Africa boasts at least 55 billionaires, according to report
Business magazine uncovers dozens of new billionaires on continent
There are far more African billionaires than previously thought, Ventures magazine said Monday in a report on the continent’s mega-rich, but the number of Africans living in extreme poverty has also shot up.
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 with a fortune of $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, whose Fama Oil owns an offshore oil block, which she acquired in 1993 “at a relatively inexpensive price”, likely through a helpful connection, the magazine said.