father died when he was still a child, and after initial schooling by Jesuits in Beirut, Lebanon, Saïd studied at the Institute of Bankers in London.

Saïd had been offered a place at the University of Cambridge, but was unable to take up the place as a result of political instability in Syria in which his family's assets were sequestrated.

1939

Wafic Rida Saïd (وفيق رضا سعيد) (born 21 December 1939) is a Syrian-Saudi-Canadian arms dealer, financier, and philanthropist, who has resided for many years in Monaco.

Saïd was born in Damascus, Syria, in 1939 to a prominent Syrian family.

Saïd's grandfather had served in the Turkish army during the Ottoman period, reaching the rank of general and was a colonial governor of Ottoman Syria.

1963

Saïd finally left Syria amidst the 1963 Syrian coup d'état.

Saïd described the atmosphere in Syria at the time as being similar to 'the Terror in the French Revolution' in which 'young men were being rounded up.' In Switzerland Saïd worked for the Union de Banque Suisse (now UBS), and later the Banque Commerciale Arabe SA, before his return to England.

1967

Saïd established two restaurants serving Middle Eastern cuisine in London in 1967, including Caravanserai on Kensington High Street, the restaurants were sold in 1969.

1969

In 1969, Saïd married Rosemary Thompson, whom he had met in Switzerland, and they had three children together; two sons, Karim and Khaled, and a daughter, Rasha.

Saïd moved to Saudi Arabia in 1969.

1970

Saïd lived in Syria until his early twenties before he left Syria for Switzerland where he worked as a banker, before making his fortune in the Saudi Arabian construction industry in the 1970s.

Saudi Arabia lacked much modern infrastructure at the time, and large infrastructure projects were subsequently funded by the rising price of oil in the early 1970s.

During this period of time, he founded and invested in companies that supported large-scale infrastructural projects.

1980

Saïd came to public prominence after helping facilitate the Al-Yamamah arms deal between the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia in the 1980s.

1981

In 1981, their son Karim died in an accident at the home of Prince Sultan in Saudi Arabia.

Saïd was attending a ceremony at the prince's house at the time to receive Saudi citizenship by royal decree.

To honour his son Saïd established the Karim Rida Saïd Foundation to help disadvantaged children and young people of the Middle East.

1982

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 to the University.

Saïd owns several properties worldwide, including Tusmore Park in Oxfordshire, but is officially a resident of Monaco.

Saïd is a Foundation Fellow of Somerville College, Oxford.

The Karim Rida Saïd Foundation was established in 1982 by Wafic and Rosemary Saïd in memory of their son.

1992

Saïd assisted the future Syrian president Bashar al-Assad with securing a place in Britain to study ophthalmology in 1992, and was acquainted with the Anglo-Syrian family of Assad's wife, Asma al-Assad (née Akhras).

1996

Saïd was ambassador and head of the delegation of St Vincent and the Grenadines to UNESCO from 1996 to 2018.

Saïd also previously served as St Vincent and the Grenadines ambassador to the Holy See.

2000

His acceptance speech in 2000 was music to my ears.

He said he wanted to reform the legal system, revoke the [now 50-year-old] emergency laws, and fight corruption.' Saïd helped introduce Western politicians and businesspeople to Syria, and helped push for political reform in the country.

2008

It was renamed the Saïd Foundation in 2008.

It is an English charity.

2011

Visiting Syria in 2011 at the advent of the Syrian uprisings in response to the Arab Spring, Saïd told Asma that 'the winds of change are contagious.

Please tell the President to promise free elections.

He must be the champion of change.'

Saïd was appalled by the resulting Syrian Civil War and was summoned to see Bashar al-Assad in June 2011 as he wished to gauge Western views of the conflict.

Saïd implored Assad to enact promised reforms and to engage with his political opponents.

Saïd welcomed the Arab Spring and wished for a secular government in Egypt modelled on that of Turkey's.

2012

In a 2012 interview with Charles Moore in The Spectator, Saïd said that he had found Bashar '...civilised, nice, polished', and that he admired Asma as 'a caring person'.

Saïd welcomed Bashar's ascension to the Presidency of Syria following the death of his father, Hafez al-Assad, feeling it was Syria's 'only salvation.

2016

In March 2016, Saïd was told by British banking firm Barclays that he could no longer bank with them, despite having been a long-standing customer; the BBC reported that "The bank is understood to be concerned about holding accounts that are linked to what are described as 'high-risk countries'".

In response, Saïd said he would be taking legal action against Barclays.

Those proceedings were settled by June 2016.