As always, Africa still showed its economic superiority this year. This 2024, Africa has presented a handful of wealthy personalities on the continent. Regardless of the challenges that come with establishing and sustaining businesses in Africa, these people are forging ahead.
These top 10 billionaires are a group of elites and visionary entrepreneurs who amass their fortunes and accumulate their riches through different trades and various establishments ranging from telecommunications, mining, luxury goods, and others.
Based on the Forbes list of real-time billionaires, Aliko Dangote still appeared on the list of the top 10 billionaires in Africa but did he retain the top spot? Let’s find out!
Read with me as I analyze the top 10 richest men in Africa.
Top 10 Richest Men in Africa
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Aliko Dangote ($13.9 billion)
Being the richest black man in the world and the richest in Africa, Aliko Dangote is the number one on the list of the top 10 richest men in Africa with a net worth of $13.9 billion. He is the chief executive and founder of the largest conglomerate in West Africa, the Dangote group which has a presence in over 17 countries in the Africa Continent as of 2024.
At first, the company started in 1978 through the trading of rice, sugar, and cement but as time passed, the group ventured into full-scale manufacturing and expanded into other segments of its country’s economy, Nigeria. This includes the Dangote Cement plc which is the first to join the Forbes Global 2000 companies listed and the largest listed company in West Africa. He also expanded into agriculture, real estate, and the construction of the largest petroleum refinery, petrochemical plant, and fertilizer complex in Africa.
This 66-year-old man who is a graduate of Al-Azahar University in Cairo is a self-made billionaire from Kano, Nigeria. Aliko Dangote is a business tycoon who is known across the continent and beyond for his exemplary records.
He has made his country proud on many occasions by being featured in many international papers and magazines, including Forbes which listed him in 2013 as “the most powerful Man in Africa”, the TIME Magazine listed him as one of its “100 most influential people in the World” in 2014 and he also made the list of CNRC’s “top 25 businessmen in the world.” He is indeed a great business tycoon!
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Johann Rupert ($10.7billion)
As of November 22, 2023, the Johann Rupert and family group of companies has a total worth of $10.7 billion and was ranked on the Forbes 2023 list, as the richest in South Africa.
Johann Rupert is a 73-year-old man who is the eldest son of a renowned businessman, Johann Peter Rupert, and his wife, Huberte, is the chairman of the luxury goods firm, Compagnie Financiere Richemont in Swiss and the company, Regro based in South Africa.
Also, he has been the CEO of Compagnie Financiere Richemont since the year 2010, April. As a business-oriented individual, served Chase Manhattan for 2 years as a business apprentice in the city of New York, and for 3 years, he served under Lazard Freres.
Johann with a net worth of $10.7billion, is ranked as the second richest man in Africa according to Forbes 2024 African billionaire list. This business tycoon resides in Cape Town and he’s happily married with 3 children.
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Nicky Oppenheimer ($9.4 billion)
Nicky Oppenheimer and family with a net worth of $ 9.4 billion, is ranked as the the third richest in the African continent based on the Forbes 2024 billionaire list. Nicky came from a Jewish origin from a South African family on June 8, 1945, he is a billionaire who has significantly made a huge impact on the industry of diamond mining.
He joined his family business at age 23 after he graduated from Christ Church College in Oxford, first as his father’s assistant before the family’s business heritage was passed on to him and he became successful at it.
Formerly, he was the chairman of the De Beer diamond mining company in which he later sold the 40% stake of his family in 2012 for a whopping price of $ 5.5 billion in cash.
Therefore, the mainstream of his providence is obtained from the earnings he received from selling his family’s 40% stake in De Beers. However, Nicky Oppenheimer is considered one of the wealthiest men in Africa and he is number 3 on the Forbes list of top 10 billionaires in Africa.
Read also: Top 10 Richest Countries in Africa.
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Nassef Sawiris ($8.7 billion)
The 63-year-old man is an investor and the descendant of the richest family in Egypt, Onsi Sawiris of which he is the youngest of the 3 sons. With a total net worth of $8.7 billion, Sawiris is the richest man in Egypt and the third richest in Africa. He started his journey as a businessman when he joined Orascom Construction in 1982 before he ascended the seat of management control from his father in 1955.
After the amalgamation of the Orascom construction industries, he became the CEO of the company in 1988. Ever since then, he has been governing a lot of positions and has acquired several fortunes to his name.
Fast forward to 2020, Sawiris set up a special-purpose acquisition company known as Avanti Acquisition Company in October 2020 which was later wound up two years after failing to acquire another company.
Beyond business investments, the Egyptian billionaire has a high investment in the ownership of sports teams, especially within the football association. However, Nassef Sawiris resides in Cairo and he’s happily married with four children.
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Mike Adenuga ($6.9 billion)
This 71-year-old man who hails from Oru, Ijebu-Igbo in Ogun state, came from a humble family of a teacher father and a businesswoman as a mother. Who knows, he might have gotten his business insight from her. He was born in Ibadan where he also attended the famous Ibadan Grammar School after which he had his university education in the United States where he studied Business administration.
Mike Adenuga is the second richest man in Nigeria and the fifth richest man in Africa. Mike Adenuga started his business career in 1979 by selling lace and supplying lace and at age 26, he had already become a millionaire. He is the chairman/CEO of Globacom Telecommunication of which he was given a conditional GSM licence in 1999 and after it was annulled, he received the second when another auction was made by the government in 2003.
With over 60 million subscribers, the Globacom Telecommunication firm is the second-biggest operator in Nigeria and it powers telecom operations within and across Nigeria, including Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, and so on.
Also, he runs Conoil, an oil exploration industry that operates 6 oil blocks in Niger Delta and it is the first Nigerian oil firm to strike oil in commercial quantities in the early 1990s when he received a drilling license.
Read also: 10 Untold Lessons From the Richest Man in Nigeria.
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Abdulsamad Rabiu ($5.9 billion)
Having received his early education at the prestigious Federal Government College, Kano, he pursued higher education in the United States, studying Economics at the esteemed Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. Abdulsamad Rabiu is a visionary entrepreneur who has created a massive business empire known as BUA Group.
This Nigerian conglomerate is a powerhouse in cement production, sugar refining, and real estate. In a bold move, Rabiu merged his privately-owned Obu Cement company with the listed firm Cement Co. of Northern Nigeria that he controlled, creating a new and unstoppable force in the market.
The combined company, BUA Cement Plc, is now traded on the Nigerian stock exchange, and Rabiu owns a whopping 98.2% of it! And that’s not all, he also owns a 95% stake in the publicly traded food conglomerate BUT I AFoods. Rabiu’s entrepreneurial journey began in 1988 when he set up his own business of importing iron, steel, and chemicals. Today, he is a true inspiration for aspiring entrepreneurs everywhere!
Read also: Top 15 Business Intelligence Tools.
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Naguib Sawiris ($3.8 billion)
Naguib Sawiris, the billionaire businessman, was born on 15 June 1954 in Cairo, Egypt, to Onsi Sawiris, the founder of Orascom Group, and Yousriya Loza Sawiris. He is the eldest of his three brothers, Nassef and Samih, both of whom are also billionaires. Sawiris joined Orascom, the family business in 1979.
He contributed to the growth and diversification of the company, which was split into separate operating companies in the late 90s, including Orascom Telecom Holding, Orascom Construction Industries, Orascom Hotels & Development, and Orascom Technology Systems.
He is currently the Managing Director and CEO of Orascom Investment Holding S.A.E. Naguib has a strong educational background, having earned a Diploma from the German Evangelical School in Giza, as well as a Diploma of Mechanical Engineering with a Master’s degree in Technical Administration from ETH Zurich. Sawiris is happily married with four children.
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Mohamed Mansour ($3.2 billion)
Mohamed Mansour is a well-known Egyptian businessman who has also served as a politician in the past. He studied at North Carolina State University and Auburn University before returning to Egypt.
Along with his brothers Youssef and Yasseen, he has played a significant role in expanding his father’s business, which has grown into one of the largest companies in the Middle East – The Mansour Group.
From 2006 to 2009, he served as Egypt’s Minister of Transport. Currently, Mohamed is living in London with his wife and two children. Mohamed Mansour was born into one of the most prominent business families in Alexandria. The family business, Mansour Group, controls nine of Egypt’s top Fortune 500 companies, though it needed to survive the nationalisation and confiscation of its assets in 1965.
Mansour gained an engineering degree from North Carolina State University in 1968, and a master’s in business administration from Auburn University in 1971, teaching there until 1973.
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Koos Bekker ($2.7 billion)
Koos Bekker, a prominent figure in South Africa, was born on December 14, 1952, in Potchefstroom. He spent his childhood in Heidelberg, Gauteng Province, and completed his high school education at Hoer Volkskool Heidelberg. Bekker pursued a degree in law and literature at Stellenbosch University and later went on to study law at Wits University.
He also holds an MBA from Columbia Business School in New York and an honorary doctorate from Stellenbosch University. Koos Bekker is widely recognized for his remarkable transformation of South African newspaper publishing company, Naspers, turning it into a major player in e-commerce and cable TV.
Under his leadership, Naspers invested $34 million in 2001 to acquire a third of Chinese internet firm Tencent Holdings, which is now considered one of the greatest venture investments ever made.
In 2019, Naspers transferred some of its assets into two publicly traded companies: entertainment firm MultiChoice Group and Prosus, which holds the Tencent stake. Naspers sold a 2% stake in Tencent in 2018, while in April 2021, Prosus sold almost $15 billion worth of Tencent, increasing its stake to 29%.
Although Bekker retired as CEO of Naspers in March 2014, he resumed his role as chairman in April 2015. Koos Bekker is a highly successful individual who has amassed a net worth of $2.7 billion throughout his career. He is ranked among the wealthiest Africans and is listed as the 1272nd richest billionaire in the world by Forbes. In South Africa, he is one of the top ten richest people. Bekker’s wealth is mainly attributed to his investments in the media industry.
Read also: Top 10 Multinational Companies That Have Their Roots in Africa.
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Patrice Motsepe ($2.7 billion)
Patrice Motsepe is the founder and chairman of African Rainbow Minerals. He became a billionaire in 2008 and was the first black African to be featured on the Forbes list. In 2016, he launched a private equity firm known as African Rainbow Capital, which focuses on investing in Africa.
Besides that, Motsepe has a stake in Sanlam, a listed financial services firm, and is the president and owner of the Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club. He was elected as the president of the Confederation of African Football, the sport’s governing body on the continent, in March 2021.
In 1994, he became the first black partner at the law firm Bowman Gilfillan in Johannesburg. Later, he started a mining services contracting business and bought low-producing gold mine shafts in 1997, which later turned profitable.
Conclusion
These top ten billionaires are business tycoons from across the African continent and they have shown their worthiness in their various industries. They have all worked hard and they’re still doing so, so they deserve to be applauded.
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