Super rich in Africa recorded a slight drop in their wealth according to Forbes 2023 which noted that they shed close to USD 3.1 billion.
Forbes attributed the sharp drop to global business uncertainties which affected almost all sectors of the economy.
But common names such as Aliko Dangote featured in the list released by Forbes.
“Net worths were calculated using stock prices and currency exchange rates from the close of business on Friday, January 13, 2023,” Forbes stated after releasing the list.
Here are Top 5 Africa Richest Individuals and Their Investments as Published by Forbes
Aliko Dangote
Aliko Dangote is a household name in terms of investments in Africa.
According to Forbes, his worth stood at USD13.5 billion in January 2023.
Dangote, Africa’s richest person, founded and chairs Dangote Cement, the continent’s largest cement producer.
He owns 85 per cent 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.
In March 2022, he expanded his business portfolio by opening Dangote’s fertilizer plant in Nigeria
During the launch, the businessman expressed optimism that it would grow to become one of world’s leading refineries.
Johann Rupert
The capitalist is worth USD10.7 billion
Rupert is chairman of Swiss luxury goods firm Compagnie Financiere Richemont. The company is best known for the brands Cartier and Montblanc.
It was formed in 1998 through a spinoff of assets owned by Rembrandt Group Limited which his father Anton formed in the 1940s.
He owns 7 per cent of diversified investment firm Remgro, which he chairs, as well as 26 per cent of Reinet, an investment holding company based in Luxembourg.
Nicky Oppenheimer and family
According to Forbes, his wealth stood at USD 8.4 billion in January 2023.
Nicky Oppenheimer, heir to the DeBeers diamond fortune, sold his 40 per cent of the firm to mining group Anglo American for USD5.1 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.
Abdulsamad Rabiu
Abdulsamad Rabiu is the founder of BUA Group, a Nigerian conglomerate active in cement production, sugar refining and real estate. He is worth USD 7.6 billion.
Rabiu, the son of a businessman, inherited land from his father. He set up his own business in 1988 and started importing iron, steel, and chemicals.
In early January 2020, Rabiu merged his privately-owned Obu Cement company with listed firm Cement of Northern Nigeria, which he controlled.
The combined firm, called BUA Cement, trades on the Nigerian stock exchange; Rabiu owns 98.2 per cent of it.
Nassef Sawiris
Nassef Sawiris is an investor and a scion of Egypt’s wealthiest family.
His most valuable asset is a nearly 6 per cent stake in sportswear maker Adidas.
According to Forbes, he was worth USD 7.3 billion as of January 2023 sitting fifth in Africa’s wealthiest individuals.
In December 2020, he acquired a 5 per cent 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.
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.
