African Billionaires

African Billionaires

1.

Aliko Dangote

CEO, Dangote Group
$11.9B

Real Time Net Worth

as of May 15, 2017

$12.2B

Net Worth

as of 2017

  • Age60
  • Source of wealthcement, sugar, flour, Self Made
  • CitizenshipNigeria
  • EducationBachelor of Arts / Science, Al-Azhar University
  • ResidenceLagos, Nigeria
  • StatusMarried
  • Children3

2.

Nicky Oppenheimer & Family

Former Chairman, De Beers
$7B

Real Time Net Worth

as of May 24, 2017

$7B

Net Worth

as of 2017

  • Age71
  • Source of wealthDiamonds
  • CitizenshipSouth Africa
  • EducationBachelor of Arts/ Science, Oxford U Christ Church; Master if Arts, Oxford U Christ Church
  • ResidenceJohannesburg, South Africa
  • StatusMarried
  • Children1

Net Worth Over Time

$6.4 B
2012
$6.5 B
2013
$6.7 B
2014
$6.7 B
2015
$6.6 B
2016
$7 B
2017

I’m a great believer that, if you know how to operate in Africa, there are unbelievable opportunities

Nicky Oppenheimer & Family
  • The DeBeers diamond heir sold his 40% stake in DeBeers to Anglo American for $5.1 billion in cash in 2012.
  • Anglo American, which Nicky’s grandfather founded, controls 85% of De Beers.
  • He served on Anglo American’s board for 37 years until 2011, and retains an estimated 1% stake in the company.

3.

Mike Adenuga

Founder, Globacom | Chairman Conoil
$5.9B

Real Time Net Worth

as of May 24, 2017

$5.9B

Net Worth

as of 2017

  • Age64
  • Self-made score100
  • Source of wealthTelecom, Oil
  • CitizenshipNigeria
  • EducationMaster Of Business Administration, Pace University, New York
  • ResidenceLagos, Nigeria
  • StatusMarried
  • Children7

Net Worth Over Time

$4.6 B
2012
$4.7 B
2013
$4.6 B
2014
$4.2 B
2015
$10 B
2016
$5.8 B
2017
$5.9 B
2017

The harder you work, the luckier you get

Mike Adenuga

Mike Adenuga, Nigeria’s second richest man, built his fortune in telecom and oil production. His mobile phone network, Globacom, is the second largest operator in Nigeria with 36 million subscribers; it also has operations in Ghana and the Republic of Benin. His exploration outfit, Conoil Producing, operates 6 oil blocks in the Niger Delta. He also owns real estate firm Proline Investments, which has hundreds of properties throughout Nigeria. Adenuga studied in the United States, getting an MBA at Pace University in New York, where he worked as a taxi driver to support himself. He returned to Nigeria and made his first fortune trading lace and Coca-Cola. Along the way he made friends with Nigerian military bigwigs who awarded him lucrative state contracts; those formed the foundation of his fortune. His estimated net worth is lower this year due to the drop in value of Nigeria’s currency, challenges in the oil sector, and overall weakness in Nigeria’s economy.

4.

Johann Rupert & Family

Chairman, Compagnie Financiere Richemont
$6.7B

Real Time Net Worth

as of May 24, 2017

$5.5B

Net Worth

as of 2017

  • Age66
  • Source of wealthLuxury goods
  • CitizenshipSouth Africa
  • EducationStellenboch University
  • ResidenceCape Town, South Africa
  • StatusMarried
  • Children3

Net Worth Over Time

$5.7 B
2012
$6.6 B
2013
$7.6 B
2014
$7.4 B
2015
$6.3 B
2016
$5.5 B
2017

Go with your gut

Johann Rupert & Family

Johann Rupert is chairman of Swiss luxury goods firm Compagnie Financiere Richemont. Best known for the brands Cartier and Montblanc, the company was formed in 1998 by spinning off international assets owned by Rembrandt Group Limited (now Remgro Limited), a South African company his father Anton founded in the 1940s as a tobacco manufacturer. Rupert owns a 7% stake in diversified investment firm Remgro, which he chairs, as well as 25% of Reinet, an investment holding company based in Luxembourg that has a stake in British American Tobacco. He also owns part of the Saracens English rugby team and Anthonij Rupert Wines, named after his deceased brother. In recent years, Rupert has been a vocal opponent of plans to allow fracking in the Karoo, a region of South Africa where he owns land. Rupert says his biggest regret was not not buying half of Gucci when he had the opportunity to do so for just $175 million.

5.

Christoffel Wiese

Chairman, Pepkor
$6.3B

Real Time Net Worth

as of May 24, 2017

$5.5B

Net Worth

as of 2017

  • Age75
  • Source of wealthRetail
  • CitizenshipSouth Africa
  • EducationBachelor of Arts/ Science Stellenbosch University
  • ResidenceCape Town, South Africa
  • StatusMarried
  • Children3

Net Worth Over Time

$3.7 B
2012
$3.5 B
2013
$3.2 B
2014
$6.3 B
2015
$5.8 B
2016
$5.5 B
2017

Africa is awakening. It’s a huge market of almost a billion people with huge resources and a young population. People spend when they’re young.

Christoffel Wiese

Christoffel Wiese built a retail empire by capitalizing on bargain prices in South Africa, and has expanded its geographic footprint. In December 2015, Wiese’s furniture and home goods retailer Steinhoff moved its listing from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange to the Frankfurt Stock Exchange to focus on the European market. In August 2016, Steinhoff entered the U.S. market, announcing plans to buy Mattress Firm Holding Corp., which owns Sleepy’s, a chain with 1,000 mattress stores, for $2.4 billion. His other investments include 15% of publicly-traded Shoprite Holdings, which has supermarkets, furniture stores and fast food outlets in 15 countries across Africa and the Indian Ocean Islands; and stakes in private equity firm Brait, industrial products company Invicta Holdings and mining-sector investor Pallinghurst.

6.

Nassef Sawiris

CEO, Orascom Construction Industries
$6.5B

Real Time Net Worth

as of May 24, 2017

$5.3B

Net Worth

as of 2017

  • Age56
  • Source of wealthConstruction, Chemicals
  • CitizenshipEgypt
  • EducationBachelor Arts/ Science, University of Chicago
  • ResidenceCairo, Egypt
  • StatusMarried
  • Children4

Net Worth Over Time

$5.5 B
2012
$6.5 B
2013
$6.7 B
2014
$6.3 B
2015
$3.7 B
2016
$5.3 B
2017

Politicians can only delay the inevitable for a limited amount of time.

Nassef Sawiris

Egypt’s richest businessman, Nassef Sawiris, runs OCI, one of the largest nitrogen fertilizer producers in the world. It has plants in Texas, and is building facilities in Iowa. Originally Orascom Construction Industries, Sawiris split the company into two entities in 2015. Orascom Construction now trades on Egypt’s exchange and Nasdaq Dubai, while OCI, the fertilizer and chemicals business, trades on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange. Sawiris also owns nearly 5% of cement giant LafargeHolcim, and 7% of Adidas. A University of Chicago graduate, he donated $20 million to the school in 2015 to establish a scholarship program named after his father, Onsi. The funds benefit Egyptian students.

7.

Naguib Sawiris

Former CEO Orascom Telecom
$3.8B

Real Time Net Worth

as of May 24, 2017

$3.7B

Net Worth

as of 2017

  • Age62
  • Source of wealthTelecom
  • CitizenshipEgypt
  • EducationBachelor of Arts/ Science Swiss Federal Polytechnical Institute; Master Science, Swiss Federal Polytechnical Institute
  • ResidenceCairo, Egypt
  • StatusMarried
  • Children4

Net Worth Over Time

$2.5 B
2012
$2.5 B
2013
$2.8 B
2014
$3.1 B
2015
$3 B
2016
$3.7 B
2017

I don’t run behind authority.

Naguib Sawiris

Naguib Sawiris captured world headlines in 2015, when he offered to buy an island from Greece or Italy to settle refugees fleeing the war in Syria. “I am serious with my intentions,” he told FORBES. Neither country took up his offer. Sawiris, who built his fortune in telecom, announced in December 2016 he was stepping down as CEO of Cairo-based Orascom Telecom Media & Technology (OTMT). The company’s efforts to acquire an investment bank in March 2016 were stymied by Egypt’s financial regulators, who accused OTMT of breaches pertaining to a five-year-old demerger of telecom assets. OTMT claims that the government has as a result hampered its ability to grow. In 2015, it exited the cell phone business in Egypt when it sold its stake in Mobinil to France’s Orange. In North Korea, OTMT operates Koryolink, the country’s only 3G mobile telecom firm, but lost financial control over the operator due to the government’s maneuvers. Since 2013, Sawiris has built major stakes in gold mining companies that operate in Canada, Australia and Africa.

8.

Isabel Dos Santos

Investor
$3.3B

Real Time Net Worth

as of May 24, 2017

$3.2B

Net Worth

as of 2017

  • Age44
  • Source of wealthInvestments
  • CitizenshipAngola
  • EducationBachelor of Arts/ Science, King’s College London
  • ResidenceLuanda, Angola
  • StatusMarried
  • Children3

Net Worth Over Time

$0.5 B
2012
$2 B
2013
$3.7 B
2014
$3.3 B
2015
$3 B
2016
$3.2 B
2017

I work all the time. Seven days a week.

Isabel Dos Santos

Africa’s richest woman, Isabel dos Santos is the oldest daughter of Angola’s longtime president. Though her representatives deny that her holdings have any connection to her father, President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, FORBES research found that he transferred stakes in several Angolan companies to her. In June 2016, he appointed her the head of Sonangol, Angola’s state oil firm. In February 2017 he announced he will not seek reelection. Dos Santos’ assets in Angola include 25% of Unitel, the country’s largest mobile phone network, and 42% of a bank, Banco BIC. In Portugal she owns nearly 6% of oil and gas firm Galp Energia (alongside Portuguese billionaire Americo Amorim), and nearly 19% of Banco BPI, the country’s fourth-largest bank She is also a controlling shareholder of Portuguese cable TV and telecom firm Nos SGPS (formerly called Zon). In October 2015, four members of the European Parliament publicly called for an investigation into her investments in Portugal, questioning their legality. A spokesperson for Dos Santos told Forbes that “Isabel dos Santos is an independent business woman and a private investor representing solely her own interests. Her investments in Angolan and/or in Portuguese companies are transparent and have been conducted through arms length’s transactions involving external entities such as reputed banks and law firms.”

9.

Issad Rebrab & family

Founder, Cevital
$3.3B

Real Time Net Worth

as of May 24, 2017

$3.1B

Net Worth

as of 2017

  • Age73
  • Source of wealthFood
  • CitizenshipAlgeria
  • EducationVocational training
  • ResidenceAlgiers, Algeria
  • StatusMarried
  • Children5

Net Worth Over Time

$3.2 B
2013
$3.2 B
2014
$3.1 B
2015
$3.1 B
2016
$3.1 B
2017

At worst, I knew I could always go back to teaching.

Issad Rebrab & family

Issad Rebrab founded Algeria’s biggest privately held conglomerate, Cevital. It owns one of the largest sugar refineries in the world, with an annual output of 1.6 million tons; it also produces vegetable oil and margarine. Rebrab has been diversifying by buying European companies in distress. In 2014, he acquired Groupe Brandt, a large French-based maker of appliances that had filed for bankruptcy protection. Cevital has invested more than $200 million to build a Brandt plant in Algeria. Rebrab was reportedly a customer of Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, which helped him set up offshore firms to register a Swiss bank account, in defiance of Algerian laws. Rebrab, whose five children work at the company, is the son of militants who fought for Algeria’s independence from France.

10.

Mohammed Mansour

Chairman, Mansour Group
$2.7B

Real Time Net Worth

as of May 24, 2017

$2.7B

Net Worth

as of 2017

  • Age69
  • Source of wealthDiversified
  • CitizenshipEgypt
  • EducationMaster Of Business Administration, Auburn University
  • ResidenceCairo, Egypt
  • StatusMarried
  • Children2

Net Worth Over Time

$2.2 B
2012
$2.2 B
2013
$3.1 B
2014
$4 B
2015
$2.5 B
2016
$2.7 B
2017
Mohammed Mansour

Mohamed Mansour oversees conglomerate Mansour Group, which has the sole distribution rights in Egypt for GM vehicles and Caterpillar equipment; it also has the McDonald’s franchise. However, the group generates the bulk of its revenues from outside the country. Mansour and his brothers Yasseen and Youssef, all billionaires, have the exclusive rights to Caterpillar sales in Russia and six African countries. Through its private equity arm, it also has more than $500 million in investments in such places as Dubai, Africa and the U.S., where they own a logistics company in California. Mohamed has real estate in Missouri. Son Loutfy oversees the family’s private equity investments.

11.

Koos Bekker

Former CEO, Naspers
$2.3B

Real Time Net Worth

as of May 24, 2017

$2B

Net Worth

as of 2017

  • Age64
  • Source of wealthMedia Investments
  • CitizenshipSouth Africa
  • EducationLLB, University of Witwatersrand, Masters Business Administration, Columbia Business School
  • ResidenceCape Town, South Africa
  • StatusMarried
  • Children2

Net Worth Over Time

$0.45 B
2012
$1.1 B
2013
$2 B
2014
$1.7 B
2015
$2 B
2016
$2 B
2017

What is enough? Enough is when somebody says, “Get me the best people you can find” and nobody notices that half of them turn out to be women

Koos Bekker

Koos Bekker is revered as an astute executive who transformed South African newspaper publisher Naspers into a digital media powerhouse, primarily due to his 2001 bet on Chinese Internet and media firm Tencent. During his tenure as CEO, which began in 1997, Bekker oversaw a rise in the market capitalization of Naspers from about $600 million to $45 billion, while drawing no salary, bonus, or benefits. He was compensated via stock option grants that vested over time. Bekker, who retired as the CEO of Naspers in March 2014, returned as chairman in April 2015. Over the summer of 2015 he sold more than 70% of his Naspers shares. His Babylonstoren estate, which features architecture dating back to 1690, stretches across nearly 600 acres in South Africa’s Western Cape region and includes a farm, orchard, vineyard, a 14-room hotel and a restaurant.

12.

Othman Benjelloun

Chairman, BMCE Bank
$1.96B

Real Time Net Worth

as of May 24, 2017

$1.9B

Net Worth

as of 2017

  • Age84
  • Source of wealthBanking, Insurance
  • CitizenshipMorocco
  • EducationDiploma, Ecole Polytechnique de Lausanne
  • ResidenceCasablanca, Morocco
  • StatusMarried
  • Children2

Net Worth Over Time

$2.75 B
2012
$3.1 B
2013
$2.8 B
2014
$2.3 B
2015
$1.9 B
2016
$1.9 B
2017

I own quite a lot and I have worked very hard for it

Othman Benjelloun

Othman Benjelloun’s father was a large shareholder in a small Moroccan insurance company. Benjelloun took over in 1988 and built it into privately held RMA Watanya, a leading insurance company. He then used it to expand into banking. Today he is chairman of BMCE Bank, Africa’s second largest bank with operations in 20 African countries, including Senegal, Kenya and Congo. Through his holding company FinanceCom, he is also the majority shareholder of insurance company RMA Watanya and has a minority stake in Meditelecom, Morocco’s second largest mobile phone operator. His Paris-based money management firm, FinanceCom Asset Management, invests in companies in Nigeria, South Africa, and Ghana, among other countries. To house BMCE’s new headquarters, Benjelloun is building a 30-story rocket-shaped tower that will loom over Casablanca. He co-owns Ranch Adarouch, where he raises livestock and keeps race horses.

13.

Yasseen Mansour

Founder & Chairman, Palm Hills Development , Mansour Group
$1.75B

Real Time Net Worth

as of May 24, 2017

$1.4B

Net Worth

as of 2017

  • Age55
  • Source of wealthDiversified
  • CitizenshipEgypt
  • EducationBachelor Of Arts/ Science, George Washington Univesity
  • ResidenceCairo, Egypt
  • StatusMarried
  • Children4

Net Worth Over Time

$2 B
2012
$2 B
2013
$1.8 B
2014
$2.3 B
2015
$1.4 B
2016
$1.4 B
2017
Yasseen Mansour

Yasseen Mansour and his billionaire brothers, Youssef and Mohammed, run Mansour Group, which owns the sole rights for Caterpillar dealerships in Egypt, Russia and several African countries, as well as General Motors dealerships in Egypt and Iraq. In Egypt the group also operates supermarkets and McDonald’s restaurants, and distributes tobacco brands Davidoff and Gauloises. Mansour is a founder and chairman of publicly-traded Palm Hills Developments, one of Egypt’s biggest real estate developers. In 2014, U.S. private equity firm Ripplewood bought a 2.3% stake in Palm Hills for an undisclosed amount, and Ripplewood’s CEO was appointed vice chairman.




14.

Folorunsho Alakija

Vice Chair, Famfa Oil
$1.72B

Real Time Net Worth

as of May 24, 2017

$1.6B

Net Worth

as of 2017

  • Age66
  • Source of wealthOil
  • CitizenshipNigeria
  • EducationLondon and Central School Of Fashion, Fashion Design American College
  • ResidenceLagos, Nigeria
  • StatusMarried
  • Children4

Net Worth Over Time

$0.6 B
2012
$2.5 B
2013
$2.5 B
2014
$1.7 B
2015
$1.6 B
2016
$1.6 B
2017

Rome was not built in a day. As you continue to struggle to make ends meet, somewhere, somehow, you will make it.

Folorunsho Alakija

Folorunsho Alakija is the vice chair of Famfa Oil, a Nigerian oil exploration company that has a 60% participating interest in block OML 127, part of Agbami field, one of Nigeria’s largest deepwater discoveries. Its partners include Chevron and Petrobras. Her first company was a fashion label that catered to Nigeria’s elite women, including the wife of former military president, Ibrahim Babangida, who awarded Alakija’s company an oil prospecting license.

15.

Patrice Motsepe

Founder, Africa Rainbow Minerals
$1.65B

Real Time Net Worth

as of May 24, 2017

$1.6B

Net Worth

as of 2017

  • Age55
  • Source of wealthMining
  • CitizenshipSouth Africa
  • ResidenceJohannesburg, South Africa
  • StatusMarried
  • Children3

Net Worth Over Time

$2.65 B
2012
$2.9 B
2013
$2.7 B
2014
$2.2 B
2015
$1.1 B
2016
$1.6 B
2017

Education is at the heart of achieving your dreams

Patrice Motsepe

Africa’s first black billionaire, African Rainbow Minerals founder and chairman Patrice Motsepe, launched a new private equity firm focused on investing in Africa in April 2016. Called African Rainbow Capital, it is a subsidiary of Motsepe’s Ubuntu-Botho Investments. Motsepe also has a stake in Sanlam, a listed financial services firm, and is the president and owner of the Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club. He became the first black partner at law firm Bowman Gilfillan in Johannesburg, and then started a contracting business doing mine scut work. In 1994, he bought low-producing gold mine shafts and turned them profitable. South Africa’s Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) laws, which mandate that companies be at least 26% black-owned in order to get a government mining license, benefited Motsepe. In 2013, the mining magnate was the first African to sign Bill Gates’ and Warren Buffett’s Giving Pledge, in which he promised to give at least half his fortune to charity.

16.

Aziz Akhannouch & family

Majority Owner, Akwa Group
$1.54B

Real Time Net Worth

as of May 24, 2017

$1.4B

Net Worth

as of 2017

  • Age56
  • Source of wealthPetroleum
  • CitizenshipMorocco
  • EducationMaster Of Business Administration, University de Sherbrooke
  • ResidenceCasablanca, Morocco
  • StatusMarried
  • Children3

Net Worth Over Time

$1.4 B
2013
$1.4 B
2014
$1.7 B
2015
$1.3 B
2016
$1.4 B
2017

Our position on the government is clear, we want a strong government

Aziz Akhannouch & family

Aziz Akhannouch is the majority owner of Akwa Group, a multibillion-dollar Moroccan conglomerate with interests in petroleum, gas and chemicals through its publicly-traded subsidiaries Afriquia Gas and Maghreb Oxygene. It also has businesses operating in media, real estate development and hotels. Akwa Group was founded by Akhannouch’s father, who later took on a partner, Ahmed Wakrim. While Akhannouch serves as Morocco’s Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, he has handed off day-to-day management of the group to Ahmed Wakrim’s son Ali Wakrim. Akhannouch’s wife, Salwa Idrissi, runs her own company, which develops malls, and owns the Moroccan franchises for Gap, Zara, and Galeries Lafayette, among other fashion brands.

18.

Mohammed Dewji

CEO, METL
$1.39B

Real Time Net Worth

as of May 24, 2017

$1.4B

Net Worth

as of 2017

  • Age42
  • Source of wealthDiversified
  • CitizenshipTanzania
  • ResidenceDar es Salaam, Tanzania
  • StatusMarried
  • Children3

Net Worth Over Time

$0.5 B
2013
$0.8 B
2014
$1.25 B
2015
$1.1 B
2016
$1.4 B
2017

I put in a hundred hours a week. It’s a never stopped game, you can never say “I’ve worked hard enough now”

Mohammed Dewji

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