Capitalist and reclusive billionaire John Kibunga Kimani raised his portfolio by acquiring additional shares worth Ksh48.8 million in the Centum Investment Company.
According to Centum’s annual report, Kimani raised his stake above five per cent from 4.39 per cent at the end of March 2022.
The new shares have taken his stake in the firm to Ksh310.2 million, going by Centum’s share price of Ksh8.94 at the close of trading on September Tuesday 12.
In 2022, Kimani acquired shares in Centum Investment Company worth Ksh219.7 million.
He bought the additional shares in a period when the stock had continued its decline to trade at a range of between Ksh17.2 and Ksh8, according to market data.
The increased share purchases have seen him rise one place to rank as Centum’s third-largest shareholder after the State-owned Kenya Development Corporation and the estate of the late entrepreneur Chris Kirubi, which maintained their ownership at 22.97 per cent and 30.94 per cent respectively.
Like other entrepreneurs, Kimani is not holding all his eggs in one basket. The billionaire has diversified his investments in top trading firms in the Nairobi Stocks Exchange market.
Kimani holds a stake in Safaricom. His shares in the telecommunication company are valued at Ksh486 million, according to records from July 2022.
Besides Safaricom, Kimani has a 1.73 per cent stake in Nation Media Group.
In 2019, Kimani raised his stake at Kakuzi PLC after acquiring 263,526 shares.
“I sold my Total shares. This was to raise funds to buy more shares in Kakuzi,” he stated after selling shares worth Ksh80 million to the energy company.
Despite his deep investments, Kimani lives a quiet life attracting little media attention, unlike other billionaires who roll with top-of-the-range lavish cars.
His Background
Kimani was born into a squatter family near Kakuzi farms. Despite his poor background, Kimani transitioned from a primary and secondary school in Murang’a County to join Makerere University in Uganda.
After Makerere, Kimani was admitted at Reading University in the UK where he pursued a Master’s of Science degree in agricultural economics.
He later undertook a PhD in development studies, economics, and socio-anthropology at the University of Sussex in the UK.
