As a young teenager, Zayat\u00a0won<\/a>\u00a0the under-12 and under-14 national show jumping championships in Egypt, a once-thriving Jewish community,\u00a0that today has\u00a0fewer than 40 Jews<\/a>.<\/p>\n After graduating from Yeshiva University, Zayat worked for the haredi Orthodox real estate developer Zev Wolfson.<\/strong><\/p>\n Zayat went to college in the United States and then worked for Wolfson, a wealthy real estate entrepreneur and major Jewish philanthropist.<\/p>\n He made his fortune in part by selling non-alcoholic malt drinks in Egypt.<\/strong><\/p>\n Zayat returned to Egypt in 1995 and formed an investment group that bought the newly privatized Al Ahram Beverages company. Zayat helped\u00a0turn the company around<\/a>\u00a0by introducing Fayrouz \u2013 a non-alcoholic blend of malt, fruit and sparkling water \u2013 into its line of products. In 2002, Zayat sold the company to Heineken for $280 million.<\/p>\n He has the reputation of being a flamboyant, risk-taking gambler and gotten into financial trouble over the years. In 2009, the Fifth Third Bank of Lexington, Kentucky, accused him of defaulting on four loans after losing over $50 million.\u00a0On Thursday, a different lawsuit against Zayat alleging that he owed a Florida resident $1.65 million\u00a0was thrown out<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s a scam from A to Z. It\u2019s total fiction. It\u2019s a total lie,\u201d he had previously told The Associated Press.<\/strong><\/p>\n Zayat has been millions of dollars in debt on multiple occasions.<\/strong><\/p>\n He\u00a0donates to Jewish causes.<\/strong><\/p>\n Zayat once\u00a0donated<\/a>\u00a0$500,000 to the Frisch School, a Jewish day school in Paramus, New Jersey.<\/p>\n American Pharoah flies to races in his own plane called Air Horse One.<\/strong><\/p>\n The bay colt, who was born on Groundhog Day in 2012, likes to\u00a0fly in style and comfort<\/a>.<\/p>\n American Pharoah\u2019s name is a typo.<\/strong><\/p>\n The correct spelling of \u201cpharaoh\u201d reverses the \u201ca\u201d and \u201co.\u201d According to the\u00a0Boston Globe<\/a>, an Arkansas woman suggested the name and spelled it wrong. Zayat\u2019s son Justin, who acts as a manager at Zayat Stables in Hackensack, New Jersey, didn\u2019t notice the typo at the time.<\/p>\n![\"Share](\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\")