Richest Billionaires in Africa 2019
The list of Richest Billionaires in Africa 2019 as published by Forbes is out and Nigeria’s Aliko Dangote remains on top of the list.
Aliko Dangote, Richest Man in Africa
This year’s list shows that the number of African billionaires shrunk to 20 down from 23 a year ago.
Aliko Dangote remains on top of the list despite losing nearly $2 billion less than a year ago due to the 20% drop in the stock price of Dangote cement which has been his most valuable asset. The drop in Dangote Cement share price plunged Aliko Dangote’s net worth to $10.3 billion.
Four people fell off Forbes’ annual Africa’s Billionaires list while Nigeria’s cement mogul Abdulsamad Rabiu, who runs and own Bua Group returned to the list after dropping off in 2015.
Rabiu’s net worth rose to $1.6 billion after he merged his Kalambiana Cement company into the publicly traded Cement Company of Northern Nigeria, which he had control of by the end of 2018. Rabiu now owns 97% of the fused entity.
Coming second in the list of richest billionaires in Africa with a significant increase is Nigeria’s telecommunication and oil magnate, Mike Adenuga. From $5.3 billion in January 2018, Adenuga’s net worth climbed to $9.2 billion.
Forbes claimed that this dramatic increase was as a result of more detailed information provided by him about his assets.
South Africa’s diamond heir, Nicky Oppenheimer came third in the billionaire rich list with net worth on $7.3 billion down from $7.7 billion a year ago. Nicky inherited diamond mining firm DeBeers from his grandfather but sold the mining firm to America’s mining giant Anglo American for $5.1 billion cash in 2012.
Strive Masiyiwa, the Econet Wireless Chief from Zimbabwe increased in net worth from $1.6 billion last year to $2.3 billion in the current list. The increase was due to the rise in the share price of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe and a new investment that boosted the value of his stake in fibre-optic and satellite-services from Liquid Telecom.
In this year’s list, South Africa and Egypt produced 5 billionaires each followed by Nigeria with 4 billionaires and Morocco two. Other countries that made the list include Algeria, Angola, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
List of Richest Billionaires in Africa 2019
| Rank | Name | Net Worth | Origin of Wealth | Country |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Aliko Dangote | $10.3 B | cement, sugar, flour | Nigeria |
| #2 | Mike Adenuga | $9.2 B | telecom, oil | Nigeria |
| #3 | Nicky Oppenheimer | $7.3 B | diamonds | South Africa |
| #4 | Nassef Sawiris | $6.3 B | construction, chemicals | Egypt |
| #5 | Johann Rupert | $5.3 B | luxury goods | South Africa |
| #6 | Issad Rebrab | $3.7 B | food | Algeria |
| #7 | Naguib Sawiris | $2.9 B | telecom | Egypt |
| #8 | Koos Bekker | $2.3 B | media, investments | South Africa |
| #8 | Isabel dos Santos | $2.3 B | investments | Egypt |
| #8 | Mohamed Mansour | $2.3 B | diversified | Egypt |
| #8 | Strive Masiyiwa | $2.3 B | telecom | Zimbabwe |
| #8 | Patrice Motsepe | $2.3 B | mining | South Africa |
| #13 | Aziz Akhannouch | $2.1 B | petroleum, diversified | Morocco |
| #14 | Mohammed Dewji | $1.9 B | diversified | diversified |
| #15 | Othman Benjelloun | $1.7 B | banking, insurance | Morocco |
| #16 | Abdulsamad Rabiu | $1.6 B | cement, sugar | Nigeria |
| #17 | Yasseen Mansour | $1.5 B | diversified | Egypt |
| #18 | Youssef Mansour | $1.2 B | diversified | Egypt |
| #19 | Folorunsho Alakija | $1.1 B | oil | Nigeria |
| #19 | Michiel Le Roux | $1.1 B | banking | South Africa |
See list of Africa’s Richest People
List of Africans that fell off the 2019 Billionaire List
- Stephen Saad – South Africa
- Desmond Sacco – South Africa
- Christoffel Wiese – South Africa
- Onsi Sawiris – Egypt
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