African Vibes Magazine’s 2017 African Billionaires List
It was an interesting year for African billionaires as some fortunes shrunk and others grew. Notably, Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote’s wealth dropped by a couple of billions, giving South African/Canadian/American billionaire and founder of Tesla Motors, Elon Musk the edge he needed to top the list.
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African Countries represented on the Billionaire list
In 2017, South Africa still topped the list with 9 billionaires after dropping Christoffel Wiese and adding Stephen Saad and Desmond Sacco. Egypt’s list grew to 8 billionaires with Sawiris family patriarch back on the list.
Nigeria’s billionaires dropped from 5 to 3, dropping Abdulsamad Rabiu and Femi Otedola. The other countries represented are Angola, Algeria, Ethiopia, Sudan, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe with their first Billionaire.
African Billionaire Age groups
There are 3 billionaires in their forties, 5 in their fifties, 8 in their sixties, 7 in their seventies, and 5 in their eighties. Africa’s youngest Billionaire is still Mohammed Dewji from Tanzania at Age 42.
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Methodology
The African Billionaires list is a snapshot of wealth taken on January 1, 2018. It is based on the Forbes Real-time billionaire wealth calculator. The calculation is derived from stock prices and exchange rates from around the world used to calculate net worths. Some fortunes change from day to day due to fluctuations in the market.
The list is based on individuals rather than multigenerational families who share large fortunes, though included is wealth belonging to a billionaire’s spouse and children if the current list member is the founder of the fortune. In that case, you’ll see “& family” on the list. Also included are married couples who built fortunes and businesses together.
| Picture | Africa Rank | Forbes Rank | Name | Net Worth | Age | Wealth Source | Hometown / Residence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | 1 | #61 | Elon Musk | $19.6 B | 46 | Self Made, Tesla Motors | South Africa / United States |
 | 2 | #131 | Aliko Dangote | $12.1 B | 60 | Self Made, cement, sugar, flour | Nigeria |
 | 3 | #144 | Mohammed Al Amoudi | $10.5 B | 71 | Self Made, oil, diversified | Ethiopia / Saudi Arabia |
 | 4 | #212 | Patrick Soon-Shiong | $7.9 B | 65 | Self Made, pharmaceuticals | South Africa / United States |
 | 5 | #216 | Nicky Oppenheimer | $7.7 B | 72 | Diamonds | South Africa |
 | 6 | #239 | Johann Rupert | $7.1 B | 67 | Luxury goods | South Africa |
 | 7 | #269 | Nassef Sawiris | $5.6 B | 56 | Construction, chemicals | Egypt |
 | 8 | #347 | Mike Adenuga | $5.5 B | 64 | Self Made, telcom, oil | Nigeria |
 | 11 | #543 | Issad Rebrab | $4 B | 74 | Food | Algeria |
 | 9 | #464 | Nathan Kirsh | $4.6 B | 85 | Retail, real estate | Swaziland |
 | 10 | #538 | Naguib Sawiris | $4.1 B | 63 | Telecom | Egypt |
 | 12 | #699 | Haim Saban | $3.3 B | 73 | Self Made, TV network, investments | Egypt / United States |
 | 13 | #766 | Isabel dos Santos | $3.1 B | 44 | Investments | Angola |
 | 18 | #1213 | Allan Gray | $2 B | 80 | Money management | South Africa |
 | 19 | #1260 | Yasseen Mansour | $2 B | 56 | Self Made, diversified | Egypt |
 | 14 | #872 | Koos Bekker | $2.8 B | 65 | Self Made, media, investments | South Africa |
 | 15 | #898 | Mohamed Mansour | $2.7 B | 69 | Self Made, diversified | Egypt |
 | 16 | #1045 | Patrice Motsepe | $2.4 B | 55 | Self Made, mining | South Africa |
 | 17 | #1145 | Aziz Akhannouch | $2.2 B | 57 | Petroleum, diversified | Morocco |
 | 31 | #2005 | Desmond Sacco | $1 B | 75 | Mining | South Africa |
 | 20 | #1269 | Mohamed Al Fayed | $1.9 B | 88 | Self Made, retail, investments | Egypt |
 | 21 | #1650 | Strive Masiyiwa | $1.7 B | 57 | Telecom | Zimbabwe / United Kingdom |
 | 22 | #1482 | Othman Benjelloun | $1.6 B | 85 | Banking, insurance | Morocco |
 | 23 | #1610 | Youssef Mansour | $1.4 B | 72 | Self Made, diversified | Egypt |
 | 24 | #1625 | Folorunsho Alakija | $1.4 B | 67 | Self Made, oil | Nigeria |
 | 25 | #1666 | Mohammed Dewji | $1.4 B | 42 | Diversified | Tanzania |
 | 26 | #1812 | Stephen Saad | $1.2 B | 53 | Self Made, pharmaceuticals | South Africa |
 | 27 | Michiel Le Roux | $1.2 B | 69 | Banking | South Africa | |
 | 30 | Christoffel Wiese | $1.1 B | 77 | Retail | South Africa | |
 | 28 | #1913 | Mohammed Ibrahim | $1.1 B | 71 | Self Made, communications | Sudan / United Kingdom |
 | 29 | #1955 | Onsi Sawiris | $1.1 B | 88 | Self Made, construction, telecom | Egypt |
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