The video below shows Samuel Tafesse, owner of Sunshine Construction, a business partner of Ethiopia’s brutal tyrant, and the second richest person in Ethiopia, build a school in Axum, Tigray, a region that gets the lion share of federal budget, while 15 million people in other regions are facing starvation, let alone get education. It’s through such tail wagging and expression of loyalty to the minority tribal regime that Samuel Tafese has been able to win lucrative government contracts and amass enormous wealth that he is using to buy multi-million-dollar properties in the U.S. In the video, you will also see Henok Tesfaye, owner of Etete Restaurant in Washington DC and other Woyanne bootlickers.
45 thoughts on “How did Samuel Tafesse get so rich? – video”
Is the restaurant owner, Henock Tesfaye, the same person also known as the “Parking Czar”, who recently awarded the DCA parking contract or just a namesake?
How about (#2) Samuel Tafesse himself? Is he from one of the northern kingdoms — please more info needed — if he is, he is just one of so many out there, none of them worthy of news or notable in anyway except in a rarest of occasions.
These guys are the invisible, no-footprint and “blameless” rare phenoms that, in an instance, can change your thousands of years history. Human Viruses?
Nouveau riche (French for “new rich”), or new money, refers to a person who has acquired considerable wealth within his or her generation.[1] This term is generally to emphasize that the individual was previously part of a lower socioeconomic rank, and that such wealth has provided the means for the acquisition of goods or luxuries that were previously unobtainable. The term can also be used in a derogatory fashion, for the purposes of social class distinction, to describe persons with newfound wealth as vulgar – lacking the experience or finesse to use wealth in the same manner as old money—persons from families who have been wealthy for multiple generations. – Wikipedia
elias,
thank you for keep exposing this tplf hodam servants….now i know why henok tesfaye become easily a millionare and why he recently won the biggest parking lot contrats of dulles airport….yes henok defenitly is working with sameuel taffesse and other top tplf criminal and corrupted groups…..thier hand is now in his business……shame on henok and family who are working with tplf criminal angents……elias thank you so much and please keep exposing other hodam elements like henok tesfaye of etete resturant.
Samuel is a hard worker. he is not courrpted as you said. You said that he is Ethiopia’s second richest man let me tell you the truth he is not Ethiopia’s second richest man. He is not even on top ten. I know a lot of people who worth more than $100 million US dollar.Who keep their money over sea. You call him Ethiopia’s second richest man because you see him helping the poor all the time. Please don’t associate him with Henoke.
Ere Elias,
what was mehamud doing there? is this recent video?
we should expose all Hodams and gather all documents ….we will sue them and get back the money which stolen from that poor peasant ….too sad
God Bless Ethiopia!!
Death for weyane!!
He is not from Tigray. He was born in Addis to a hard working Gurage family.
He builds school all over Ethiopia.
You singled out Tigray because you don’t like Woyanne. He loves all Ethiopian. He doesn’t really care about your Ethinc or religon. He is God fearing man.
What about the school he built in wolega, what was the purpose, help or opportunism. Anyways we have other things to do chill out people.
Mr. Elias why you keep chaning my name and my comment. You don’t want me to express my idea. I was about to give you some info about Henoke but I changed my mind because you are not real journalist.
Addis, stop jumping like a headless chicken.
Seventy five millions of us know that, the main looters are woyanes, and well aware that, there are few Hodams like Solomon Tafesse and others who have sold their souls to the devil, and forgotten their humble beginnings–what it means to be poor. Not only these Hodam looters robbed the government of Ethiopia, they also take advantages of their non-essential construction workers, poor house keepers, babysitters, cooks, guards and gardeners by paying them very little money. Overall, Woyanes and their friends have been exercising unethical behaviors for the last 20 years. Looting the poor Ethiopians, and at the same time, helping building Churches, just doesn’t make sense at all. One has to have compassion to help the unfortunate poor, the sick and starving Ethiopian children. Without compassion, there is no such thing as “religious faith”.
Elias if you are a genuine journalist and you follow the roll don’t block us lattes pout our view . Ato Samuel is a hard worker successful business man. He work hard and he do what he do. Elias as a Journalist you have to balance what you pout for your reader. His contributions for the development of our country far better from your gossip. He can buy whatever he wants as long as he works for it.
Is this some sort of desperation or ignorance? anyway,i am sure Mr Samuel and Etete are a shining example for millions of Ethiopians who appreciate thier success and dedication to thier people and country.
Dear Elias
Writing this comment was not easy for me but I couldn’t resist & could not see my Friend Mr Samuel getting battered like this by anyone.Mr Samuel is hard working patriotic individual who fears God and love’s his people. His track record shows he is more Christian than the pope himself. So YOU CAN CALL me corrupt but leave my friend alone he is the sweeter Gurage I have ever met next to Kassu Olalla. Kassu sometimes gets on my tits when he cut me off when I am talking but it’s ok. Elias to tell you the truth you know who I really hate now a day’s Beket simu sorry Bereket simmon. He is really getting on my nerves especially when he “pauses” before every word he speaks. In fact one of the reason why I like sami is because he takes my bugging wife away for me I’m sure you know Azeb likes all this Glitter’s live so when she is with him she is always happy and that is good for me. You see Elias I am not the man I used to be in bed room, ever thing has a shelf life that is fact of life. ELIAS would you please tell wedi Afom i miss him and tell him i will see him in Qatar soon. Tell him not wear his sandals there he is embarrassing me everywhere. Also i am looking after all his family in Temben, Tigray because recently Seye’s family are taking kung fu lessons and have become more violent in the area so assure him I have sent my best Boy’s there (Agaze’s) everything is all quiet now.
PM M Zenawi
I am not so sure how attacking Samuel Tafesse would achieve any goal. What is the point? TO make him more dependent on the TPLF regime for his safety? This so absolutely stupid.
Elias: your obssession with these “rich people”, what exactly would its return be in terms of the fight against TPLF? Honestly. You have been waging war against Al amoudi for 20 years and what have you managed except push the guy to wear a bee printed shirt?
IN OTHER WORDS, WHAT EXACTLY THE RETURN OF THIS KIND OF RANDOM ATTACK?
Those who aligned themselves and collaborated with enemy and those who operated as moles,spies,informers,and those who passed confidential and classified national dcocuments to the enemy,and those who continued to abate and assist the enemy in any form or/and shape by merely focusing on personal and organized groups’economic gain and position of authority above and beyond the interest of the peoples and the country,and those,individuals or/and groups who fascilitated and lengthened the life of the enemy before and after the enemy invaded Ethiopia and harmed the people and the country deep and wide, shall indeed,pay the dearest price in many forms and shapes.
Ethiopians,if we sit together and start telling and hearing the story,for sure,we will start everything telling each other how our loving heart is filled with love and memory of our dearest brothers and sisters who did a hero to our country and to us.
Today,the enemy owns,controls,and run everything and anything that is available below and above the homeland.The enemy,to those who contributed well and better to assisting it with seizing of power,accumelation of immense wealth,and social and economic superiority over the rest of Ethiopians have been rewarded well.Samuel Tafesse is one of those moles,spies,informers,and thieves the enemy reciproacated to with material and monitory reward worth millions of dollars.
Name and Shame is the new medicine that created for the Hodams by Our own son Elias!!!!!
Keep the info flow bro.
Haile Gebresilase is your next target. He has been making a lot of money lately.
Why you keep changing my comment and user name. Listen Mr.Elias if you belive in free media you should let every one express their opinion.
Is there any law in the US, how this criminal looters were able to cheat the system. #5 is correct. one day the looters will be sued.
Henok Tesfaye Should be investigated for:
1) The theft of parking revenue from Colonial Parking when he worked as an attendant
2) The DC Taxi license corruption there are some people willing to testify and expose his actions
3)The hiring of non documented employees paying low wages
4)The corrupted award of the MWAA parking contract( in his own word he admitted that their score was the lowest in Management plan, customer service plan and Operational plan so go figure out) and now his brother already hired his wife to work at Dulles airport parking operation earning 50k/year.
5) now he is involved with Sunshine Contstaction?
From the outside his story looks like the sucessful american dream story ( he fooled The Washington Post and now he just gave an interview to CNN and his story will be on CNN in October only if they new what is behind his story)
It is puzzling to understand how Elias’s mind operate. Elias and many of us despise woyane because they are tribalists to the bone. And you expect Elias would be happy when a gurage business owner builds schools in tigray, amhra and oromia. I am trying to understand what is that you don’t like about woyane then???
Do you know someone who has invested his/her money in Ethiopia and come back to US loosing his money because he was not an align of Weyane?
Don’t you know someone in your family graduated form U, could not find job untill he become member of EPRDF. The formula to be rich in Ethiopia is so simple – be a member, know one of the corrupted Weyane leaders and make a deal to what % their share is.
Don’t be surprised.
Apparently, businessman Samuel Shiferaw was in North America before to encourage potential condo and home builders to use his company (loans and all). There is no problem there, however, he must first has to uproot thousands upon thousands of lawful home owners to accomodate his clients. Thanks Ato Elias Kifle for putting the faces on the stories; thanks for caring and for all the laser-precise articles.
Greed is an excessive desire to possess wealth or goods; Greed (Latin, avaritia), also known as avarice or covetousness, is, like lust and gluttony, a sin of excess. However, greed (as seen by the church) is applied to a very excessive or rapacious desire and pursuit of wealth, status, and power. St. Thomas Aquinas wrote that greed was “a sin against God, just as all mortal sins, in as much as man condemns things eternal for the sake of temporal things.” In Dante’s Purgatory, the penitents were bound and laid face down on the ground for having concentrated too much on earthly thoughts. “Avarice” is more of a blanket term that can describe many other examples of greedy behavior. These include disloyalty, deliberate betrayal, or treason, especially for personal gain, for example through bribery. Scavenging and hoarding of materials or objects, theft and robbery, especially by means of violence, trickery, or manipulation of authority are all actions that may be inspired by greed. Such misdeeds can include simony, where one profits from soliciting goods within the actual confines of a church. As a secular psychological concept, greed is an inordinate desire to acquire or possess more than one needs or deserves, especially with respect to material wealth.; the term may further refer to:
In Christian morality: Greed (sin), one of the Seven Deadly Sins. –Wikipedia
what a rubish thing you are talking Elias?
please be understand and don’t biased the others because we don’t like any thing related to tigray.Elias ante be hilm alem new yewtnorow, we in ethiopia, living to gether and no zeregninet except what we heard from diaspora.
Samual is one of the few hard working person and spending his money for the country and in donation for the poor. please call some of your family in addis and you understand the truth.
Samual start building school first in Nekemt(oromia), second in butagira, then tigray and the next plan is amhara region and harar. let tell you some thing about samual and his confident; there is no work in his company or his project work site every month at the day of gebriel(be 19 beyeweru), as a tradition, he have a big party at kulubi twice a year with his workers(this is very rare in ethiopia), do you know this?
any way, all diaspora, be hilm alem yemtinoru, please understand the reality and be understand that Ethiopia is at work and no body can’t stop it. for those of you wants to know the truth, I am at your disposal.
any one and Every one that serve woyane is the enemy,to the majority of the Ethiopian people.
Elias keep doing what you are doing.you are the voice of millions of Ethiopians who cant speak,fight for them self…….
yezemenu wondata Ato Samuel Tafesse.
I think for some of you cry babies, the only definition of hard work is putting in 16 hours for someone and barely paying bills. After all the game plan is to win. Mr Samuel won. so what?
I have a bit of an advice to TPLF thugs and those HODAMS who sold your soul for 80 birr: stay away from this website. You can post your distorted view on walta forum. THIS is a web site for ETHIOPIANS genunine concern for their country and people. It is NOT for hodams.
It is heartbreaking to see most of the Ethiopian review readers are dancing when Elias is singing his worst songs.
Elias Kifle is immature politician and unsuccessful businessman who claim to be a journalist. He is immature politician because his role model is Isayas’ Afewerki the brutal dictator on earth who makes that little country a living hell and a big prison to the Eritrean and Elias praises this self centered mad person while he is against any Ethiopian public figures who are successful religious leaders or businessmen like Shiferaw. Elias is a lousy businessman because he is trying to benefit from somewhere by injecting sensitive controversial subjects like this and people are jumping to make their statements. This is not what we are focusing on and this is not the burning issues of Ethiopian problems. Unfortunately people are jumping up and down with Elias’s cunning agenda and moods. We Ethiopians are not green-eyed people or not jealous for any successful people coming from that land.
We could no declare a war against all successful people because they doing something to get where they are and because that we are not able or lucky to do that. If there is a chance to be filthy rich every one of us strives to be one but that is not given for all. As there are lights there are darks rich and poor left and right…. These categories of phenomena and people were there since the history of mankind. There are successful preachers like the one Elias envious and work hard to destroy his reputation; there are rich people like the one today makes him an agenda. So my countrymen please do not fall prey to Elias’s propaganda. I know Elias is not a journalist and if he decides not to publish this I could understand.
If he publish it he will prove me wrong.
Elias,
You have no idea how much ordinary Ethiopians despise you. You live in your own cocoon. Doma ras.
Yohannes Ejigu,
The folks who jump up and down with Elias are not Ethiopians. Don’t be fooled. They are Eritrean supporters of the dictator in Asmara.
Yohanis Ejigu #27
i dont think u understand no one is against any good Ethiopian making money we are at least i am very happy.
What we Ethiopians against are those who exploit Ethiopia with this Woyane band and loot Ethiopia Bone dry not any one else… and SER let us know if u are one of them who is looting Ethiopia otherwise shat the hell up……….
I hate this Elias kifle more than I hate shabia and alshabab.
Visitor #30, your heart is going to stop beating, due to heavy load of hate. Add to your hate list, the 75 million Ethiopians that support and believe in what Elias is doing.
The Axis of Evil* within the Animal Kingdom** that is Ethiopia have been the most active in the last three and half decades.
The axis are the reactionary forces comprise of elements that transcend across several tribes and provinces. The Ethiopian version of the axis of evil is chiefly comprise of the Egyptian Cobra Naja Haje, the Nile Crocodile Crocodylus Niloticus and the Horned Viper Cerastes Cerastes Viperdae. These elements, found among otherwise sanctified tribes, have been known to cause deadly havocs and hellish darkness. Somewhat lesser evil players such as the wolves, hyenas, wild lions and leapords as well as the foxes are naturally opportunist predators.
*Axis of Evil was a phrase coined by W. Bush’s speech writer David Frum which in turn was inspired by one of FDR’s speeches. The Axis of Evil in his case referred to Iran, Iraq and North Korea.
**Inspired by National Geographic Video – Eternal Enemies: Lions and Hyenas (1992) by Derek Joubert which so much told Ethiopia’s last 36 years story.
Elias keep exposing the truth about our beloved country there is a saying ” hard working pays in the future lazyiness pays off now” keep up the good work may ja blessing you…….
Comment # 19 Truth-you “Dingay ras” go on with your effort to fire all hard working young people from Henok’s parking co.as you said because they do not have legal documents.Is this your long term plan.Hate you guys you are out of the limits.Including Elias and that proffesor.
Go on Samuel Your country is growing so does you.I wish forbes listed your name in the world richest poeple list name.
Love for all!!Death for hate -politics!!
Let me also guess what Elias is going to do next. He will also threaten not only small businesses like “Etete” and any individual who buy land or house back home but also Diasporas who will fly with Ethiopian Air Lines four days a week to visit their family or for business trip.
Mr. Elias would set up a camera crew at Dallas International Air port, I mean permanently, to take a picture of every individual and post it on his website like he did it last time.
It will be another way of threatening people to call them, “Weyane” or “Hodam.”
I THICK THIS WILL BE HIS LONG TERM PLAN.
LOVE FOR ALL
Tareku #30
I dont think any true Ethiopiawe will support any dictatorship any where.
But you Tareku(as Yegermal)support the most heated dictator in Ethiopia history Meles Satnawe…
Great job Elias for exposing these hodams. For those of you who are saying that Samuel is a hard worker bla bla, did you know Samuel was dirt poor before weyane came to town. Whay wasn’t he successful? At least the other hodams such as Alamudi and Kangaro Chama had money before Weyane era.
Those who attack the messenger because the message is uncomfortable are in fact making an understandable, though primitive, response. The mosquito stings so you slap the mosquito. Push it away, the child’s first response to something offending, with no further thought about repercussions. Adults, in human society, are supposed to be logical, entertain facts, digest, discuss, and conclude. They most often do none of this, but simply react, as a child, to the offending substance of message, rejecting it. These are not leaders of men, as this type of reaction makes them scarcely suitable for any life but swinging from trees, but as Internet access is granted to anyone, they write email and post their simplistic reactions on message board. “Go away, you’re crazy, I don’t want to hear it”, they cry, and when the shift occurs will be found huddled in some corner making these demands still. So, don’t shout on ER rebut the facts if you can. Otherwise, admit it.
Winner of all this drama is WOYANNE. They know this day will come to Sunshine and business likes him when they have to make a choice! From here on, Samuel will fight like Almudi to make sure Woyanne stays in power for his business survival. I’m shacked and appalled with the response to this article. One of the RICHEST men has been touched and his friends and families are CRYING foul! Are you seriously claiming he’s a Saint? The facts are simple: He is connected with the government. Please stop mentioning that he’s a hard working business man and got all his fortune in the last 20 years by working 7 days a week 24 hours a day. He is connected and gets the best Government contracts and everything else he ask for including the Right to SMUGGLE several millions of dollar overseas to build MANSSIONS for SAFE HAVEN. I think, the discussion should be, is it ok for someone to be involve with the current government and run a highly lucrative business in Ethiopian and not to be attack by the opposition? I really like to have this discussion with anyone who has been criticizing the Editor for bringing this article to our attention. Another question I have for Etette restaurant supporters is that, as a person that oppose the government I have the rights not spend a penny in her restaurant if she is connected with Woyanne. Again, here are the facts: Henok AKA National/Dulles Airport Parking is her son and helped her opened the restaurant. He is also a good family friend of Samuel (Henok a married man, just have a baby from Samuel’s daughter). Samuel has been helping Henok with his business in Ethiopia. So, as opposition, do we have a right to question Henok and Etette Restaurant conducts? This discussion is not about trying to damage a reputation of an individual or business. There are several business barley surviving because the do NOT want to be associated with the Government. And, there are business likes of Sunshine connected with Government. Again, as an opposition, do I have the right to criticize the connected one, especially when he asked for it? Am I expected to keep quite and be happy when Samuel and his likes spend their dirty money (blood money) on my face? Defenders of this shame, please respond!
We will report the Henock likes to FBI. I just emailed CNN and Washington Post about the parking Chief Bandit who shoul be on the cover page of the Federal Prisons news paper.
He belongs to be on the show called ” Greed”
America, CNN and Washington post must stop functioning in promoting Parking Bandits.
If you are collecting and exposing these corrupt officials and their properties around North America, get ready we can help. Most properties are under their close relatives.
Wey gud, wey gud, wey gud
This is amazing to say the least, ato Tafesse could have spent half the amount of money to help the Amhara region get two schools and a clinic with a complete staff for five years.
Truth, You are the most discussed person in this world. you shold be shame of yourself. you see one Ethiopian become successful person you wanted to give him a name instad of giving him support. Henok is a great person that he help so many Ethiopian here in us and abroad…pls get you facts right. He made it, ekekhen ekeke ante blo truth…dengay ras
How about building school and clinic in Sodo ????
What happen to decency?