Fayez Shalaby Sarofim (Coptic: ϥⲁⲉⲍ ⲥⲉⲣⲁⲫⲓⲙ, Egyptian Arabic: فايز صاروفيم; 1929 – 27 May 2022) was an Egyptian Coptic-American heir to the Sarofim family fortune, a fund manager for three Dreyfus family stock funds,[1] the largest shareholder of Kinder Morgan (NYSE: KMI) and part owner of the NFL team Houston Texans.
According to Tim Fernholz, Sarofim's estate made a $7,000,000,000 estate-tax payment[4] to the US government on his death.
As the son of an Egyptian aristocrat and agricultural magnate, Sarofim spent his early life as a member of Egypt's political and wealthy elite in modern Heliopolis.
Holding the title of a Bey (or Chieftain), Sarofim's father also owned large, feudal cotton estates throughout North Africa.
Sarofim also made financial gifts to the Houston Grand Opera, the Houston Symphony, the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts—creating the 2600 seat Sarofim Hall there, designed for touring Broadway musicals— along with the Alley Theatre, and the Los Angeles Opera.
[citation needed] A future Susan and Fayez Sarofim Hall is planned for the Rice University campus in Houston.