Online Reporter
IN 2015, Aliko Dangote was Africa’s richest person and TEN years later he is still the man on top of the riches table.
After several years of steady growth in Africa, some sectors of the economy hit a wall.
Lower prices for oil and other commodities led to a smaller number of African billionaires than a year ago on Forbes’ new list of Africa’s 50 Richest – 23 billionaires this year, down from 28.
As a group, the continent’s wealthiest 50 were worth US$95.6 billion, a decline of US$15 billion from 2014.
Dangote retained his spot as the number one richest African for the fifth year in a row, but his US$16.7 billion net worth was nearly US$5 billion lower than a year ago, a result of a drop in the stock price at his Dangote Cement and a weaker Nigerian currency.
Number two on the list was Nicky Oppenheimer, whose estimated US$6.6 billion fortune stemmed from the stake he inherited in diamond miner and marketer De Beers.
In 2012, Oppenheimer sold the De Beers stake to mining giant Anglo American for US$5.1 billion in cash.
He moved up the ranks from the number three spot in 2014. South Africans made the best showing on the Africa’s richest list in 2015, occupying 16 spots, up from 11 in 2014.
Nigerians had a smaller representation, with 10 members of the list, down from 13.
Eight members hailed from Morocco, seven from Egypt, three from Tanzania and three from Kenya. There was one each from Algeria, Angola and Uganda.
Despite a weaker Nigerian currency and strife in the northern part of Nigeria, Dangote was still Africa’s richest man by far, even after a net worth decline of nearly US$5 billion compared to the past year.
In 2015 his Dangote Cement, Africa’s largest cement producer, launched new cement plants in Cameroon, Ethiopia, Zambia and Tanzania.
In total, Dangote Cement produced more than 30 million metric tons annually, with a plan to double capacity by 2018.
Dangote owned nearly 91% of publicly-traded Dangote Cement through a holding company; this percentage exceeds the 80% ownership ceiling set by the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
Nicky Oppenheimer, who inherited his family’s stake in diamond giant De Beers, exited the business in 2012 and kept a relatively low profile after that.
For 85 years, the Oppenheimer family occupied a controlling spot in the world’s diamond trade; in 2012 Nicky sold his 40% stake in De Beers to mining conglomerate Anglo American for US$5.1 billion in cash.
Anglo American, which Nicky’s grandfather founded, controls 85% of De Beers.
From his late father King Hassan, King Mohammed VI of Morocco inherited a 35% stake in Societe NationaWle d’Investissement (SNI), a holding company that has stakes in several publicly traded companies, including the country’s largest bank, Attijariwafa; mining company Managem Group; sugar producer Cosumar; and dairy firm Centrale Danone. Forbes’ estimate of the king’s net worth is up significantly from a year ago due to new information about the value of SNI’s assets.
He had a net worth of US$5,8 billion in 2015.
In a year when many moguls in Africa saw their fortunes shrink, South African retailing tycoon Christoffel Wiese was flourishing.
His net worth rose by more than US$1 billion.
In February 2015, two companies in which he held stakes − Pepkor and Steinhoff − struck an agreement whereby Steinhoff, a furniture and home goods retailer, agreed to purchase Pepkor, a clothing and footwear seller, for US$5.7 billion in cash and stock.
Wiese’s resulting 17% stake in Steinhoff was worth US$3.7 billion as of mid-November 2015.
Johann Rupert chaired listed Swiss luxury goods firm Compagnie Financiere Richemont, best known for the brands Cartier and Montblanc.
He created the company in 1988 after spinning off international assets owned by Rembrandt Group Limited (now Remgro Limited), a South African company his father Anton founded in the 1940s as a tobacco manufacturer. His net worth in 2015 was US$5.4 billion. − Forbes
Mathew Masinge