- ARAB NEWS
- 26 Apr 2024
Since 1975
Mohamed Shamaa
CAIRO: Bill Gates has sent a message of support to son-in-law Nayel Nassar ahead of the Egyptian’s participation at Tokyo 2020’s equestrian competition.
The 30-year-old Nassar will take part in the jumping individual qualifier at Tokyo’s Equestrian Park on Aug. 3.
“I support many athletes in the Tokyo Olympics at the moment, but there is no athlete I support more than my son-in-law Nayel Nassar. Good luck Nayel,” Gates, the founder of Microsoft, said in a post on his official Instagram account.
Nassar proposed to Jennifer Katharine Gates in January 2020 after a relationship that spanned almost four years.
The 23-year-old daughter of the billionaire had also announced the news of her engagement to the then 28-year-old Nassar through Instagram.
At the time, Gates expressed his joy at his daughter’s announcement, saying: “I feel very happy. Congratulations.”
The two Stanford University graduates share a love of many hobbies, in particular equestrianism.
Nassar will kick off Egypt’s involvement in the individual Equestrian competition on Tuesday, which will quickly be followed by the team competition on Friday.
Egyptian supporters and delegation officials have high hopes that Nassar could be a medal winner at Tokyo 2020, one month after he finished first at the St Gallen Grand Prix Championship held in Switzerland.
Hisham Hatab, president of the Egyptian Olympic Committee and the Equestrian Federation, had congratulated Nassar on this significant result, among other achievements, which have raised expectations of success in Japan.
Nassar hails from an Egyptian Muslim family and was born in Chicago in 1991. His parents, Iman Harby and Fouad Nassar, later moved to Kuwait, where they owned and ran an architectural firm. In 2009 he relocated to California were he obtained a bachelor’s degree in economics from Stanford. He is fluent in French, English and Arabic.
At the age of five, Nassar already showed great passion for horse riding, and was practicing jumping barriers by the age of 10. In 2013, at the age of 22, he took part in his first ever showjumping event.
As well as taking part in equestrian competitions that have helped him amass a worth of $75 million according to some reports, he also owns Nassar Stables, based in the city of Encinitas in California. Established in 2014, the stables breed and home prestigious horses.
