With an apparent Egyptian political transition under way, the future of the country's economic elite is in question. The business and political old guard, who had used their ties to President Hosni Mubarak to protect their business and political posts, will begin maneuvering to maintain or improve their statuses in the newly emerging political regime. Before the current unrest forced the political transition, the political old guard, led by the Egyptian military, had been in competition with the regime's business elite. The business elite largely coalesced around Mubarak's son Gamal, who has established a reputation for being business-friendly and pro-privatization.