Full list of Forbes 20 African billionaires with their background

Forbes Magazine recently released a list of 20 richest billionaires in Africa

Here is a list of the top 20 richest billionaires in Africa according to Forbes Magazine.

The first ten are:

1. Aliko Dangote – $13.9 billion

Aliko Dangote is a Nigerian businessman and industrialist who is the founder, chairman, and CEO of the Dangote Group, the largest industrial conglomerate in West Africa.

He is also the richest person in Africa, the world’s richest black person, and the world’s 107th richest person as of January 2024.

He is currently building a $10 billion oil refinery and petrochemical complex in Nigeria, which is expected to be one of the world’s largest once complete.

He is also involved in various philanthropic activities, such as the Aliko Dangote Foundation, which focuses on health, education, and economic empowerment.

He has received several awards and honors, such as the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger, the Forbes Africa Person of the Year, and the African Business Leader of the Year.

2. Johann Rupert & family – $10.1 billion

Johann Rupert is a South African billionaire businessman, who is the chairman of the Swiss-based luxury-goods company Richemont and the South Africa-based company Remgro.

He is the eldest son of business tycoon Anton Rupert and his wife Huberte.

He is also a philanthropist and a sports enthusiast.

3. Nicky Oppenheimer & family – $9.4 billion

Nicky Oppenheimer is a South African billionaire businessman, who is the former chairman of De Beers diamond mining company and Anglo American, and the current chairman of Richemont and Remgro.

He is a philanthropist and a conservationist, who owns several properties for wildlife protection and supports various initiatives for economic development in Africa.

4. Nassef Sawiris – $8.7 billion

Nassef Sawiris is an Egyptian billionaire and investor who owns stakes in various companies around the world.

He runs OCI, one of the world’s largest nitrogen fertilizer producers, and Orascom Construction, an engineering and building firm.

He also owns stakes in Adidas, Madison Square Garden, Lafarge Holcim and other companies.

He is a sports enthusiast who owns the Premier League’s Aston Villa Football Club and a stake in the NBA Knicks and the NHL Rangers teams.

He also has a 46% stake in Primeira Liga team Vitória S.C12.

He is a philanthropist and conservationist who supports various initiatives for economic development and wildlife protection in Africa, such as the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development and the Nubian Vault Association

5. Mike Adenuga – $6.9 billion

Mike Adenuga is a Nigerian billionaire businessman, and the third richest person in Africa. He is the founder of Globacom, a telecom company, and other companies in oil, gas, banking, and real estate. Here are some key facts about him:

He made his first million at age 26 selling lace and distributing soft drinks.

He later ventured into oil and gas, and became the first indigenous oil company to strike oil in commercial quantity in Nigeria.

He also founded Globacom, Nigeria’s second-largest telecom operator, with 55 million subscribers and a presence in Ghana and Benin.

6. Abdulsamad Rabiu – $5.9 billion

Abdulsamad Rabiu is a Nigerian billionaire and the founder and chairman of BUA Group, a conglomerate active in cement production, sugar refining, and real estate.

He is also the fourth richest person in Africa as of January 2024, with a net worth of $14.3 billion.

He inherited land from his father, a prominent businessman, and started his own company in 1988, importing iron, steel, and chemicals.

He later expanded into various sectors, such as oil and gas, flour milling, and sugar refining.

He is also a philanthropist who supports initiatives for social development and wildlife conservation in Africa.

7. Naguib Sawiris -$3.8 billion

Naguib Sawiris is an Egyptian billionaire and businessman who is the chairman of Orascom Investment Holding, a company that has interests in telecom, media, technology, and other sectors.

He is also the owner of 88% of Euronews, a pan-European news network.

He is the eldest son of Onsi Sawiris, the founder of the Orascom Group, and the brother of Nassef Sawiris, another billionaire.

8. Mohammed Mansour – $3.2 billion

Mohamed Mansour is an Egyptian billionaire businessman and former politician.

He is the chairman of Mansour Group, a US$6 billion conglomerate.

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.

9. Roos Bekker – $2.7 billion

Roos Bekker is a South African billionaire and the chairman of media group, Naspers, which operates in 130 countries and is listed on the London Stock Exchange and Johannesburg Stock Exchange.

He is also a founding director of mobile communication company, MTN, and a former CEO of Naspers.

He is known for his visionary leadership and his investments in various internet services, such as Tencent, Mail.ru, and Flipkart.

He is also a philanthropist and a sports enthusiast.

10. Patrice Motsepe – $2.7 billion

Patrice Motsepe is a South African billionaire businessman and football administrator.

He is the founder and executive chairman of African Rainbow Minerals, which has interests in gold, ferrous metals, base metals, and platinum.

He is also the president of the Confederation of African Football, the sport’s governing body on the continent.

He became the first black African on the Forbes list of billionaires in 2008.

He is known for his philanthropy and has pledged to give half of his wealth to charitable causes.

The other ten billionaires are:

11. Issad Rebrab & family – $2.5 billion

12. Mohammed Dewji – $1.8 billion

13. Strive Masiyiwa – $1.8 billion

14. Aziz Akhannouch & family – $1.7 billion

15. Othman Benjelloun & family – $1.4 billion

16. Youseff Mansour – $1.3 billion

17. Yassen Mansour – $1.2 billion

18. Christoffel Wiese – $1.2 billion

19. Michiel Le Roux – $1.1 billion

20. Femi Otedola – $1.1 billion

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