Pakistani-American Richest Among South Asians in America

[Riaz Haq]

With a net worth of $3.8 billion, Shahid Khan tops the Forbes list of the richest Americans of South Asian origin. Overall, Khan ranks 122nd on Forbes 400 list for 2013, up from 179th in 2012.

Born in Pakistani city of Lahore, 63 year old Shahid Khan is a mechanical engineer and a self-made billionaire who built his fortune as a top supplier of bumpers to the auto industry. Khan made history in 2011 by becoming the first non-white owner of a National Football League team when he bought Jacksonville Jaguars. Recently, he acquired an English soccer team Fullham for $300 million.

There are four Indian-Americans on Forbes 400 this year: Syntel chairman and co-founder Bharat Desai and his family, Symphony Technology Group founder and chairman Romesh T. Wadhwani, Google investor Kavitrak Ram Shriram and venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, according to India West newspaper.

 Desai, 60, who lives in Fisher Island, Fla., is in 252nd place with a $2.2 billion net worth. He was in 239th place in 2012.

Wadhwani, 66, has a net worth of $2.1 billion, good for 260th place on the Forbes list. The resident of Palo Alto, Calif., was listed 250th last year.

Shriram, 56, a resident of Menlo Park, Calif., and a managing partner of Sherpalo Ventures, is in 325th place with assets of $1.75 billion. He dropped from the 298th spot in 2012.

Khosla, whose Khosla Ventures continues to invest in green energy and other forward-looking technologies, is in 352nd place with a worth of $1.5 billion. The 58-year-old Sun Microsystems co-founder was 328th last year. He lives in Portola Valley, Calif.

Here are some of the highlights of Pakistani-American data from US Census 2010 as gleaned from a report titled "A Community of Contrasts Asian Americans in the United States: 2011" published by Asian-American Center For Advancing Justice:

1. There are 409,163 Pakistani-Americans in 2010, the 7th largest Asian-American community in America.

2. Pakistani-American population doubled from 2000 (204,309) to 2010 (409,163), the second largest percentage increase after Bangladeshis' 157% increase in the same period.

3. 6% of Pakistani-American population is mixed race.

4. 65% of Pakistanis in America are foreign-born. 57% of foreign-born Pakistani-American population is made up of naturalized citizens.

5. There are 120,000 Pakistani legal permanent residents of which 42% are eligible to naturalize.

6. There were 69,202 immigrant visas issued to Pakistanis from 2001 to 2010, the 5th highest among Asian nations.

7. 28% of Pakistanis have limited English proficiency.

8. Average per capita income of Pakistani-Americans is $24,663.00

9. 15% of Pakistanis are classified as poor; only 1% of them are on public assistance.

10. 8% of Pakistanis are unemployed, a figure lower than the general population of Americans.

11. 55% of Pakistanis own their own homes.

12. 55% of Pakistanis have a bachelor's degree or higher.

13. Median age of Pakistanis in America is only 29 years, lower than most of the Asian groups and the national median age of 36.8 years.

Pakistani-American community is the second fastest growing community in the United States, according to 2010 US Census. It is also a very young community with the median age of just 29 years, compared to 32 years for Indian-Americans and 37 years for all Asian-Americans. 34% of Pakistani-Americans are under the age of 17 compared with 26% of Indian-Americans and 24% of  all Asian-Americans.

More of the Pakistanis in America are college educated than the general population of whites and various immigrant groups. The youthful energy and higher education levels of Pakistani-Americans are opening doors for them to rise and shine in America, in spite of the current economic difficulties in their adopted land of opportunities.

Here's a CBS 60 Minutes segment on Shahid Khan:


 Here's a Forbes interview video of Shahid Khan on his path to success:


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[Riaz Haq]

#NewYork Jets make history, hiring Robert Saleh to become #NFL's first #Muslim head coach. As #SanFrancisco 49ers' defensive coordinator, Saleh designed one of pro football's most elite units. #pro #football

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jets-make-history-hiring-rober...

Saleh brings considerable credentials to his new job in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Before he took over the 49ers' defense in 2017, San Francisco had ranked dead last in total yards surrendered.

The 49ers were 24th and 13th in total defense in Saleh's first two years in charge, before the crew ranked second and fifth in the league the last two seasons.

This season's accomplishments were particularly impressive in light of the staggering number of injuries that prevented many of Saleh's best players from taking the field.

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The New York Jets hired San Francisco 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh to be their new head coach, making him the first Muslim to run an NFL sideline, the team announced Thursday night.

"We've reached an agreement in principle with Robert Saleh to become our head coach," the Jets said in a statement.

Saleh has spent the past four years in Santa Clara, California, transforming the 49ers' defense from a onetime laughingstock to one of football's most elite units.

He'll take over a team that won just two of 16 games this past season and hasn't made the playoffs since the 2010-11 campaign. The Jets have just one Super Bowl title in franchise history, the famed Joe Namath guarantee of Jan. 12, 1969.

Before Saleh, 41, a native of Dearborn, Michigan, was hired by the Jets, no Muslim had ever been an NFL head coach, according to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, a Muslim civil rights advocacy group.

"We welcome this development as another sign of the increasing inclusion and recognition of American Muslims in our diverse society," CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper said in a statement late Thursday.

Saleh, whose family traces its roots to Lebanon, will be third Arab American NFL head coach, following in the footsteps of Abe Gibran and Rich Kotite, who are both of Lebanese descent, according to the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee.

Gibran was head coach of the Chicago Bears for three seasons, 1972 to 1974. Kotite ran the Philadelphia Eagles for four seasons (1991-94) and the Jets for two seasons (1995-96).

[Riaz Haq]

Imaad Zuberi, a Pakistani-American recently sentenced to 12 years in prison for working for foreign governments, also did intelligence work for the US government for over a decade, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Zuberi, 50, was sentenced in February to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to tax evasion, foreign-influence peddling and campaign-finance violations.

But WSJ reported that “a key aspect of the case” – that this American businessman was a longtime US intelligence asset – “played out in secret court filings and hearings”. WSJ claimed to have reviewed legal documents underlining his links to the US intelligence agencies.

Before his conviction, Zuberi lived a jet-setting lifestyle and was a major political fundraiser for American leaders like Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. He also arranged fund-raising dinners for senior Republican and Democratic members of the US Congress.


https://www.dawn.com/news/1617602


Experts say cooperation with the government, if proved, can reduce his sentence

In October 2019, the US Justice Department filed criminal charges against him and soon after he pleaded guilty to those charges. Now his lawyers are preparing to challenge the sentence in an appeal that they say might raise questions over how heavily a defendant’s cooperation with intelligence agencies should be weighed against criminal charges.

“As evidenced by the public docket, national-security issues may have been part of this case and those same issues may ultimately arise as part of the appeal,” his lawyer David Warrington told WSJ.

Other legal experts also told the newspaper that cooperation with the government, if proved, can reduce his sentence.

Prosecutors from the Justice Department declined to comment.

The report claimed that before sentencing Zuberi, US District Judge Virginia Phillips held a closed-door hearing where she considered a sealed document in which Zuberi’s team laid out his account of more than a decade of clandestine help he had provided to the government.

“The CIA relies on well-connected Americans to serve as conduits for information, occasionally tapping them for information, introductions, assistance in recruiting foreigners and even for tasks such as acting as international couriers or acquiring secret information,” WSJ added while commenting on Zuberi’s claim.

According to the report, Zuberi’s legal team compiled a history of their client’s cooperation with the government, which was sealed under a law designed to protect intelligence sources and methods during trials.

In a memo seeking leniency, Zuberi’s legal team wrote: “His cooperation and assistance to this country has spanned over a decade, as described in more detail in Mr. Zuberi’s … filing.” They referred to that record as the “most remarkable list of assistance to the country encountered by experienced counsel and the court”.

WSJ, which claims reviewing the document, said Zuberi’s history of secret help to the CIA continued for more than a decade, “depicting a relationship that started with debriefings about his interactions with foreign officials but grew to involve more formal tasks and missions”.

CIA spokesman Timothy Barrett, when contacted for comments, urged WSJ to contact the Justice Department.

WSJ reported that Zuberi has secured the assistance of two former CIA officials in his defence. Robert Eatinger, a former top lawyer at the agency has joined the defence team since his sentencing. Another, former CIA official Jose Rodriguez, has submitted a sealed affidavit in support of leniency to the judge.

[Riaz Haq]

Imaad Zuberi, an American businessman who hobnobbed with world leaders and the international business elite, was sentenced in February to 12 years in prison after pleading guilty to tax evasion, foreign-influence peddling and campaign-finance violations.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/alleged-cia-ties-figure-in-case-of-con...

A key aspect of the case, however, has played out in secret court filings and hearings: Mr. Zuberi was a longtime U.S. intelligence source for the U.S. government, according to legal documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal and people familiar with the businessman’s defense.

Mr. Zuberi, 50 years old, lived a jet-setting lifestyle and was a major political fundraiser at the highest levels of American politics, giving generously to Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as well as many important members of Congress of both parties, according to campaign-finance records.

That life came to an end in October 2019, when he was criminally charged by the Justice Department and soon after pleaded guilty to tax evasion, foreign-lobbying violations, campaign-finance charges and obstruction of justice. His lawyers are preparing to challenge the sentence in an appeal that they say might raise questions over how heavily a defendant’s cooperation with intelligence agencies should be weighed against criminal charges.

“As evidenced by the public docket, national-security issues may have been part of this case and those same issues may ultimately arise as part of the appeal,” said David Warrington, a lawyer representing Mr. Zuberi.

[Riaz Haq]

#Pakistani-#American Sabir Sami named new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of #Kentucky Fried Chicken. (#KFC). #YUM #restaurants https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210922005549/en/Sabir-Sami...

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) today announced the promotion of Sabir Sami, 54, to KFC Division Chief Executive Officer, reporting to Yum! Brands Chief Executive Officer David Gibbs, effective January 1, 2022. Sami, who currently serves as KFC Division Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of KFC Asia, will succeed Tony Lowings, who is stepping down as CEO at the end of 2021 in advance of his retirement in early 2022. In addition, Dyke Shipp, 55, who currently serves as KFC Division Chief Development Officer and Chief People Officer, is being promoted to KFC Division President, reporting to Sami, effective January 1, 2022. (Photo: Business Wire)

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE: YUM) today announced the promotion of Sabir Sami, 54, to KFC Division Chief Executive Officer, reporting to Yum! Brands Chief Executive Officer David Gibbs, effective January 1, 2022. Sami, a 12-year veteran of the Company, who currently serves as KFC Division Chief Operating Officer and Managing Director of KFC Asia, will succeed Tony Lowings, who is stepping down as CEO at the end of 2021 in advance of his retirement in early 2022. In this role, Sami will assume global responsibility for driving the brand strategy and performance of KFC.

“Sabir is an exceptional leader with deep expertise and knowledge of our business and has a strong, proven track record of growing KFC’s physical and brand presence in markets around the world,” said Gibbs. “As a highly-respected strategic brand builder, operations expert and heart-led leader, Sabir is a natural choice to continue successfully executing KFC’s long-term global growth strategies in close partnership with our franchisees and further elevate KFC as a relevant, easy and distinctive (R.E.D.) brand.”

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KFC is the global leader in the chicken category and Yum!’s largest brand with more than 25,000 restaurants in over 145 countries and territories and more than $26 billion in system sales as of year-end 2020. KFC’s unit economics fueled by strong franchise partners leads to, on average, a new KFC restaurant opening every six hours across the world. In addition to new unit development, the KFC Division added nearly $4 billion in system sales from digital channels last year to grow the KFC digital business to about $10 billion in system sales in 2020.