Advisor
Dr. Bassem Youssef is an Advisor and Investing Principal of Global Trust Group. Dr. Youssef, dubbed the Jon Stewart of the Arab World, was the host of popular TV show Al-Bernameg – which was the first of its kind political satire show in the Middle East region. Originally an online 5-minute show, Al-Bernameg became the most watched show in the history of Egyptian TV with an average of 40 million viewers every week, in addition to over 2 million subscribers on YouTube and 1.2 billion views on his own channel and other channels.
It all started in 2011 when Dr. Yousssef, who was a heart surgeon ready to leave Cairo to Cleveland, started a 5-minute show on YouTube satirizing the state-run media which was spreading lies and conspiracy theories in the wake of the Arab Spring. That developed fast into a full-blown TV show with millions of followers. Al-Bernameg received wide acclaim around the world with coverage in some of the biggest media outlets, topping it off with his appearance on the Daily Show with his idol Jon Stewart not once but four times. Stewart also made the trip to Cairo to support his prodigy and was a guest of his show. He also made appearances on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Dr. Youssef was popular with the people but not so much with the different regimes. Under the Muslim Brotherhood regime, a warrant for his arrest was issued and Bassem went through a 6 hours interrogation after which he was released on bail. He continued to poke fun of the people in power and he didn’t stop even after the popular military took over costing him to be canceled twice and the termination of his show. Harassments and threats eventually drove the Dr. to flee to the United States where he now lives in Los Angeles. He wrote the best selling book “Revolution for Dummies” and as the subject of the critically acclaimed documentary “Tickling Giants.”
In recognition of his success, Dr. Youssef was named among the Time Magazine most influential list for 2013 and was named one of four recipients by the Committee to Protect Journalists for the International Press Freedom Award. In 2015 he was a spring fellow at the Institute of Politics at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. He also hosted the International Emmys Awards in New York as the first non-American, non-European personality to ever host such an event.
Dr. Youssef is now reinventing his career as a satirist, comedian, and storyteller but in a different country and a different language that is not his own. When he is not on tour in live performances he is hosting his podcast “Remade in America” or working online changing peoples eating habits through plant-based whole food diet and related advice.