Business
Number of African billionaires ‘higher than previously thought’ – possibly more than in Latin America
Aliko Dangote, President and CEO of Nigeria’s Dangote Group. PHOTO/Mike Hutchings/Reuters
(AFP) – There are far more African billionaires than previously thought, Ventures magazine said Monday in a report on the continent’s mega-rich, however, the number of Africans living in poverty has also risen.
Previous Africa-rich-lists named as few as 16 billionaires, but Ventures said its exhaustive research had identified at least 55 on a continent where the wealthy often fiercely protect details about their fortunes.
The pan-African business magazine said it was able to uncover dozens of new billionaires by using “on-the-ground knowledge” to overcome hurdles that may have “hampered” other researchers.
Of the 55, 20 are Nigerian, including several oil barons, while South Africa and Egypt boast nine and eight respectively.
Ventures’ supported reports by Forbes which listed Nigeria’s Aliko Dangote as Africa’s richest man (also the richest black man globally) with a fortune of US$20.2 billion.
Dangote, who made his fortune in cement, heads a multi-interest empire, profiting from products including flour and sugar, while eyeing a massive investment in oil refining.
The continent’s richest woman is Nigeria’s Folorunsho Alakija (who recently surpassed Oprah Winfrey to become the richest black woman), – her Fama Oil owns an offshore oil block, which she acquired in 1993.
Alakija initially began as a fashion designer – her sense of fashion and customer service led many to her store – including Maryam Babaginda, the late wife of former Nigerian military leader Ibrahim Babaginda. Alakija “is believed to have ridden on the crest of this relationship to acquire an oil block,” off the Niger Delta in southern Nigeria, said Ventures.
The most prominent South African named is Nicky Oppenheimer, worth an estimated US$6.5 billion, whose fortune came largely from the diamond mines his family controlled for decades, which were operated by De Beers. Oppenheimer sold his family’s stake in De Beers two years ago.
The figure of 55 is “actually an under-estimate” of Africa’s billionaires, Chi-Chi Okonjo, the founder of Ventures, told reporters. “People are not comfortable disclosing their wealth,” he said.
The apparently rising number of ultra-rich Africans has come amid broader economic growth on the continent, which has seen an average of 7 percent gross domestic product (GDP) expansion since 2010.