Gigi Becali and his real estate business

Gigi Becali is a business man from Romania.
His family is of Aromanian origin and settled in the Cadrilater, but, following the Treaty of Craiova and the population exchange between Bulgaria and Romania, they had to move to the commune of Sacalaz, Timis County, near Timisoara.

He was born in Zagna, Vadeni, Braila County, as his family was deported in Baragan by the Communist authorities because of their associations with the pre-WWII fascist Iron Guard. His cousins, Victor Becali and Ioan Becali, are also involved in Romanian football.

After the Romanian Revolution of 1989, he bought land near Bucharest, which over time gained in value. However, the key factor that reportedly made him a millionaire was an exchange of land with the Romanian Army, dubbed by the Romanian scandal press as suspicious, as the Army did not need the land it received and the land it gave was worth much more. Becali gave to the army a 21.5 ha terrain in Ştefăneştii de Jos (about 15 km from Bucharest) and received a 20.9 ha terrain in Băneasa-Pipera, in Northern Bucharest.[2] As the real estate prices skyrocketed in the capital, he sold the land to some companies which built some residential areas. This affair is currently (as of June 2006) investigated by the National Anticorruption Department.

After the 2005 floods, he funded with $4 million the rebuilding of about 200 houses in the Vulturul village (Vadu Roşca commune, Vrancea county) that was destroyed by the overflow of the Siret river. Subsequently the villagers wanted to rename it Vulturul Becali in his honor.