Poor middle income Kenya unqualified in Africa's billionaires list

Geza Ulole

JF-Expert Member
Joined
Oct 31, 2009
Posts
65,136
Reaction score
91,917
NEWS
Africa rich list: No Kenyans this time but Dangote still king
THURSDAY, MARCH 8, 2018 15:26
BY JAMES KARIUKIBY LYNETTE MUKAMI





Nigerian cement tycoon Aliko Dangote - who is now opening new factories across East, West and Central Africa - is among only eight Africans who made it to this year’s Forbes Magazine wealth list.

The announcement ranked Mr Dangote, Saudi-Ethiopian businessman Mohammed Al-Amoudi, Nigerian Mike Adenuga, Angolan Isabel dos Santos and South African Patrice Motsepe as the richest individuals on the continent.

Along with Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa - whose Pay TV company Kwese is battling MultiChoice for sports viewership eyeballs in Kenya - Nigeria's Folorunsho Alakija and good governance proponent Sudanese-British national Mohamed Ibrahim, the eight are the only Africans who made it to the 2018 list of the world's top 2,043 billionaires.

While no Kenyans made it to this year's rich list,Forbes Africa has previously ranked Bidco Oil’s Bhimji Depar Shah - father of former CEO Vimal Shah - and Sameer Group’s Naushad Merali in previous editions.

Also Read
NEWSZuku rivals back KRA in Sh3.4bn taxation case
NEWSKenya mints 180 new dollar millionaires despite sluggish economy

Vimal had been named Kenya's richest man in 2013, but disputed the claim as untrue.

“That is completely useless information...There is not a grain of truth in it and it is not worth a single penny from anyone,” he said at the time, adding that he was not consulted before the list was prepared.

He was then replaced on the list by his father.

President Uhuru Kenyatta was previously listed in the magazine's inaugural report as Africa's 26th richest person due to the Kenyatta family's vast wealth that includes prime real estate and businesses. He was Kenya's Deputy Prime Minister at the time with Forbes estimating his net worth at $500 million.

Vast businesses

Mr Dangote, with vast interests in cement, sugar and flour milling across Africa, is reportedly worth Sh1.41 trillion ($14.1 billion) while Mr Adenuga’s interests in oil and telecoms placed his worth at Sh530 billion ($5.3 billion).

Mr Al-Almoudi, known for his active involvement in multi-billion dollar construction projects, is said to be worth Sh840 billion( $8.4 billion) while Mr Masiyiwa with interests in telecoms and media enjoys access to a Sh189 billion ($1.39 billion) fortune.

Daughter to former Angolan ruler Eduardo dos Santos, Ms Dos Santos served as the chairperson of the State-owned oil company until recently, retains her title of Africa’s richest woman with an estimated net worth Sh260 billion ($2.6 billion).

Ms Alakija, who once worked as a secretary in a Nigerian bank in the 70s before flying to England to study fashion design, is Africa's second richest woman with a net worth of about Sh170 billion($1.7 billion).

Founder and CEO of Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed mining firm African Rainbow Minerals, Mr Patrice Motsepe, is reportedly worth Sh250 billion. He also owns Mamelodi Sundowns Soccer club.

Mo Ibrahim, with vast interests in the equity investments space, is reportedly worth 118 billion.

He founded telecoms giant Celtel, now Bharti Airtel.

Africa's richest: No Kenyans this time but Dangote still king
 
African Billionaire Fortunes Rise On Forbes 2018 List Of Continent's Richest

Kerry A. Dolan, FORBES STAFF
Jan 10, 2018 8:45 AM 50,952



PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP/Getty Images

Aliko Dangote of Nigeria, the richest person in Africa for [+]
Buoyed by rising stock markets and commodity prices, Africa’s billionaires are collectively wealthier than a year ago. The 23 billionaires that Forbes found in Africa – up from 21 billionaires last year — are worth a combined $75.4 billion, compared to $70 billion in January 2017.

The richest African, for the seventh year in a row, is Nigerian cement and commodities tycoon Aliko Dangote, with a net worth that Forbes pegs at $12.2 billion. That’s up $100 million from a year ago. Dangote is looking beyond cement –his most valuable asset – and has been investing in a fertilizer production company and a large oil refinery. Dangote Fertilizer is expected to start operations in the second quarter this year.

Number two on the list is diamond mining heir Nicky Oppenheimer of South Africa, with a net worth of $7.7 billion, up $700 million from last year. Oppenheimer is one of 8 South Africans on the list, making it the African country with the most billionaires.

Last year, South Africa and Egypt tied with 6 billionaires each. Boosting the South African ranks this year: newcomer Michiel Le Roux, the founder and former chairman of Johannesburg-listed Capitec Bank Holdings, whose stock has climbed more than 50% in the past year, making Le Roux a new billionaire worth $1.2 billion. South African mining tycoon Desmond Sacco, chairman of listed Assore Group, returns to the list following a stock price surge of some 60% in the past 12 months. Sacco last appeared as a billionaire on the Africa’s Richest list in 2012 with a $1.4 billion fortune. (He also appeared on the 2014 Forbes list of the World’s Billionaires, worth $1.3 billion.)

One South African list member wouldn’t have made the cut a month ago. In December 2017, the share price of retailer Steinhoff International plunged after the company divulged accounting irregularities. That pushed the net worth of Steinhoff’s then-chairman Christoffel Wiese below $1 billion on December 7. (Wiese resigned as chairman in December.) In early January the company said it would restate its financial results as far back as 2015 and the share price rebounded enough to put Wiese back in billionaire territory, at least for the moment.Forbes calculated his net worth on January 5 (the day we measured all the billionaires fortunes) at $1.1 billion, down substantially from $5.5 billion a year ago. (As of Jan. 10, Steinhoff stock dropped again, knocking Wiese’s net worth below $1 billion.)





Jemal Countess/Getty Images International Rescue Committee

Strive Masiyiwa: Newcomer is a citizen of Zimbabwe but lives[+]
Zimbabwe gets its first billionaire this year: telecom magnate Strive Masiyiwa, who chairs the Econet Group. Shares of Zimbabwe-listed mobile phone network Econet Wireless Zimbabwe have surged in value over the past year; Masiyiwa owns more than half of that company. He also has a majority stake in fiber optic firm Liquid Telecom, which raised $700 million in a bond offering in July 2017. Forbes estimates Masiyiwa’s net worth at $1.7 billion.

Just 2 of the 23 list members are women, unchanged from last year. Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of Angola’s longtime former president, Jose Eduardo dos Santos, is worth an estimated $2.7 billion this year, down from $3.2 billion a year ago. Her net worth dropped in part due to a lower value for Banco BIC, an Angolan bank; its book value plunged in 2016 amid a tough year for the oil producing country. The other woman is Nigeria’s Folorunsho Alakija, whose estimated $1.6 billion fortune lies in oil exploration firm Famfa Oil, which is partnered with Chevron and Petrobras on a lucrative offshore oil field.

Mohammed Dewji of Tanzania is the youngest on the list, at age 42. He inherited a textile and edible oils group from his father and has expanded its operations. Forbes puts his net worth at $1.5 billion. The oldest list member is Onsi Sawiris of Egypt, age 88; he started Orascom Construction in 1950. It was nationalized by the government of Abdel Nasser and Sawiris created another construction firm from scratch. Two of his three sons are also billionaires, including Nassef Sawiris, who at $6.8 billion is Egypt’s richest man. That’s an increase from $5.3 billion a year ago thanks to upticks in the share price of several of his holdings: shoemaker Adidas, cement giant LaFargeHolcim, and fertilizer maker OCI.

One person dropped off since last year’s list: Anas Sefrioui of Morocco. The share price of his homebuilder, Douja Promotion Groupe Addoha, fell about 30% in the past year, pushing his net worth down to $950 million.

Fortunes rose since last year for 13 of the 23 list members, fell for 4 people and stayed the same for 3 people. The list members hail from a total of 8 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.

See the full 2018 list of Africa’s Billionaires here.

METHODOLOGY

Our list tracks the wealth of African billionaires who reside in Africa or have their primary businesses there, thus excluding Sudanese-born billionaire Mo Ibrahim, who is a U.K. citizen, and billionaire London resident Mohamed Al-Fayed, an Egyptian citizen. (Strive Masiyiwa, a citizen of Zimbabwe and a London resident, appears on the list due to his expansive telecom holdings in Africa.) We 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, we couple estimates of revenues or profits with prevailing price-to-sales or price-to-earnings ratios for similar public companies. Some list members grow richer or poorer within weeks –or days — of our measurement date.

We have purposely excluded dispersed family fortunes such as the Chandaria family of Kenya and the Madhvanis of Uganda, because the wealth is believed to be held by dozens of family members. We do include wealth belonging to a member’s immediate relatives if the wealth can be traced to one living individual; in that case, you’ll see “& family” on our list as an indication.

Think we’re missing someone? Email me at kdolan@forbes.com

Correction, Jan. 31, 2018: An earlier version of this article incorrectly listed the name of an Angolan bank part owned by Isabel dos Santos. It is Banco BIC, not Banco BCI.

African Billionaire Fortunes Rise On Forbes 2018 List Of Continent's Richest
 
Watakwambia wanamillionaire wengi wakat topic mezani inajieleza[emoji23][emoji23]
 
Only a stupid buffoon celebrates having billionaires despite being a poor LDC 4th world country with a GDP per capita of only $800...with a GDP of $47 Billion, one person owning more than $1 billion sio jambo la kusherehekea....ni jambo la kusikitisha sana.....ina maanisha huyu jamaa kashikilia percentage kubwa sana ya national wealth...if this was South Africa or Nigeria it would be okay since those are wealthy nations but for a country that has a smaller GDP than Nairobi, Cape town or Abuja, it makes me wonder how foolish you guys must be..or maybe it is the tz education system....NB: inequality is nothing to celebrate about...one person owning 1 billion while millions of others languish in extreme poverty is nothing to celebrate about...remember that
 
Feelings Za nn tena? ?njia ni nyeupe if many can't make it few can..hatuwez wote kuwa wajingawajinga...in fact Uwepo wake ni bora kuliko asingekuepo..ni bora kujifunzia kwa watu wa ndani ambao unamuona hustle zake kiliko billionaire wa nje ambae utaishia kumuona kwenye tv...me sijaona mbaya kama anawork smart ni sahihi yeye kutengeneza more dow. ..

Btw our GDP is not 47 dude c'mon this is 2018 not 2016
 
of course 46 bln is according to 2016 figures... but still this is is very surprising...nchi tajiri kama USA, Uk na kadhalika zinajaribu kumaliza inequality nyie maskini wa kutupwa mnaisherehekea, kwani mlirogwa au?😀😀😀 umesahau tz is among world's poorest countries...infact mpo kwenye top 20 poorest countries duniani ila mnafurahia mwarabu anaposhikilia 1 billion😀😀😀..kuweni serious angalau
 

The above explained scenario is typical Kenyan experience. Bad enough some familia mobilise funds using public name/security to execute their projects and no one is asking or holding them liable.
 
eliakeem said:
The above explained scenario is typical Kenyan experience. Bad enough some familia mobilise funds using public name/security to execute their projects and no one is asking or holding them liable.
Click to expand...
its true... and that is why there are Kenyans that are against the Kenyattas, odinga and Moi families which hold massive amounts of wealth and land while most Kenyans are poor...inequality is bad my friends..it is nothing to celebrate about...akina kenyatta hold empty land while many kenyans are squatters in their own country...this is the mindset that Africans should fight against.. not tolerate or celebrate it...
 

Please don't talk as if YOU are coming from Botswana. Your country is known for income inequality, the economic system which leaves masses with nothing while the few are enjoying the cake. Your economy is not evenly distributed.
 

Actually we thank Nyerere for WHAT he DID. Inequalities are inevitable but we have to work eagerly to mitigate it. Like WHAT our President JPM is currently doing.
 
eliakeem said:
Please don't talk as if YOU are coming from Botswana. Your country is known for income inequality, the economic system which leaves masses with nothing while the few are enjoying the cake. Your economy is not evenly distributed.
Click to expand...
true...Kenya, just like many other countries has massive levels of inequality and this should not make us happy...instead it should bother us and make us sad......many kenyans are extremely poor...i agree with that...what I'm trying to say is that a country would rather have less billionaires and millionaires and have a more equal distribution of wealth...
 
eliakeem said:
Actually we than Nyerere for WHAT he DID. Inequalities are inevitable but we have to work eagerly to mitigate it. Like WHAT our President JPM is currently doing.
Click to expand...
I agree...inequality is very hard to avoid...but at least lets not celebrate it..it is demeaning to our poor Tanzanians and poor Kenyans...
 
Ulitaka tusherehekee wengi kua maskini ndio ufurah Au? The guy anatoa ajira nyingi sana kwa vijana do you think gov inaweza ajiri hao watu?usiwe mshabiki cause iyo pesa yake unazunguka apa ndani pia ...Btw Tz haiko katika 20 poorest country za dunia last time nmechek tulikua 25 ambae yuko juu yetu ndio middle income..tuko very close kutoka ldc
 
Of course mko very close kutoka Ldc na mkiendelea kugrow at 7% p.a mtatoka in the next maybe two to three years. Assuming population haitakuwa imeongezeka sana kwa sababu population is a factor in calculating gdp per capita.
 

When Tanzania constantly makes it on the list of the worlds poorest nation.. The rich in the country are Arabs and Indians.. the lazy locals aka Mbuzi wa mtaa.. just lay below trees saying Duuuhhhhhhh.... Tanzania twa shinda Kenya kwa Ujinga

The 25 poorest countries in the world
 
Kauli hii ninaisikia kwa mara ya kwanza toka kwa mkenya, wengi wenu hapa wamekuwa wakijisifia kwa kuwa na idadi kubwa ya milionea kuizidi Tanzania, jambo ambalo tumekua tukilipiga na kuona sio jambo zuri kwa Kenya kujisifia kwa kuwa na idadi ya matajiri wakati mamilioni ya wakenya hawana uhakika wa chakula.
 
eliakeem said:
Please don't talk as if YOU are coming from Botswana. Your country is known for income inequality, the economic system which leaves masses with nothing while the few are enjoying the cake. Your economy is not evenly distributed.
Click to expand...

You don't get it. You're the ones celebrating your inequality.
 

It's interesting how you celebrate extremely wealthy Tanzanians when most Tanzanians are poor yet bash Kenyans for having extremely wealthy people while many Kenyans are poor.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Menu
Log in
Register
Cookies are required to use this site. You must accept them to continue using the site. Learn more…