dollar-billionaires

File photo of African Rainbow Minerals founder and executive chairperson Patrice Motsepe. Photo: Rodger Bosch / AFP

LIST: Africa now has 18 dollar-billionaires – including FIVE South Africans!

There’s one clear winner in the race to be Mzansi’s richest citizen – but of all the dollar-billionaires in Africa, one blows the rest away.

dollar-billionaires

File photo of African Rainbow Minerals founder and executive chairperson Patrice Motsepe. Photo: Rodger Bosch / AFP

Good heavens, we are looking at an absurd amount of wealth here: Forbes Africa has released its annual list of dollar-billionaires on the continent, and in total, 18 very wealthy citizens make it into this exclusive club.

Dollar-billionaires club: Who are the richest people in Africa?

Aliko Dangote remains the richest man in Africa, with his fortune pushing the $14 billion mark. The cement and sugar production magnate has a comfortable cushion at the top of the tree, and there’s daylight between him and Johann Rupert. The Stellenbosch-based billionaire is second on the list, with $11 billion in the bank.

Another South African, Nicky Oppenheimer, completes the top three with his $8.7 billion fortune. Egyptian Nassef Sawiris ($8.6 billion) and Nigerian Abdulsamad Rabiu ($7 billion) follow in fourth and fifth respectively.

Richest South Africans in ‘exclusive wealth club’

The rich have certainly got richer in 2022, with Africa’s dollar-billionaires now worth 15% more than they were this time last year. Rising stars like Strive Masiyiwa have contributed to this growth, too…

“The biggest gainer in percentage terms – up 125% – is Strive Masiyiwa of Zimbabwe, worth $2.7 billion (up from $1.2 billion last year). Shares of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, which he founded, rose more than 750% in the past year, helping to drive up the size of his fortune. The continent’s 18 dollar-billionaires are now worth an estimated $84.9 billion.”

“That’s a 15% increase from 12 months ago. The dollar-billionaires from Africa hail from seven different countries. South Africa and Egypt each have five billionaires, followed by Nigeria with three and Morocco with two. All of the continent’s billionaires are men; Isabel dos Santos of Angola fell off the Forbes list in January 2021.”

Forbes Africa

The list of Africa’s dollar-billionaires: Read it and weep…

Three other South Africans make the cut, and Patrice Motsepe is now ninth on this list. Koos Bekker is one place behind in tenth, whereas Capitec founder Michiel le Roux has climbed up the table to 14th. These three dollar-billionaires are worth a combined $7.5 billion – falling short of the benchmarks set by Rupert and Oppenheimer respectively.

You can see the full list here:

  1. Aliko Dangote, Nigeria: $13.9 billion
  2. Johann Rupert, South Africa: $11 billion
  3. Nicky Oppenheimer, South Africa: $8.7 billion
  4. Nassef Sawiris, Egypt: $8.6 billion
  5. Abdulsamad Rabiu, Nigeria: $7 billion
  6. Mike Adenuga, Nigeria: $6.7 billion
  7. Issad Rebrab, Algeria: $5.1 billion
  8. Naguib Sawiris, Egypt: $3.4 billion
  9. Patrice Motsepe, South Africa: $3.1 billion
  10. Koos Bekker, South Africa: $2.7 billion
  11. Strive Masiyiwa, Zimbabwe: $2.7 billion
  12. Mohamed Mansour, Egypt: $2.5 billion
  13. Aziz Akhannouch, Morocco: $2.2 billion
  14. Michiel le Roux, South Africa: $1.7 billion
  15. Othman Benjelloun, Morocco: $1.5 billion
  16. Mohamed Dewji, Tanzania: $1.5 billion
  17. Youssef Mansour, Egypt: $1.5 billion
  18. Yasseen Mansour, Egypt: $1.1 billion