Ezz’s power is all the greater with his sway and influence over the future leadership of the country at a time of great uncertainty. There has been mounting speculation about the succession to President Hosni Mubarak, but analysts say they do not expect any new moves to groom his son Gamal for power, for now. Mubarak, who turns 80 next year and has ruled his country for more than a quarter of a century, has always denied any ambition to start a presidential dynasty like that of fellow Arab state Syria where President Bashar Al Assad succeeded his father Hafez on his death in 2000.

But Gamal’s meteoric rise up the ranks of the ruling National Democratic Party since his entry into politics in 1995 has prompted charges from the opposition that he is being prepared for the succession. Ezz is very close to this issue and will be one of the leading voices to determine whether the 43-year-old Gamal takes charge or not.

He has also been at the forefront of reviewing the NDP’s political reforms and its own internal elections, and reportedly disagreed with the party’s secretary general, Safwat El-Sherif. NDP members complained to El-Sherif that the internal elections were manipulated by Ezz in an attempt to bolster his power base within the party. El-Sherif responded by delaying the naming of the chairmen of NDP provincial offices.

In business terms, Ezz is extremely influential and will no doubt move up the list in 2008. His steel business is the market leader in Egypt with a market share of over 60% and at a time of constant construction across the Middle East and especially the Gulf, his fortune, both commercially and politically, is sure to rise in the next 12 months.