While Africa gained a 19th billionaire, the combined wealth of the continent’s richest people now sits at an estimated worth of $81.8 billion, down from the estimated $84.9 billion that 18 of Africa’s wealthiest people recorded 12 months ago.
This was according to Forbes Africa, who said that 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.
Africa’s top three billionaires:
The fortune of Nigeria’s Aliko 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 Number 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 De Beers before selling it to mining firm Anglo American a decade ago, ranks third, worth an estimated $8.4 billion.
Return of Wiese
Forbes Africa said that this year’s list saw 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 R7 billion (about $400 million) from Steinhoff in cash and shares totalling about 5% of publicly traded Pepkor.
The 19 billionaires from Africa:
- Aliko Dangote
- Johann Rupert
- Nicky Oppenheimer and family
- Abdul Samad Rabiu
- Nassef Sawiris
- Mike Adenuga
- Issad Rebrab and family
- Naguib Sawiris
- Patrice Motsepe
- Mohamed Mansour
- Koos Bekker
- Strive Masiyiwa
- Youssef Mansour
- Aziz Akhannouch and family
- Mohammed Dewji
- Othman Benjelloun and family
- Michiel Le Roux
- Christoffel Wiese
- Yasseen Mansour
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