#Morocco : The world has 2,668 billionaires, according to Forbes’ annual report, including only 20 Africans, from 8 different countries, with a combined fortune of 90 billion dollars. The Nigerian Dangote remains the richest man in Africa and the Maghreb is represented by three billionaires.
For this new ranking, it is the American of South African origin Elon Musk who sits at the top of the richest men in the world with a fortune estimated at 219 billion dollars, thanks in particular to his electric cars -Telsa- and its SpaceX rockets, which are helping to revolutionize land and space transport. He is ahead of another American, the boss of Amazon Jeff Bezos (171 billion dollars) and the French Bernard Arnault & Family, the boss of LVMH whose wealth is estimated at 158 billion dollars. Bill Gates and Warren Buffet complete the Top 5 richest men in the world with fortunes valued at $129 billion and $118 billion respectively.
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At the continental level, Africa is the continent with the fewest billionaires with only 20 people having a fortune reaching at least one billion dollars. These 20 people, of 8 different nationalities, combine a total fortune of 90 billion dollars.
Egyptians (6 billionaires) and South Africans (5 billionaires) are the most represented in this ranking of billionaires, followed by Nigerians (3 billionaires) and Moroccans (2 billionaires). Algeria, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Tanzania each have a billionaire.
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And like previous rankings, it is the Nigerian tycoon Aliko Dangote who sits at the top of the list of the richest men in Africa with an estimated fortune of 14 billion dollars, once morest 11.3 billion dollars at the same period. last year, thanks in particular to the good behavior of the flagship of his group, the Dangote Cement holding company present in several African countries. The Nigerian billionaire who made his fortune in cement and agri-food (sugar, flour, etc.) has embarked on the diversification of his group by launching into fertilizers, automobiles, petrochemicals and oil refining in building the largest oil refinery on the continent and the 6th in the world.
Here are the 20 African billionaires of Forbes 2022
Lastnames and firstnames |
Fortune (Mds/$) |
African rank |
World rank |
Age |
Sectors |
Aliko Dangote |
14 |
1st |
130e |
64 ans |
Cement, sugar |
Johann Rupert & family |
8,9 |
2e |
230e |
71 ans |
Luxe, distribution |
Nicky Oppenheimer & family |
8,7 |
3e |
241e |
76 ans |
Diamond and mines |
Nessef Sawiris |
7,7 |
4e |
304e |
61 ans |
Construction, investment |
Mike Adenuga |
7,3 |
5e |
324e |
68 ans |
Telecom, oil |
Abdulsamad Rabiu |
6,9 |
6e |
350e |
61 ans |
Cement, sugar |
Nathan Kirsh |
5,3 |
7e |
509e |
90 ans |
Luxe, distribution |
Issad Rebrad & family |
5,1 |
8e |
536e |
78 ans |
Agrifood |
Naguib Sawiris |
3,4 |
9th |
883e |
67 ans |
Telecom |
Patrice Motsepe |
3,3 |
10e |
913e |
60 ans |
Mines, assurance |
Strive Masiyima |
3 |
11e |
1012e |
61 ans |
Telecom |
Mohamed Mansour |
2,5 |
12e |
1238e |
74 ans |
Diversified |
Chose Bekker |
2,1 |
13e |
1341e |
69 ans |
Average |
Mohamed Al-Fayed |
2,1 |
14e |
1445e |
93 ans |
Distrib., invest. |
Aziz Ahannouch & family |
2 |
15e |
1513e |
61 ans |
Oil, distribution |
Michiel Le Roux |
1,8 |
16e |
1645e |
72 ans |
Bank, finance |
Mohammed Dewji |
1,5 |
17e |
1929e |
46 ans |
Diversified |
Youssef Mansour |
1,5 |
17e |
1929e |
76 ans |
Diversified |
Othman Benjelloun & family |
1,3 |
19e |
2190e |
89 ans |
Bank, insurance |
Yassen Mansour |
1,1 |
20e |
2448e |
60 ans |
Diversified |
Thanks to the sharp increase in his fortune, Dangote made a significant jump in the ranking of billionaires from 192nd to 130th in the world. He is followed, at the continental level, by South Africans Johan Rupert & Family ($8.9 billion) and Nicky Oppenheimer & Family ($8.7 billion), the family whose grandfather founded the mining company of De Beers diamond.
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The Egyptian Nassef Sawiris who held the second fortune of the continent in 2021 now ranks 4th continentally with a fortune of 7.7 billion dollars. He is one of the few billionaires on the continent whose fortunes have declined in 2022, compared to 2021.
Egyptian Mohamed Al Fayed, 93, whose fortune is estimated at $2.1 billion, is the continent’s oldest billionaire, while Tanzanian Mohammed Dewji remains the continent’s youngest billionaire.
Finally, African billionaires have generally made a fortune in various sectors: telecoms, oil, construction, mining and metals, cement, agri-food, media, banking and insurance, etc.