Business
The Extravagance Of The African Billionaire
When hopping on a plane it is understandable that you might carry a few personal belongings with you: a toothbrush or some bed socks, a little cash for incidentals in the airport or in-flight, duty-free shopping. So one can only imagine Christo Wiese’s surprise when he was stopped by customs at Heathrow Airport for carrying what he considered “small change”. Customs confiscated over $1 million in cash, the South African billionaire had bundled into rolls with elastic bands and nestled in his carry-on. A man with a personal fortune worth over $3 billion, complete with a wine estate, five-star hotel and private game reserve, considered this kind of cash “peanuts”; small change indeed.
Africa, a continent home to 80 percent of the world’s population living in poverty, is also the home of some of the world’s wealthiest people. Like their international brethren, despite the struggles of their poor neighbors, the region’s rich have no compunction about flashing their fancy cars, fleets of private jets, tickets to outer space, lavish weddings and exclusive and extravagant real estate.
In late 2008, South African luxury retail magnate, Johann Rupert, was quick to swear that his 22-year-old son Anton was not a “spoilt brat”, despite the young man having just smashed his father’s $1.2-million Ferrari F50; one of only 349 in the world. Publicly, at least, the billionaire blamed only himself for his son’s error. The car, one of 400 sitting in the billionaire’s private-collection-cum-vintage-car-museum, did need driving to remain in mint condition, Johann Rupert said. “Cars that are not driven regularly suffer irreparable damage,” the tycoon remarked at the time. “The museum cars are therefore driven often.” Rupert senior brushed off his son’s ill-fated joy ride, saying: “I did far worse things at Anton’s age, often involving an Alfa Romeo Giulia Super.” Who knows whether the boy would have received more than a slap on the wrist had he taken out dad’s 2003 supercar Ferrari Enzo or the rare 1931 Austro-Daimler Bergmeister.
While Rupert seems fairly nonchalant about his jam-packed garage, Nigerian self-made businessman, Aliko Dangote, worth a whopping $20.2 billion, might be a bit more territorial about his latest purchase: a $43-million custom-made luxury yacht. The richest man in Africa for the second year running and widely reported as the 43rd highest-grossing billionaire in the world, Dangote paved the way to his billions through his publicly traded cement company, Dangote Cement, which operates in 14 countries on the continent. The yacht, named Mariya after his mother, can often be seen moored alongside Nigerian oil tycoon, Femi Otedola’s almost identical boat; in his case, named Nana after his wife.
AFRICA’S MONOPOLY “MAYFAIR”
If you are on the lookout for Africa’s superrich, Nigeria is the place to start. The capital Abuja is considered the most expensive city in Africa. A four-bedroom duplex in the upscale Maitama district, for example, runs to about $4 million. Nigeria’s vast oil resources and poor infrastructure raise the cost of living in this inland city but so do the tastes of some of its residents. Ferraris, McLarens and Lamborghinis have been seen on its roads, with local bloggers also claiming to have spotted a Bugatti Veyron (the world’s most expensive car at $2.4 million apiece), with a mystery driver behind the wheel.
