Salwa Ismail: A private estate called Egypt Only a thousand families count in a country that Mubarak and his cronies regard as their fiefdom

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/feb/06/private-estate-egypt-mubarak-cronies

"A tiny economic elite controlling consumption-geared production and imports has accumulated great wealth. This elite includes representatives of foreign companies with exclusive import rights in electronics, electric cables and automobiles. It also includes real estate developers who created a construction boom in gated communities and resorts for the super-rich. Much of this development is on public land acquired at very low prices, with no proper tendering or bidding."