Fayez Sarofim

Fayez Sarofim
Born	Template:Birth date Cairo, Egypt
Died	May 28, 2022(2022-05-28) (aged 93)
Occupation(s)	Fund manager, investor
Years active	1958–2022
Known for	Largest shareholder in Kinder Morgan; partial owner of Houston Texans; founder of Fayez Sarofim & Company

Fayez Shalaby Sarofim (, ‎; born 19 November 1928 – passed away 28 May 2022) was a Coptic-American heir of Egyptian descent, renowned as the fund manager for three stock funds associated with the Dreyfus family. He held the position of largest shareholder in Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI) and was a partial owner of the NFL franchise, the Houston Texans.

As of May 2022, Sarofim's net worth was approximated at $1.6 billion. His investment company oversaw assets exceeding $30 billion.

Early life

Sarofim was born on 19 November 1928 in Cairo to parents Shalaby and Mary Simaika Sarofim, being the middle child among three siblings. His lineage traced back to Egypt’s traditional aristocracy. Raised amid Egypt’s affluent and political elite in Heliopolis, he was the son of an aristocrat and a prominent agricultural entrepreneur. His father, who bore the title Bey, owned vast cotton plantations throughout North Africa, a legacy that Fayez partially inherited.

His education included attendance at Victoria College in Alexandria and the English School located in Cairo. In 1946, he emigrated to the United States and obtained American citizenship by 1961.

Sarofim completed his higher education at University of California, Berkeley and later earned a degree from Harvard Business School. Subsequently, he began his career at Houston-based cotton firm Anderson, Clayton and Company.

Career

In August 1958, Sarofim established Fayez Sarofim & Company, an investment firm headquartered in Houston. His achievements led to his induction into the Texas Business Hall of Fame in 1997. Among Egyptian Americans, he is ranked third in terms of influence. The Sarofim family has also been recognized in publications such as Burke's Peerage and the Imperial and Asiatic Quarterly Review and Oriental and Colonial Record.

Philanthropy and political contributions

Sarofim was a patron of numerous cultural organizations including the Houston Ballet, Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Houston Grand Opera, Houston Symphony, Hobby Center for the Performing Arts—where Sarofim Hall accommodates 2,600 seats for Broadway productions—the Alley Theatre, and Los Angeles Opera. He contributed to the $120 million Fayez S. Sarofim Research Building at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Plans are underway for a Susan and Fayez Sarofim Hall at Rice University.

In the political arena, he played a notable role as a donor to Jeb Bush’s 2016 presidential campaign.

Personal life

In 1962, Sarofim wed Louisa Stude, daughter of Herman Brown who founded Brown and Root; together they had two children: Christopher and Allison Sarofim.

While still married to Stude, he fathered three sons with former employee Linda Hicks: Andrew (born 1984), Phillip (born 1986), and Maxwell (born 1989). Following his divorce from Stude in 1990—which involved a $250 million settlement—he married Hicks that same year; their marriage ended in divorce in 1996 with a $12 million settlement. Hicks later died during a Mount Kilimanjaro expedition; their son Maxwell passed away in 2015.

In December 2014, Sarofim married Susan (née DeBarneure) Krohn, founder of Brooke Staffing Companies and proprietor of New Orleans Auction Galleries. Susan is the former spouse of billionaire Tracy Krohn and mother to Lori Krohn Sarofim, who was previously married to Sarofim’s son Phillip.

Fayez Sarofim passed away on 28 May 2022.