According to Forbes, the number of billionaires in Africa grew from 21 to 23, collectively now worth $75.4 billion. Nigerian Aliko Dangote still remains the richest African worth $12.2 billion, up $100 million from a year ago. This is the seventh time in a row. The second on the list is the South African diamond mining heir, Nicky Oppenhiemer, with a net worth of $7.7 billion, up $700 million from last year.
The increase in combined wealth is buoyed by rising stock markets and commodity prices.
The billionaires are from eight countries: 8 from South Africa, 6 from Egypt, 3 from Nigeria, 2 from Morocco and one list member each from Algeria, Angola, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. Notable among the list for the first time is Zimbabwe. The billionaire is telecoms magnate and founder of the Econet Group, Strive Masiyiwa.
The top five billionaires are listed below:
It is expected that Dangote’s net worth will increase in the coming years with the planned operational commencement of a fertilizer production company in 2018 and a large oil refinery in 2019.
Forbes calculated net worths using stock prices and currency exchange rates from the close of business on Friday, January 5, 2018. To value privately-held businesses, it couples estimates of revenues or profits with prevailing price-to-sales or price-to-earnings ratios for similar public companies.
