Aliko Dangote Remains Africa’s Richest Man Despite the COVID-19 Pandemic

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Nigerian business mogul Aliko Dangote still ranks among the richest man in Forbes Africa, while the second most wealthy is Egyptian Nassef Sawiris, whose biggest asset is the almost 6% stake of Adidas sportswear maker.

KAMPALA | LIFESTYLE UGANDA (https://lifestyleuganda.com/) — Aliko Dangote is still the richest man in Africa with $12.1 billion in assets according to Forbes 2021.

1. Aliko Dangote $12.1 billion.
2. Nassef Sawiris $8.5 billion.
3. Nicky Oppenheimer & Family, $8 billion.
4. Mike Adenuga, $7.7 billion.
5. Johann Rupert & Family, $6.5 billion.
6. Issad Rebrab & family $4.4 billion.
7. Mohamed Mansour, $3.3 billion.
8. Naguib Sawiris, $3.2 billion.
9. Aziz Akhannouch & family, $3.1 billion.
10. Abdul Samad Rabiu, $3.1 billion.
11. Patrice Motsepe, $3 billion.
12. Koos Bekker, $2.8 billion.
13. Yasseen Mansour, $2.3 billion.
14. Youssef Mansour, $1.9 billion.
15. Mohammed Dewji, $1.6 billion
16. Othman Benjelloun & family, $1.4 billion.
17. Michiel Le Roux, $1.3 billion.
18. Strive Masiyiwa, $1.2 billion.

The Nigerian business mogul Aliko Dangote still leads the 2021 richest man list in Forbes Africa despite the COVID 19 pandemic, while Nassef Sawiris of Egypt, the second richest man of which is the sportswear maker Adidas, has an almost 6 per cent share in his greatest asset.

Dangote’s net worth is $12.1 billion; and his most valuable asset, Dangote Cement, has grown by $2 billion from last year’s after a 30% increase in share prices.

The second richest is Egypt’s Nassef Sawiris, whose largest asset is a nearly 6% stake in sports apparel maker Adidas.

Nicky Oppenheimer of South Africa owns a stake in the diamond company DeBeers and ran the company until 2012 when he sold 40% of his family’s stake in DeBeers to the Anglo-American mining company for $5.1 billion is now the third richest.

Where they come from

The 18 billionaires from Africa this year are worth $73.8 billion, slightly more than the $73.4 billion worth of the 20 billionaires on Africa’s list of the richest last year.

The continent’s 18 billionaires are worth an average of $4.1 billion, up 12% from a year earlier, partly driven by Nigeria’s stock market.

Another Nigerian cement tycoon, Abdul Samad Rabiu, has made huge profits this year. Significantly, the shares of his BUA Cement PLC, which was listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange in January 2020, have more than doubled in the past year. This increased Rabiu’s wealth by an extraordinary 77% to $5.5 billion.

Only two women millionaires from Africa are off the list. Forbes estimates that Nigeria’s Folorunsho Alakija, who owns the oil research firm, has less than $1 billion in assets due to falling oil prices.

Isabel dos Santos, the richest woman in Africa since 2013, was knocked out of her perch by a series of court rulings that froze her assets in both Angola and Portugal.

The 18 billionaires from Africa are from seven different countries. South Africa and Egypt each have five billionaires, Nigeria three and Morocco two. Overall, they are worth $73.8 billion, slightly more than the $73.4 billion of the 20 billionaires on Africa’s rich list last year.

This list tracks the wealth of African millionaires living in Africa or owning their primary business, with the exception of Moe Ibrahim, a Sudanese-born Egyptian citizen who is a citizen of England and a millionaire living in London. 

Strive Masiyiwa, a Zimbabwean citizen and resident of London, is on the list because he has telecommunications in Africa.