No Kenyan billionaire has featured in the latest list of top 20 super rich individuals in Africa, the Forbes Magazine has revealed.
Kenya is the biggest economy in East Africa and the eight largest in Africa but does not have a Dollar billionaire currently, according to Forbes.
South Africa and Egypt have the biggest number of dollar billionaires, each with five, followed by Nigeria (four) and Morocco two.
Nigeria’s Aliko Dangote is the richest man in Africa, with an estimated net worth of $10.1 billion (Sh1 trillion) followed by Egypt’s Nassef Sawiris ($8 billion), Nigeria’s oil tycoon, Mike Adenuga ($7.7 billion) and South Africa’s Nick Oppenheimer ($7.7 billion).
Tanzania’s Mohammed Dewji was ranked 16th in Africa, with fortunes estimated at $1.6 billion. No African made it to the top 100 Dollar billionaires.
Kenya’s one richest man, Vimal Shah estimated to be worth $1.6 billion, was dropped after Forbes attribute the wealth to Bidco’s founder and Vimal’s father, Bhimji Depar Shah and family.
Read: COVID-19: Jack Ma Donates Ventilators To Kenya Amid Pressure On Local Billionaires To Act
President Uhuru Kenyatta was also dropped from the list after the Magazine discovered that he did not have direct control of the family wealth, estimated to be over $500 million.
Former President Daniel Moi’s family is estimated to be worth $3 billion, but most of the wealth is not in the public domain hence cannot be ranked.
Manu Chandaria was also estimated to be worth $1.65 billion in 2013 by Nigeria’s Ventures financial magazine, but did not feature in Forbes list.
Other Ksh billionaires that have been left out of the list include the late Nicholas Biwott, Naushad Merali, Chris Kirubi and the family of the late Philip Ndegwa.
Isabel Dos Santos, daughter of former Angolan president Edwardo dos Santos, was named as Africa’s richest woman with a net worth of $2.2 billion. This is despite featuring in several graft scandals.
Read: Tanzanian Billionaires the Rajabalis buy Ksh344 million stake at Equity Bank
Globally, Jeff Bezos (Amazon) maintained the top spot for the third time in three years with a net worth of $113 billion, followed by Bill Gates (Microsoft) at $98 billion.
Bernard Arnault of LVMH moves up on this year’s ranking and debuts in the top three, as the third-wealthiest person in the world, after Warren Buffett’s fortune fell by $15 billion. Buffett (No. 4) is valued at $67.5 billion, down from $82.5 from last year.
Larry Ellison, founder, chairman and Chief Technology Officer of Oracle Corporation closes the list of top five, with his fortune down $3.5 billion this year, to $59 billion.
Forbes noted that there are 2,095 billionaires on the 2020 ranking, down from 2,153 in 2019. The total combined net worth of this year’s billionaires is $8 trillion, down from $8.7 trillion in 2020. 267 people dropped off this year’s list and a record 1,062 individuals have seen a drop in their fortunes, both reflective of the turbulent markets and the coronavirus pandemic.
You can get the full list here.
Email your news TIPS to Editor@kahawatungu.com or WhatsApp +254707482874. You can also find us on Telegram through www.t.me/kahawatungu
Email your news TIPS to Editor@Kahawatungu.com — this is our only official communication channel
