Following the analysis and calculations of Forbes, Aliko Dangote for the seventh time is the richest man in Africa.
Buoyed by rising stock markets and commodity prices, Africa’s billionaires are collectively wealthier than a year ago. The 23 billionaires that Forbes found in Africa – up from 21 billionaires last year – are worth a combined $75.4 billion, compared to $70 billion in January 2017. – Forbes
Our very own business tycoon, Aliko Dangote, has a net worth that Forbes pegs at $12.2 billion. That’s up $100 million from a year ago. Dangote is looking beyond cement – his most valuable asset – and has been investing in a fertilizer production company and a large oil refinery. Dangote Fertilizer is expected to start operations in the second quarter this year.
Number two on the list is the South African Diamond mining heir, Nicky Oppenheimer. Nicky who is one of the eight South Africans on this list has a net worth of $7.7 billion, up $700 million from last year. Our South African siblings should be celebrating widely because their country is with the most billionaires.
Last year, South Africa and Egypt tied with six billionaires each. Boosting the South African ranks this year: newcomer Michiel le Roux, the founder and former chairman of Johannesburg-listed Capitec Bank Holdings, whose stock has climbed more than 50% in the past year, making Le Roux a new billionaire worth $1.2 billion. South African mining tycoon Desmond Sacco, chairman of listed Assore Group, returns to the list following a stock price surge of some 60% in the past 12 months. Sacco last appeared as a billionaire on the Africa’s Richest list in 2012 with a $1.4 billion fortune. (He also appeared on the 2014 Forbes list of the World’s Billionaires, worth $1.3 billion.)
For the first time ever, Zimbabwe gets its first billionaire this year: telecom magnate Strive Masiyiwa, who chairs the Econet Group. Shares of Zimbabwe-listed mobile phone network Econet Wireless Zimbabwe have surged in value over the past year; Masiyiwa owns more than half of that company. He also has a majority stake in fiber optic firm Liquid Telecom, which raised $700 million in a bond offering in July 2017. Forbes estimates Masiyiwa’s net worth at $1.7 billion.
Only two of the 23 list members are women, unchanged from last year. Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of Angola’s longtime former president, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, is worth an estimated $2.7 billion this year, down from $3.2 billion a year ago. Her net worth dropped in part due to a lower value for Banco BCI, an Angolan bank; its book value plunged in 2016 amid a tough year for the oil-producing country. The other woman is Nigeria’s Folorunsho Alakija, whose estimated $1.6 billion fortune lies in oil exploration firm Famfa Oil, which is partnered with Chevron and Petrobras on a lucrative offshore oil field.
Mohammed Dewji of Tanzania is the youngest on the list, at age 42. He inherited a textile and edible oils group from his father and has expanded its operations. Forbes puts his net worth at $1.5 billion. The oldest list member is Onsi Sawiris of Egypt, age 88; he started Orascom Construction in 1950. It was nationalized by the government of Abdel Nasser and Sawiris created another construction firm from scratch. Two of his three sons are also billionaires, including Nassef Sawiris, who at $6.8 billion is Egypt’s richest man. That’s an increase from $5.3 billion a year ago thanks to upticks in the share price of several of his holdings: shoemaker Adidas, cement giant LaFargeHolcim, and fertilizer maker OCI.
Anas Sefrioui of Morocco dropped off since last year’s list. The share price of his homebuilder, Douja Promotion Groupe Addoha, fell about 30% in the past year, pushing his net worth down to $950 million.
Since last year for 13 of the 23 list members, fortunes rose, then it fell for four people and stayed the same for three people. The list members hail from a total of eight countries: eight from South Africa, six from Egypt, three from Nigeria, two from Morocco and one list member each from Algeria, Angola, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
“Our list tracks the wealth of African billionaires who reside in Africa or have their primary businesses there, thus excluding Sudanese-born billionaire Mo Ibrahim, who is a U.K. citizen, and billionaire London resident Mohamed Al-Fayed, an Egyptian citizen. (Strive Masiyiwa, a citizen of Zimbabwe and a London resident, appears on the list due to his expansive telecom holdings in Africa.) We calculated net worths using stock prices and currency exchange rates from the close of business on Friday, January 5, 2018. To value privately-held businesses, we couple estimates of revenues or profits with prevailing price-to-sales or price-to-earnings ratios for similar public companies.
We have purposely excluded dispersed family fortunes such as the Chandaria family of Kenya and the Madhvanis of Uganda, because the wealth is believed to be held by dozens of family members. We do include wealth belonging to a member’s immediate relatives if the wealth can be traced to one living individual; in that case, you’ll see “& family” on our list as an indication.”
Africa’s Billionaires List
1.Aliko Dangote
Net worth: $12.2 billion
Origin of wealth: Cement, sugar, flour
Age: 60
Country: Nigeria
2.Nicky Oppenheimer
Net worth: $7.7 billion
Origin of wealth: Diamonds
Age: 72
Country: South Africa
3.Johann Rupert
Net worth: $7.2 billion
Origin of wealth: Luxury goods
Age: 67
Country: South Africa
4.Nassef Sawiris
Net worth: $6.8 billion
Origin of wealth: Construction, chemicals
Age: 56
Country: Egypt
5.Mike Adenuga
Net worth: $5.3 billion
Origin of wealth: Telecom, oil
Age: 64
Country: Nigeria
6.Issad Rebrab
Net worth: $4 billion
Origin of wealth: Food
Age: 74
Country: Algeria
6.Naguib Sawiris
Net worth: $4 billion
Origin of wealth: Telecom
Age: 63
Country: Egypt
8.Koos Bekker
Net worth: $2.8 billion
Origin of wealth: Media, investments
Age: 65
Country: South Africa
9.Isabel dos Santos
Net worth: $2.7 billion
Origin of wealth: Investments
Age: 44
Country: Angola
9.Mohamed Mansour
Net worth: $2.7 billion
Origin of wealth: Diversified
Age: 69
Country: Egypt
11.Patrice Motsepe
Net worth: $2.4 billion
Origin of wealth: Mining
Age: 55
Country: South Africa
12.Aziz Akhannouch
Net worth: $2.2 billion
Origin of wealth: Petroleum, diversified
Age: 57
Country: Morocco
13.Yasseen Mansour
Net worth: $1.9 billion
Origin of wealth: Diversified
Age: 56
Country: Egypt
14.Strive Masiyiwa
Net worth: $1.7 billion
Origin of wealth: Telecom
Age: 56
Country: Zimbabwe
15.Folorunsho Alakija
Net worth: $1.6 billion
Origin of wealth: Oil
Age: 67
Country: Nigeria
15.Othman Benjelloun
Net worth: $1.6 billion
Origin of wealth: Banking, insurance
Age: 85
Country: Morocco
17.Mohammed Dewji
Net worth: $1.5 billion
Origin of wealth: Diversified
Age: 42
Country: Tanzania
18.Youssef Mansour
Net worth: $1.4 billion
Origin of wealth: Diversified
Age: 72
Country: Egypt
19.Michiel le Roux
Net worth: $1.2 billion
Origin of wealth: Banking
Age: 68
Country: South Africa
19.Stephen Saad
Net worth: $1.2 billion
Origin of wealth: Pharmaceuticals
Age: 53
Country: South Africa
Photo Credit: Getty Images, Forbes Magazine
