A prominent businessman and former Egyptian government minister, who made a hefty donation of £5m ($6.3 million) to the Conservative party last year, has been unexpectedly bestowed with a knighthood based on Rishi Sunak's recommendation, according to a report by The Guardian.

Mohamed Mansour Receives a Knighthood

Mohamed Mansour, who served as the Conservative party's senior treasurer for slightly over a year, found himself among the unexpected recipients of honors, recognized for his contributions in business, charity, and politics.

Labour had previously urged the Tories to return the $6.3 million contribution made by Mansour, who held a ministerial position in Egypt during Hosni Mubarak's regime before the Arab Spring.

Calls for the return of the donation escalated when it was revealed that one of Mansour's family companies, Mantrac, continued operations in Russia post the Ukraine invasion, despite calls for withdrawal from figures like Sunak and Boris Johnson.

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New Knights and Dames

According to Forbes last year, Mansour's net worth was estimated to be around $3.2 billion (£2.5 billion). In December 2022, he was identified as a notable contributor to the Tory party, having made generous donations of over £600,000 through his company Unatrac.

Alongside Mansour, other notable figures honored include Demis Hassabis, founder of DeepMind, and the filmmaking duo Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas, who were knighted and damehooded, respectively. American businessman Ted Sarandos, co-chief of Netflix, received an honorary knighthood as well.

The list also includes backbench MP Philip Davies, former chief whip Mark Spencer, and Tracey Crouch, a former minister, who were knighted, while Harriett Baldwin, chair of the Treasury committee, was appointed a dame. 

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