Issam Michael Fares is a Lebanese businessman, a former member of the Lebanese Parliament and Deputy Prime Minister of Lebanon.
In 1954, at the age of seventeen, Fares left his homeland and found a job as a clerk at a catering and food services firm in Qatar.
Two years later, he was heading Abela Group’s finances and subsequently managing its operations in Pakistan, Kuwait, Iran and Saudi Arabia.
At age 38, Fares went into business for himself and established a civil engineering and construction firm, which completed many notable projects including the world's longest international bridge, which connects Bahrain to Saudi Arabia.He then sold the company to British Aerospace, and used the proceeds to buy up Houston-based investment firm, Wedge Group, a company that he heads today.