The Forbes Billionaires List: Africa’s Richest People

AFRICA’S BILLIONAIRES ARE RICHER than they have been in years. As a group, the continent’s 18 billionaires are worth an estimated $84.9 billion – a 15% increase from 12 months ago and the largest tally since at least 2015. Soaring stock prices from Nigeria to Zimbabwe lifted the fortunes of these tycoons, as demand for products and services from telecom to luxury goods ticked up.
For the 11th year in a row, Alike Dangote of Nigeria is the continent’s richest person, worth an estimated $13.9 billion, up from $12.1 billion last year following a 30% increase in the stock price of Dangote Cement, his most valuable asset. Jumping into the No. 2 spot – up from No. 4 last year – is luxury goods magnate Johann Rupert of South Africa.

1. ALIKO DANGOTE

Net worth: $13.9 billion
Rank in 2021: 1
Net worth in 2021: $12.1 billion
Origin of wealth: Cement, sugar
Industry: Manufacturing
Age: 64
Country: Nigeria
Residence: Lagos

Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest person, founded and chairs Dangote Cement, the continent’s largest cement producer.
He owns 85% of publicly-traded Dangote Cement through a holding company.
Dangote Cement produces 45.6 million metric tons annually and has operations in 10 countries across Africa.
After many years in development, Dangote’s fertilizer plant in Nigeria began operations in mid-2021.
Dangote Refinery has been under construction since 2016 and is expected to be one of the world’s largest oil refineries once complete

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2. JOHANN RUPERT & FAMILY

Johann Rupert is chairman of Swiss luxury goods firm Compagnie Financiere Richemont.
The company is best known for the brands Cartier and Montblanc.
It was formed in 1998 through a spinoff of assets owned by Rembrandt Group Limited (now Remgro Limited), which his father Anton formed in the 1940s.
He owns 7% of diversified investment firm Remgro, which he chairs, as well as 25% of Reinet, an investment holding company based in Luxembourg.
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.

Net worth: $11 billion
Rank in 2021: 4
Net worth in 2021: $7.2 billion
Origin of wealth: Luxury goods
Industry: Fashion and Retail
Age: 71
Country: South Africa
Residence: Cape Town

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3. NICKY OPPENHEIMER & FAMILY

Nicky Oppenheimer, heir to the DeBeers diamond fortune, sold his 40% of the firm to mining group Anglo American for $5.1 billion in cash in 2012. For 85 years until 2012, the Oppenheimer family occupied a controlling spot in the world’s diamond trade. He was the third generation of his family to run DeBeers, and took the company private in 2001. In 2014, Oppenheimer started Fireblade Aviation in Johannesburg, which operates chartered flights. He owns at least 720 square miles of conservation land across South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe

Net worth: $8.7 billion
Rank in 2021: 3
Net worth in 2021: $8 billion
Origin of wealth: Diamonds
Industry: Metals and mining
Age: 76
Country: South Africa

Residence: Johannesburg

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4. NASSEF SAWIRIS

Nassef Sawiris is an investor and a scion of Egypt’s wealthiest family.His most valuable asset is a nearly 6% stake in sportswear maker Adidas.
In December 2020, he acquired a 5% stake in New York-listed firm Madison Square Garden Sports, owner of NBA Nicks and the NHL Rangers teams.
He runs OCI, one of the world’s largest nitrogen fertilizer producers, with plants in Texas and Iowa; it trades on the Euronext Amsterdam Exchange.
Orascom Construction, an engineering and building firm, trades on the Cairo exchange and Nasdaq Dubai.
His holdings include stakes in cement giant Lafarge Holcim and Adidas; he sits on the supervisory board of Adidas.

Net worth: $8.6 billion
Rank in 2021: 2
Net worth in 2021: $8.5 billion
Origin of wealth: Construction and Investments
Industry: Construction and engineering
Age: 61
Country: Egypt
Residence: Cairo

5. Mike Adenuga : $5.6 billion

Mike Adenuga is the owner of Globacom, the third-largest mobile phone network operator in Nigeria. He has built a fortune of at least $5.6 billion in telecom and oil production. Conoil Producing, his oil exploration firm, operates in the Niger Delta.

Date of birth: 29th April 1953
Age: 69 years (as of 2022)
Country of origin: Nigeria Source of
wealth: Telecom and oil production.
Net worth: $5.6 billion

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6. Christoffel Wiese - $5.4 billion

Date of birth: 10th September 1941
Age: 81 years (as of 2022)
Country of origin: South Africa Source of
wealth: Fashion and clothing, winery, and stock trading
Net worth: $5.4 billion

Christoffel Wiese is a veteran business leader from South Africa with a net worth of $5.4 billion. He is the chairman of Steinhoff Holdings NV, a global retailer with more than 40 brands in over 30 countries. He also serves as the chair of Pepkor, a company that retails discount clothes, textiles, and shoes. Besides, he has invested heavily in seven companies listed on the stock exchange and is the owner of Lanzerac Manor & Winery and wine producer Lourensford Estate.

7. NAGUIB SAWIRIS

Net worth: $3.4 billion Rank in 2021: 8 Net worth in 2021: $3.2 billion Origin of wealth: Telecom Industry: Telecom Age: 67 Country: Egypt Residence: Cairo Naguib Sawiris is a scion of Egypt’s wealthiest family.
His brother Nassef is also a billionaire.
He built a fortune in telecom, selling Orascom Telecom in 2011 to Russian telecom firm VimpelCom (now Veon) in a multibillion-dollar transaction.
He is chairman of Orascom TMT Investments, which has stakes in an asset manager in Egypt and Italian internet company Italiaonline, among others.
Through his Media Globe Holdings, Sawiris owns 88% of pan-European pay TV and video news network Euronews. He also developed a luxury resort called Silversands on the Caribbean island of Grenada.

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8. PATRICE MOTSEPE

Patrice Motsepe, the founder and chairman of African Rainbow Minerals, became a billionaire in 2008 – the first black African on the Forbes list.
In 2016, he launched a private equity firm, African Rainbow Capital, focused on investing in Africa. Motsepe also has a stake in Sanlam, a listed financial services firm, and is the president and owner of the Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club.
In March 2021, Motsepe was elected president of the Confederation of African Football, the sport’s governing body on the continent.
In 1994, he became the first black partner at law firm Bowman Gilfillan in Johannesburg, and then started a mining services contracting business.
In 1997, he bought low-producing gold mine shafts and later turned them profitable.
Net worth:$3.1 billion
Rank in 2021: 9
Net worth in 2021: $3 billion
Origin of wealth: Mining
Industry: Metals and mining
Age: 59
Country: South Africa
Residence: Johannesburg

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