adminZIMBABWE telecoms entrepreneur Strive Masiyiwa, whose fortune is estimated at US$1,46 billion, has been named among the list of 55 billionaires in Africa, a continental business magazine revealed this week. He is the only Zimbabwean on the list. According to a new study by Nigeria-based business magazine Ventures Africa, the continent now has 55 billionaires, up from previous estimates of between 16 and 25 by the US-based Forbes magazine.
The Econet Wireless founder was named among “a large number of African billionaires on whose fortunes have never been accurately calculated” before.
Ranked number 31 on the list, the South Africa-based tycoon is founder and chairman of Econet Wireless International, a telecoms giant which boasts 11 million subscribers and operating in some 15 countries in Africa, Europe, the United States, Latin America and the Asia-Pacific region.
Now 52, Masiyiwa started out in business at the age of 25 when he founded Retrofit Engineering before going on to establish Econet Wireless and expanding its operations into the continent and other parts of the world.
Apart from telecoms, the Econet group, whose Zimbabwe unit is now one of the country’s largest companies, also has interests in satellite services, banking, insurance and renewable energy.
A devout Christian and philanthropist, Masiyiwa also offers scholarships to some 35 000 orphans through a charity organisation run by his wife, Tsitsi, and operates in Zimbabwe, Burundi, Lesotho and South Africa.
Meanwhile, Africa’s super-rich list compares favourably with Latin America, which had 51 at last count (Forbes) but has some way to go if it’s to top the super-rich tally in Asia, which is home to 399 billionaires as of 2013. “This list is a tribute to the entrepreneurial heartbeat within Africa,” said Chi-Chi Okonjo, founder of the respected continental business publication.
The report credits the surge in energy prices over the last decade for the increase in the number of billionaires with Nigerian cement, sugar and flour tycoon Aliko Dangote, said to be worth US$20,2 billion, topping the list.
Three women — the mother of Kenya’s president Mama Ngina Kenyatta, Isabel dos Santos of Angola and a Nigerian oil tycoon and fashion designer also make the list.
The combined fortune of Africa’s 55 billionaires is US$143,88 billion. The average net worth of the members of this exclusive club is US$2,6 billion, while the median age of the richest people in Africa is 65 years.
The oldest billionaires are Kenyan industrialist, Manu Chandaria and Egyptian property tycoon Mohammed Al-Fayed, both aged 84.
The youngest billionaires are Mohammed Dewji of Tanzania and Igho Sanomi, a Nigerian oil trader. They are both 38 years old.
Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt lead the pack with the highest number of billionaires at 20, nine and eight respectively. In all, there are 10 African countries represented on the list.
Ventures Africa said its list was compiled using financial reports, by tracking equity holdings around stock markets and identifying specific shareholding structures in large, privately-held companies.
The results have been corroborated with investment bankers, realtors and financial analysts to determine proper values for companies, real estate and other assets, such as art collections, jets, yachts and jewellery. — Ventures Africa/Zimbabwe Mail.
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