Top 7 Richest Africans in 2023

Africa’s richest persons are living testament that Africa is a continent of opportunity, where hard work and determination can lead to success. These top 7 Africans, three of which are Nigerians, have built their fortunes through a combination of strategic investments, innovative thinking, and sheer grit.

Some of them like Aliko Dangote, Abdulsamad Rabiu and Mike Adenuga have also become symbols of success and innovation, building businesses that have not only made them wealthy but have created jobs, driven economic growth, and transformed industries.

These 7 richest Africans were curated from Forbes 2023 Africa’s billionaires List. The list named the 19 richest Africans with an estimated combined net worth of $81.5 billion.  These individuals are making a significant impact on Africa’s economic growth and development. Let’s briefly look at their profile:

Aliko Dangote ($13.5B)

Aliko Dangote tops the list as Africa’s richest man for the 12th year in a row. The Nigerian industrialist whose net worth was an estimated $13.9 billion in 2022, dropped to $13.5 billion in 2023. This can be closely linked to the low performance of Dangote Cement, his most valuable asset. Reports say the underperformance of Dangote cement stock price made the African billionaire’s fortune drop.

Dangote owns 85% of publicly -traded Dangote Cement. With a 48.6 million metric tons annual capacity, Dangote Cement has operations in 10 countries across Africa. He also owns a fertilizer plant in Nigeria and his $19 billion oil refinery is expected to supply 100 per cent of Nigeria’s demand for all refined goods.

Johann Rupert & Family ($10.7 B)

Johann Rupert retained the position of the second richest man in Africa with a net worth of $10.7 Billion for the second year. The South African also saw his net worth drop from $10.9 Billion in 2022 to $10.7 Billion. The loss is attributed to a drop in the market capitalization of his company, Swiss Luxury goods holding, Compagnie Financiere Richemont.

Johann’s company is known for brands like Cartier and Montblanc. Also, he owns 7% of diversified investment firm Remgro, and 25% of Reinet, an investment holding company based in Luxembourg.

Nicky Oppenheimer & Family ($8.4B)

Nicky Oppenheimer is the third richest African person and the second richest man in South Africa. As the heir to the DeBeers Diamond Fortune, Nicky derives his wealth from diamonds. He also recorded a significant decline in his net worth in 2022 due to the revaluation of his stakes in private equity firms. From a net worth of $8.7 billion in 2022, the South African dropped to $8.4 Billion in 2023.

Nicky sold 40% of his family stake in De Beers in 2012 and currently derives most of his wealth from private equity investments in Africa, Asia, the United States, and Europe through London-based Stockdale Street and Johannesburg-based Tana Africa Capital.

Abdulsamad Rabiu ($7.6B)

Abdulsamad Rabiu displaced Nassef Sawiris to become the fourth richest African person. Abdulsamad’s net worth grew from $7 billion in 2022 to $7.6 Billion in 2023. The Second richest man in Nigeria derives his wealth from BUA Group, which specialises in cement production, sugar refining, and real estate. His wealth boost is closely connected to significant growth recorded by BUA Foods and BUA Cement PLC in the Nigerian stock exchange market.

His BUA Foods controls the operation of BUA Sugar Refinery Limited, BUA Oil Mills Limited, IRS Flour, IRS Pasta, and BUA Rice Limited. Rabiu owns 98.5% of BUA Cement PLC.

Nassef Sawiris  ($7.3B)

Nassef Sawiris is fifth Africa’s richest person and the first Egyptian on the list. He saw his net worth drop from $8.6 Billion in 2022 to $7.3 Billion. Reports say the decrease in net worth coincides with the economic struggles faced by Egypt, including shortages of foreign currencies, a decline in the value of their local currency, and an increase in the inflation rate.

Sawiris’s most valuable asset is a nearly 6% stake in sportswear maker Adidas, followed by the cement giant Lafarge Holcim. He is an investor and a member of Egypt’s wealthiest family.

Mike Adenuga ($6.3B)

Coming sixth on the list, Mike Adenuga also saw his net worth drop to $6.3 Billion from $6.7 billion in 2022. The loss is attributed to the valuation of his privately held businesses. The Nigerian telecom billionaire derives most of his fortune from his privately held telecom company, Globacom and his investments in the Nigerian oil industry through Conoil Producing and Conpetro Limited. Conoil Producing operates six oil blocks in the Niger Delta.

Issad Rebrab & family ($4.6B)

Issad Rebrab is the seventh richest African person. He is the founder and CEO of Cevital, which owns one of the largest sugar refineries in the world. Issad net worth also dropped from $5.1 billion in 2022 to $4.6 billion in 2023. The $500 million net worth drop of the Algerian billionaire is associated with the evaluation of his private holdings in Cevital Group.

Other billionaires on Forbes 2023 Africa’s billionaire list are Naguib Sawiris ($3.3B), Patrice Motsepe($3.2B), Mohammed Mansour ($2.9B), Koos Bekker ($2.6B), Strive Masiyiwa ($1.9B), Aziz Akhannouch & family ($1.5B), Mohammed Dewji ($1.5B), Youssef Mansour($1.5B), Othman Benjelloun and family($1.3), Michiel Le Roux ($1.2B), Yasseen Mansour ($1.1B), and Christooffel Wiesse ($1.1 B). 

NEXT:5 Ways Aliko Dangote Owns Nigeria