Naguib Sawiris, one of the region's wealthiest men, said "there is no limit" on what he is willing to spend to buy an island from Italy or Greece -- where thousands have been arriving -- to provide the refugees with a new home.
"Greece or Italy, sell me an island," Sawiris tweeted. He even suggested a name for the new country: "Hope."
He said there are dozens of empty islands off of Greece and Italy that could handle 100,000 to 200,000 people. And he rejected a suggestion that it was a "ridiculous" idea.