Africa’s Billionaires: Who Made The Most?
Imagine what a million here or there could do for your life. But while we all dream of tropical holidays or owning a house, the rich of the world have gotten quite a bit richer. Forbes released its annual list of the year’s biggest financial gainers and Africa does not buck the trend…
1. Aliko Dangote
Net Worth: $22.9 billion
You can’t touch this man. Africa’s wealthiest person hardly broke a sweat in 2013. Well, that’s not true – Aliko Dangote is a very hard-working and focused individual. Still, while everyone else on this list celebrated a billion here or there, he added more than $10 billion to his already-burgeoning fortune. Aggressively expanding his cement business, one of Africa’s largest enterprises, did the trick. The other areas of his conglomerate also did very well and Dangote’s plans to build Nigeria’s largest oil refinery will likely only boost his bank balance. Today the Nigerian tycoon firmly remains Africa’s richest with a total $22.9 billion.
2. Isabel dos Santos
Net Worth: $3.7 billion
Unlike anyone on this list, Isabel dos Santos seems to be far from self-made. Indeed, she is the daughter of the President of Angola – a regime notorious for its wealthy ruling elite and nepotism. Dos Santos was basically given a lot of shares in the national oil industry by her father, in a country where many live on less than a few dollars a day. As it were, the level of her questionable wealth was underestimated – investigations into Dos Santos’ affairs revealed another $2.8 billion.
3. Christo Wiese
Net Worth: $6.5 billion
A retail mogul, Christo Wiese’s fortunes are tied to the fate of Shoprite, the largest retail group in Africa. Unfortunately Forbes is not being very clear on how his fortune managed to double in the past year – in November he was listed as worth $3.8 billion, a number that grew to $6.5 billion by the start of this year. But nobody doubts the figure: Wiese had been selling some of his Shoprite shares and is invested in several other lucrative industries.
4. Folorunsho Alakija
Net Worth: $2.5 billion
There is some controversy over Folorunsho Alakija’s actual worth. Late last year Ventures Africa pegged the Nigerian’s wealth at an impressive $7.3 billion, which would make her the richest black woman in the world. Forbes originally had her at $600 million, but noted new assets, specifically in the oil fields that make up the bulk of her wealth. Though the two sources still differ immensely on her true worth, nobody is arguing that Alakija is now a proper billionaire thanks to a larger-than-thought stake in the lucrative Agbami oilfield. She has $2.5 billion to her name, a jump of 317 percent – the biggest on this list.
5. Johann Rupert
Net Worth: $7.8 billion
Heir to a cigarette giant, Johann Rupert turned it into an empire. Other than tobacco, he also owns the luxury goods company Richemont, home to brands like Cartier and Montblanc. That turned out to be his biggest boon for 2013, as its share value jumped by 50 percent. Forbes calculates that South Africa’s Rupert enjoyed a 22 percent boost to his fortune, translating into $1.4 billion extra cash. That comfortably elevates the media-shy tycoon into being Africa’s second-richest.
6. Nassef Sawiris
Net Worth: $6.6 billion
Egypt’s richest man added a bumper $1 billion to his fortune in 2013. One of the three Sawiris brothers, he co-owns Orascom Construction Industries, which has fingers in cement and fertilizer, to name a few. Big investments in his businesses have boosted his balance sheet and despite agreeing to an expensive tax settlement, Sawiris still came out on top. With a rise of 18 percent, he is now worth $6.6 billion.
7. Mohamed Mansour
Net Worth: $3.1 billion
This list
with Yasseen Mansour, co-owner of the Mansour Group. But though his fortune grew dramatically, as mentioned he still falls behind his brother Mohamed. One of Africa’s ten richest, Mohamed’s wealth got a healthy 41 percent boost in 2013, reports Forbes. That translates to $900 million, pushing him to a total of $3.1 billion. This is all thanks to aggressive international expansion by the Mansour Group and most of its income did not come from troubled Egypt.
8. Koos Bekker
Net Worth: $1.2 billion
Imagine being in charge of a company that just seems to be printing money. Naspers may be a media firm, but smart diversification has kept it immune from the forces ravaging its peers. Indeed, Naspers keeps making money – unheard of for a firm that used to mainly print newspapers. Bekker is the man credited for this turnaround and his holdings show the result: Forbes estimates that over the past year his fortune grew by $750 million – 167 percent – giving him admission to the billionaire’s club
9. Abdulsamad Rabiu
Net Worth: $1.2 billion
Making his debut on the billionaires list late last year, Nigeria’s Abdulsamad Rabiu has had a terrific 2013. He has fingers in many of the same businesses as his compatriot and Africa’s richest, Aliko Dangote: flour, cement, real estate, steel and more, all run through his privately-owned BUA Group. In the past year Rabiu’s fortune grew by an impressive 85 percent – adding $550 million and elevating him into billionaire status with $1.2 billion to his name.
10. Yasseen Mansour
Net Worth: $2.4 billion
You may not have heard of Yasseen Mansour before now, but if you regularly survey lists like these you know his brother Mohamed: one of Africa’s ten richest people. Both along with their third brother run the Mansour Group, an Egyptian giant that among many things is the continent’s leading supplier of Caterpillar equipment. Though Yasseen’s fortune didn’t outgrow his brother’s – Mohamed’s worth grew to $3.1 billion – it still jumped 20 percent ($400 million) to reach $2.4 billion.
