THE CONTINENT’S 19 BILLIONAIRES ARE WORTH AN ESTIMATED $81.8 BILLION – DOWN FROM THE $84.9 BILLION THAT 18 AFRICAN BILLIONAIRES HAD 12 MONTHS AGO.
Editor’s Note: Net worth figures are rounded up; ranking is determined by actual net worth as on January 13, 2023.
By Rob LaFranco, FORBES STAFF
Additional editing by Chase Peterson- Withon and reporting by John Hyatt, Jemima McEvoy, Segun Olakoyenikan, David de Jong and Igor Bosilkovski
Africa’s wealthiest people shed a combined $3.1 billion in the past 12 months, following a global decline for markets in 2022. As a group, the continent’s 19 billionaires are worth an estimated $81.8 billion – down from the $84.9 billion that 18 African billionaires had 12 months ago. The 3.6% dip on the 2023 Forbes ranking follows a jump of 15% last year on the back of soaring stock prices from Nigeria to Zimbabwe. Their fortunes faded in sync with equity values around the world, with the S&P All Africa index dropping more than 20% in the first nine months of 2022, before starting a late-year rally that left the index down just 3% over the past 12 months.
The fortune of Nigeria’s Alike Dangote, Africa’s richest person for the 12th year in a row, fell $400 million to $13.5 billion. South African luxury goods magnate Johann Rupert held onto the No. 2 spot with $10.7 billion, down from $11 billion in 2022 as shares of his Compagnie Financiere Richemont – maker of Cartier watches and Montblanc pens – clawed back much – but not all – of last year’s decline. South African Nicky Oppenheimer, who formerly ran diamond mining firm DeBeers before selling it to mining firm Anglo American a decade ago, ranks No. 3, worth an estimated $8.4 billion.
This year’s list sees the return of South Africa’s Christoffel Wiese, who lands at No. 18 with $1.1 billion. Wiese, who was worth more than $6 billion after he sold his bargain retailer, Pepkor, to Steinhoff International for $5.7 billion in 2015, lost his billionaire status two years later when an accounting scandal cratered Steinhoff’s stock. He sued, and in March 2022 collected 7 billion South African rand (about $400 million) from Steinhoff in cash and shares totaling about 5% of publicly traded Pepkor.
Thanks to his return, South Africa now has five billionaires, the most of any African country, followed by Egypt with four and Nigeria with three. Altogether billionaires from seven African countries made the list.
Forbes used stock prices and currency exchange rates from January 13, 2023 to measure the net worths.
METHODOLOGY
Our list tracks the wealth of African billionaires who reside in Africa or have their primary business there, thus excluding Sudanese-born billionaire Mo Ibrahim, who is a U.K. citizen, South African Natie Kirsh, who operates out of London and another 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 telecom holdings in Africa.
Net worths were calculated using stock prices and currency exchange rates from the close of business on Friday, January 13, 2023. To value privately-held businesses, we start with estimates of revenues or profits and apply prevailing price-to-sale or price- to-earnings ratios for similar public companies. Some list members grow richer or poorer within weeks – or days – of our measurement date.
1. ALIKO DANGOTE
Net worth: $13.5 billion
Rank in 2022: 1
Net worth in 2022: $13.9 billion
Origin of wealth: Cement and Sugar Self-made
Age: 65
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 has the capacity to produce 48.6 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 March 2022.
* Dangote Refinery has been under construction since 2016 and is expected to be one of the world’s largest oil refineries once complete.
2. JOHANN RUPERT AND FAMILY
Net worth: $10.7 billion
Rank in 2022: 2
Net worth in 2022: $11 billion
Origin of wealth: Luxury goods Inherited and growing
Age: 72
Country: South Africa
Residence: Cape Town
* JohannRupertischairmanofSwissluxury goods firm Compagnie Financiere Richemont.
* Thecompanyisbestknownforthebrands Cartier and Montblanc.
* Itwasformedin1998throughaspinoffof assets owned by Rembrandt Group Limited (now Remgro Limited), which his father Anton formed in the 1940s.
* Heowns7%ofdiversifiedinvestmentfirm Remgro, which he chairs, as well as 26% of Reinet, an investment holding company based in Luxembourg.
* Ruperthasbeenavocalopponentofplansto allow fracking in the Karoo, a region of South Africa where he owns land.
3. NICKY OPPENHEIMER & FAMILY
Net worth: $8.4 billion
Rank in 2022: 3
Net worth in 2022: $8.7 billion
Origin of wealth: Diamonds Inherited
Age: 77
Country: South Africa
Residence: Johannesburg
* 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.
* He was the third generation of his family to run DeBeers, and took the company private in 2001.
* For 85 years until 2012, the Oppenheimer family occupied a controlling spot in the world’s diamond trade.
* 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, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique.
4. ABDULSAMAD RABIU
Net worth: $7.6 billion
Rank in 2022: 5
Net worth in 2022: $7 billion
Origin of wealth: Cement and Sugar Inherited and growing
Age: 62
Country: Nigeria
Residence: Lagos
* Abdulsamad Rabiu is the founder of BUA Group, a Nigerian conglomerate active in cement production, sugar refining and real estate.
* In early January 2020, Rabiu merged his privately-owned Obu Cement company with listed firm Cement Co. of Northern Nigeria, which he controlled.
* The combined firm, called BUA Cement Plc, trades on the Nigerian stock exchange; Rabiu owns 98.2% of it.
* Rabiu, the son of a businessman, inherited land from his father.
* He set up his own business in 1988 importing iron, steel and chemicals.
5. NASSEF SAWIRIS
Net worth: $7.2 billion
Rank in 2022: 4
Net worth in 2022: $8.6 billion
Origin of wealth: Construction and Investments
Inherited and growing
Age: 62
Country: Egypt
Residence: Cairo
* 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 the NBA Knicks 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.
* Nassef Sawiris teamed up with Fortress Investment Group’s Wes Edens to purchase the Premier League’s Aston Villa Football Club.
6. MIKE ADENUGA
Net worth: $5.6 billion
Rank in 2022: 6
Net worth in 2022: $6.7 billion
Origin of wealth: Telecom and Oil Self-made
Age: 69
Country: Nigeria
Residence: Lagos
* Adenuga, Nigeria’s third richest man, built his fortune in telecom and oil production.
* Hismobilephonenetwork,Globacom, is the third largest operator in Nigeria, with 55 million subscribers.
* Hisoilexplorationoutfit, Conoil Producing,operates6 oil blocks in the Niger Delta.
* Adenuga got an MBA at Pace University in NewYork, supporting himself as a student by working as a taxi driver.
* He made his first million at age 26 selling lace and distributing soft drinks.
7. ISSAD REBRAB & FAMILY
Net worth: $4.6 billion
Rank in 2022: 7
Net worth in 2022: $5.1 billion
Origin of wealth: Food Self-made
Age: 79
Country: Algeria
Residence: Algiers
* Rebrab founded Cevital and served as it’s CEO for more than 50 years; He named his son, Malik, CEO in July 2022.
* Cevital,Algeria’s biggest privately-heldcompany, owns one of the largest sugar refineries in the world, with the capacity to produce 2 million tons a year.
* Cevital owns European companies,including French home appliances maker Groupe Brandt, an Italian steel mill and a German water purification company.
* After serving 8 months in jailon charges of corruption, Rebrab was released on January 1, 2020. He denies any wrongdoing.
8. NAGUIB SAWIRIS
Net worth: $3.3 billion
Rank in 2022: 8
Net worth in 2022: $3.4 billion
Origin of wealth: Telecom Inherited and growing
Age: 68
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’s 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.
9. PATRICE MOTSEPE
Net worth: $3.1 billion
Rank in 2022: 9
Net worth in 2022: $3.1 billion
Origin of wealth: Mining Self-made
Age: 60
Country: South Africa Residence: Johannesburg
* 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.
10. MOHAMED MANSOUR
Net worth: $2.8 billion
Rank in 2022: 12
Net worth in 2022: $2.5 billion
Origin of wealth: Diversified Self-made
Age: 75
Country: Egypt
Residence: Cairo
* Mohamed Mansour oversees family conglomerate Mansour Group, which was founded by his father Loutfy (d. 1976) in 1952 and has 60,000 employees.
* Mansour established General Motors dealerships in Egypt in 1975, later becoming one of GM’s biggest distributors worldwide.
* Mansour Group also has exclusive distribution rights for Caterpillar equipment in Egypt and seven other African countries.
* Mansour, who has both Egyptian and U.K. citizenship, served as Egypt’s minister of transportation from 2006 to 2009 under the Hosni Mubarak regime.
* His brothers Yasseen and Youssef, who share ownership in the family group, are also billionaires.
11. KOOS BEKKER
Net worth: $2.6 billion
Rank in 2022: 10
Net worth in 2022: $2.7 billion
Origin of wealth: Media, Investments Self-made
Age: 70
Country: South Africa
Residence: Cape Town
* Koos Bekker is revered for transforming South African newspaper publisher Naspers into an e-commerce investor and cable TV powerhouse.
* He led Naspers to pay a reported $34 million for a third of Chinese Internet firm Tencent Holdings in 2001 – perhaps the greatest venture investment ever.
* In 2019, Naspers put some assets into two publicly-traded companies, entertainment firm MultiChoice Group and Prosus, which contains the Tencent stake.
* Naspers sold a 2% stake in Tencent in 2018.
* Bekker, who retired as the CEO of Naspers in March 2014, returned as chairman in April 2015.
12. STRIVE MASIYIWA
Net worth: $1.9 billion
Rank in 2022: 10
Net worth in 2022: $2.7 billion
Origin of wealth: Telecom Self-made
Age: 61
Country: United Kingdom
Residence: London
* Strive Masiyiwa overcame protracted government opposition to launch mobile phone network Econet Wireless Zimbabwe in his country of birth in 1998.
* He owns just over 50% of the publicly-traded Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, which is one part of his larger Econet Group.
* Masiyiwa also owns just over half of private company Liquid Telecom, which provides fiber optic and satellite services to telecom firms across Africa.
* His other assets include stakes in mobile phone networks in Burundi and Lesotho, and investments in fintech and power distribution firms in Africa.
* He and his wife Tsitsi founded the Higherlife Foundation, which supports orphaned and poor children in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Burundi and Lesotho.
13. YOUSSEF MANSOUR
Net worth: $1.5 billion
Rank in 2022: 15
Net worth in 2022: $1.5 billion
Origin of wealth: Diversified Self-made
Age: 77
Country: Egypt
Residence: Cairo
* Youssef Mansour is chairman of family-owned conglomerate Mansour Group, which was founded by his father Loutfy (d. 1976) in 1952.
* Mansour Group is the exclusive distributor of GM vehicles and Caterpillar equipment in Egypt and several other countries.
* He oversees the consumer goods division, which includes supermarket chain Metro, and sole distribution rights for L’Oreal in Egypt.
* Younger brothers Mohamed and Yasseen are also billionaires and part owners of Mansour Group.
14. AZIZ AKHANNOUCH & FAMILY
Net worth: $1.5 billion
Rank in 2022: 13
Net worth in 2022: $2.2 billion
Origin of wealth: Petroleum, Diversified Inherited and growing
Age: 62
Country: Morocco
Residence: Casablanca
* Aziz Akhannouch is the majority owner of Akwa Group, a multibillion-dollar conglomerate founded by his father and a partner, Ahmed Wakrim, in 1932.
* It has interests in petroleum, gas and chemicals through publicly-traded Afriquia Gaz and Maghreb Oxygene.
* Akhannouch was appointed prime minister of Morocco in Sept 2021.
15. MOHAMMED DEWJI
Net worth: $1.5 billion
Rank in 2022: 15
Net worth in 2022: $1.5 billion
Origin of wealth: Diversified Inherited and growing
Age: 47
Country: Tanzania
Residence: Dar es Salaam
* Mohammed Dewji is the CEO of MeTL, a Tanzanian conglomerate founded by his father in the 1970s.
* MeTL is active in textile manufacturing, flour milling, beverages and edible oils in eastern, southern and central Africa.
* MeTL operates in at least six African countries and has ambitions to expand to several more.
* Dewji, Tanzania’s only billionaire, signed the Giving Pledge in 2016, promising to donate at least half his fortune to philanthropic causes.
* Dewji was reportedly kidnapped at gunpoint in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania in October 2018 and released after nine days.
16. OTHMAN BENJELLOUN & FAMILY
Net worth: $1.3 billion
Rank in 2022: 15
Net worth in 2022: $1.5 billion
Origin of wealth: Banking, insurance Inherited and growing
Age: 90
Country: Morocco
Residence: Casablanca
* Othman Benjelloun is CEO of BMCE Bank of Africa, which has a presence in more than 20 African countries.
* HisfatherwasashareholderinRMA, a Moroccan insurance company; Benjelloun built it into a leading insurer.
* Throughhisholdingcompany FinanceCom, he has a stake in the Moroccan arm of French telecom firm Orange.
* Heinauguratedin2014a$500 million plan to build the 55-story Mohammed VI Tower in Rabat. It will be one of the tallest buildings in Africa.
* FinanceComispartofaprojectto develop a multibillion-dollar tech city in Tangiers that is expected to host 200 Chinese companies.
17. MICHIEL LE ROUX
Net worth: $1.2 billion
Rank in 2022: 14
Net worth in 2022: $1.7 billion
Origin of wealth: Banking Self-made
Age: 73
Country: South Africa
Residence: Stellenbosch
* Michiel Le Roux of South Africa founded Capitec Bank in 2001 and owns about an 11% stake.
* The bank, which trades on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, targets South Africa’s emerging middle class.
* He served as chairman of the board of Capitec from 2007 to 2016 and has continued on as a board member.
* Le Roux previously ran Boland Bank, a small regional bank in Cape Town’s hinterland.
18. CHRISTOFFEL WIESE
Net worth: $1.1 billion
Origin of wealth: Retail Self-made
Age: 81
Country: South Africa
Residence: Cape Town
* Christoffel Wiese built his Pepkor retail empire by offering bargain prices in South Africa, and expanded into other African countries.
* In 2015, South Africa-based furniture retailer Steinhoff International spent $5.7 billion in cash and stock to acquire Pepkor.
* He stepped down as Steinhoff chairman in December 2017 after the company disclosed accounting irregularities. Its share price plummeted and Wiese lost his billionaire status.
* Wiese regained his 9-figure fortune in 2022 when he settled his dispute with Steinhoff for cash and stock, including a 5% stake in Pepkor.
* His most valuable asset is Shoprite, but he also holds stakes in retailer Tradehold, PE firm Brait, industrial products company Invicta Holdings.
19. YASSEEN MANSOUR
Net worth: $1.1 billion
Rank in 2022: 18
Net worth in 2022: $1.1 billion
Origin of wealth: Diversified Self-made
Age: 61
Country: Egypt
Residence: Cairo
*Yasseen Mansour is a shareholder in family-owned conglomerate Mansour Group, which was founded by his father Loutfy (d. 1976) in 1952.
*Mansour Group is the exclusive distributor of GM vehicles and Caterpillar equipment in Egypt and several other countries.
* His brothers Mohamed and Youssef are also billionaires and part owners of Mansour Group. He’s chairman of Palm Hills Developments, one of Egypt’s biggest real estate developers.