Gilbert Ramez Chagoury (born 1946) is a Nigerian

billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least 1,000,000,000, one billion units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. It is a sub-category of the concept of the ultr ...

businessman, diplomat and philanthropist.

Early life

Gilbert Chagoury is a Lebanese Nigerian who was born to Lebanese immigrant parents in

Lagos Lagos ( ; ), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. With an upper population estimated above 21 million dwellers, it is the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and on ...

, Nigeria. He studied at the Collège des Frères Chrétiens in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

before returning to Nigeria.

Business

In 1971, he co-founded the Chagoury Group with his younger brother Ronald Chagoury, an industrial conglomerate with interests in construction, real estate and property development, flour mills, water bottling and purification, glass manufacturing, insurance, hotels, furniture manufacturing, telecommunications, IT, catering and international financing. Gilbert and Ronald Chagoury founded C & C Construction in the late 1970s, which was the forerunner of Hitech and ITB (these now form the Construction Division of the Chagoury group of Companies). In 2024, Nigerian president

Bola Tinubu Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Adekunle Tinubu (born 29 March 1952) is a Nigerian politician serving as the 16th and current president of Nigeria since 2023. He previously served as the governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007, and senator for Lagos ...

awarded the $11 billion Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project to Chagoury's Hitech, a deal that came under scrutiny due to the lack of public bidding as well as the longtime association between Tinubu and Chagoury. It has since been reported that Tinubu's son, Seyi Tinubu, sits on the board of one of Chagoury's companies, while also being a joint shareholder in a

British Virgin Islands The British Virgin Islands (BVI), officially the Virgin Islands, are a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, to the east of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands and north-west ...

with Gilbert's son, Ronald Chagoury Jr. Through their ownership of the Chagoury Group, Gilbert Chagoury and his family have an estimated wealth of $4.2 billion.

Diplomacy and politics

He served as an Ambassador and Adviser to governments in Africa and the Americas. He has also served as Ambassador to the

Vatican Vatican may refer to: Geography * Vatican City, an independent city-state surrounded by Rome, Italy * Vatican Hill, in Rome, namesake of Vatican City * Ager Vaticanus, an alluvial plain in Rome * Vatican, an unincorporated community in the ...

for

St. Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...

, economic adviser to President

Mathieu Kérékou Mathieu Kérékou (; 2 September 1933 – 14 October 2015) was a Beninese politician who served as president of the People's Republic of Benin from 1972 to 1991 and the Benin, Republic of Benin from 1996 to 2006. After seizing power in a milita ...

of Benin, and ambassador to

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

. Chagoury was a close associate of Nigerian dictator, General

Sani Abacha Sani Abacha (; (20 September 1943 – 8 June 1998) was a Nigerian military dictator and statesman who ruled Nigeria with an iron fist as military head of state from 1993 following a palace coup d'état until his death in 1998. Abacha's seiz ...

, who helped his business interests in the country. After Abacha died in 1998, Chagoury returned an estimated $300 million to the Nigerian government to secure his indemnity from possible criminal charges. Chagoury is a major donor to the

Clinton Foundation The Clinton Foundation (founded in 2001 as the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation, and renamed in 2013 as the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation) is a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code. It was e ...

. In 2010, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security apologized to Chagoury after detaining him at

Teterboro Airport Teterboro Airport is a general aviation relief airport situated in the boroughs of Teterboro, Moonachie, and Hasbrouck Heights in Bergen County, New Jersey.no-fly list The No Fly List, maintained by the United States federal government's Threat Screening Center (TSC), is one of several lists used by the Transportation Security Administration's Secure Flight program and airlines to decide who to allow to board ...

. In 2018, the Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire and two of his associates agreed to resolve a federal investigation that they conspired to violate federal election laws by scheming to make illegal campaign contributions to U.S. presidential and congressional candidates, including Nebraska representative

Jeff Fortenberry Jeffrey Lane Fortenberry (born December 27, 1960) is an American politician. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 2005 to 2022, representing as a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. In Octo ...

. Fortenberry was eventually convicted of lying to federal officials about these contributions and announced his resignation effective 31 March 2022.

Philanthropy

He is a key benefactor for

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is a pediatric treatment and research hospital headquartered in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded by entertainer Danny Thomas in 1962, it is a 501(c)(3) designated nonprofit medical corporation which focuses on chi ...

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, and his private contributions have improved health care and public infrastructure of

Miziara Miziara (known also as Meziara, Arabic: ) is a town located in the Zgharta District in the North Governorate of Lebanon. The village is home to Our Lady of Miziara, Mother of Mercies, St Elias Shrines and Hotel Miziara, the village's first hotel. ...

, Northern Lebanon, home to both his and his wife's family. He serves on the board of the

Lebanese American University The Lebanese American University (LAU; ) is a secular private American university with campuses in Beirut, Byblos, and New York. It is chartered by the board of regents of the University of the State of New York and is recognized by the Lebane ...

where he provided a donation of $10 million to fund the Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine and $3.5 million for the construction of the Alice Ramez Chagoury School of Nursing. The

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

's Gilbert et Rose Marie Chagoury Gallery is named for them, housing a permanent exhibit including French works donated by the Chagourys. He has donated in excess of $340,000 for the renovations of the Church of Our Lady of Lebanon in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. He has also donated US$10,000 to the Beverly Hills 9/11 Memorial Garden in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...

Personal life

He has been married since 1969 to Rose Marie Chamchoum. They have four children.

References

External links

Official website of Gilbert Chagoury
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chagoury, Gilbert R. Living people 1946 births Businesspeople from Lagos Nigerian billionaires Nigerian philanthropists Nigerian people of Lebanese descent 20th-century Nigerian businesspeople 21st-century Nigerian businesspeople Nigerian construction businesspeople Nigerian hoteliers Nigerian businesspeople in real estate Lebanese philanthropists 20th-century philanthropists 21st-century philanthropists