Hisham Talaat Moustafa’s position at the top of the 2025
list surpasses all other private sector leaders included, whereas previous
leaders were mostly affiliated with government organizations or companies owned
by sovereign wealth funds. This highlights Moustafa’s distinction and his
ability to achieve exceptional success in a highly competitive sector.
This achievement places Talaat Moustafa Group at the
forefront of the Egyptian and Arab tourism sectors and reflects Egypt’s
capacity to compete and lead at the regional level.
These accomplishments come as part of a career spanning more
than 40 years leading Talaat Moustafa Group, which currently manages over 5,000
hotel rooms distributed across 11 operational hotels, in addition to five
hotels under development, and a land portfolio exceeding 125.9 million square
meters across Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Iraq.
The group recorded cumulative sales of USD 6.9 billion in
the first quarter of 2025, while hotel sector revenues rose by 50 percent to
USD 69 million, accounting for 37 percent of the group’s total revenues of USD
186 million.
Forbes Middle East’s ranking is based on precise criteria
including business volume, number of hotels and rooms, revenues, investment and
asset value, geographic reach, economic impact, leadership strength, and
achievements during 2024 and 2025.
It is worth noting that Hisham Talaat Moustafa played an
active role in developing Egypt’s tourism sector through the group’s arm, ICON,
acquiring a 51 percent stake in Legacy Hotels and Tourism Projects, owner of
seven historic hotels including Marriott Mena House Cairo, Sofitel Winter
Palace Luxor, and Old Cataract Aswan. This acquisition boosted the group’s
dollar income and elevated hospitality standards in Egypt.
The group’s partnerships with global hotel brands such as Four Seasons and Kempinski have further enhanced service quality, attracted a segment of high-spending tourists, and raised average hotel night rates, confirming Egypt’s status as a luxury tourist destination in the region.
