The Estate, presents the Top 5 wealthiest African business people on the continent, exploring the industries they dominate.
This list ranks the top 5 of Africa's richest out of approximately 1,800 billionaires that exist worldwide in 2019.
How does one individual amass such a vast amount of wealth? Although this is an important question, there is an additional consideration...how do they manage to keep it? In a world that is changing rapidly with economic changes in oil and gas and advancements in crypto currency, online shopping and new technologies such as A.I and smart contracts, how do the rich get richer?
2019 was a huge year for international trade globally and the global economy in the West has shown signs of slowing down. If you put all your fortunes in one basket, you will see that since the year 2010, the average fortune of billionaires has fallen. The cause ? The instability of the stock market and the decline in the price of oil may play a part in this, but there are so many people still amassing fortunes by staying ahead of the curve.
Here is the top 5 ranked in reverse order:
5. Nassef Sawiris: $ 5.3 billion, Egyptian
Country: Egyptian
Source: Inherited, Father
Industry: Cement, Fertilizer
Nassef Sawiris is the last of the heirs of Onsi Sawiris (the founding president of the group Orascom). Until proven otherwise, it is also Egypt's first fortune. In about twenty years, he managed to advance his successful cement building group. Today, he is the world leader in fertilizer production.
4. Mike Adenuga: $ 5.8 billion
Country: Nigeria
Source: Business, Entrepreneurship, Self-Made
Industry: Telecoms, Property
This entrepreneur holds the fourth place for this ranking of the top 5 African wealthiest business people of 2018. But Mike has one of the most admirable entrepreneurial journeys on this list, as he earned his fortune from the ground up and in fact was a humble student in New York in 1986. Mr Adenuga had a series of businesses and ventured into different fields including, trading fabric, car audio and oil before he set up Globcom, one of Africa's leading telecomms companies. Having a significant share in the hydrocarbon market, telecommunications and real estate. The year 2017 was not very favorable for Mike Adenuga as he saw his fortune drop. However, how he has seen this before, in 2015 his fortune was an estimated 3.5 billion in 2016, it rose to 10.1 billion dollars in 2016 . As a result, he lost nearly half of his fortune in 2017.
3. Johann Rupert and his family: $ 6.9 billion, South African
Country: South Africa
Source: Tobacco Business Investment, Inherited, Father Anton Rupert
Industry: Luxury Goods
Johan Rupert is the manager of Compagnie Financière Richemont, specializing in the luxury industry. In 2017, his family fortune is estimated at nearly $ 6.9 billion. A fortune that stagnates compared to 2016. The Rembrandt group founded the Swiss luxury goods company, Richemont, which in turn acquired Rembrandt's shares in Rothmans. Richemont also owns such luxury brands as Cartier (jewellery); Alfred Dunhill and Sulka (designer clothing); Seeger (leather bags); Piaget, Baume & Mercier and Vacheron Constantin (Swiss watches) and Montblanc (writing instruments). Described as a business maverick and global player helping to shape the world of luxury.
2. Nicky Oppenheimer & Family
Country: South Africa, Origin Germany
Source: Inherited, Great Grandfather Ernest Oppenheimer
Industry: Diamonds Minerals
Sir Ernest Oppenheimer was a diamond and gold mining entrepreneur, financier and philanthropist, who controlled De Beers, founded the Anglo American Corporation of South Africa and is the Great grandfather of the No. 2 placed business man Nicky Oppenheimer.
One of the heirs of the Oppenheimer family, founder of the Anglo-American mining company (controlling diamond producer De Beers), this 70-year-old was last year in third place.
His fortune has therefore increased. And it is still a good thing if one relies on the rather difficult conjuncture of the mining market.
1. Aliko Dangote: $ 12.1 billion, Nigerian
Country Nigeria
Source: Setup Business
Industry Cement, Rice, Agriculture, Property
Aliko Dangote is at the head of an empire in agribusiness as well as cement. You surely recognize it, because it is not the first time that it is at the head of this classification thanks to a fortune, valued at 12.1 billion dollars.
It is all the more spectacular, because during the last two years, the Nigerian giant has suffered several difficulties, including the economic difficulty and the fall of the national currency (Nira) against the US dollar.
But like many billionaires in this ranking, his fortune has also greatly decreased. Recall that for 2016, his fortune was valued at $ 15.4 billion against $ 16.7 billion for the year 2014.
We look forward to more entrants to this list as Africa grows, thrives and flourishes, for more articles be sure to subscribe and check out our under 30's millionaires list.