The recovery of the global economy, the good behavior of the stock markets, certain political events and the behavior of commodity prices have weighed heavily on the wealth of the richest men on the planet, whose number increased by 141 per cent. reaching 2,781 billionaires with a total value of $14.2 trillion, according to Forbes. The world has never had so many billionaires.
Some have benefited more than others. This is the case of Elon Musk. The richest man in the world saw his fortune increase by more than $213 billion during 2024 to reach $442 billion. He is widening the gap with his pursuers: Jeff Bezos of Amazon ($241 billion) and Mark Zuckerberg of Meta ($209 billion). Largely, this sharp increase results from the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States and of whom he was one of the biggest supporters during the electoral campaign. Since this election, the stock price of Tesla Inc has increased by 80%, explaining the enormous increase in Elon Musk’s income in 2024.
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At the African level, taking into account only those whose assets are mainly on the continent, there are 21 billionaires, or 0.79% of the world total. In 2023, Africa had 20 billionaires. Like other wealthy people, the wealth of African billionaires also increased in 2024 compared to 2023.
Almost all billionaires, with a few exceptions, have made gains, sometimes exceptional, despite the negative impacts of exchange rates resulting from the depreciation of many African currencies (Nigerian naira, Egyptian pound, South African rand, etc.) against against the American dollar.
However, the main factor in this increase remains the sharp increase in Aliko Dango’s fortune. Indeed, according to Bloomberg data, the businessman’s fortune increased by $13 billion in 2024 to reach $28.1 billion, ranking him 67th among the richest men in the world. . He is thus the only African in the Top 100 richest people in the world.
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This growth is mainly explained by taking into account the Dangote refinery inaugurated in May 2023 and equipped with a processing capacity of 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day. Worth more than $20 billion, this unit contributed to the increase in the fortune of the Nigerian businessman who holds 92.3% of the capital.
The fortune of Africa’s richest man is expected to rise further if the Nigerian currency, the naira, had not depreciated against the US dollar by 40.91% in 2024. But unlike Bloomberg, Forbes does not seem to have taken Dangote’s new investment into account in updating its ranking, estimating his fortune at only $13.4 billion.
Thanks to this investment, Dangote widens the gap with his South African pursuers. John Rupert & family saw its fortune grow by $1.33 billion to reach $13.7 billion. Most of this family’s fortune comes from the luxury company Richemont based in Switzerland and which produces around twenty brands: Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Montblanc, Piaget, Alfred Dunhill, Ralph Lauren Watch & Jewelry, Vacheron Constantin…
Yassen Mansour (62 years old, Egypt): a fortune of 1.2 billion dollars. Sectors of activity: diversified.. DR
Nicky Oppenheimer & family, a diamond magnate who has diversified his activities in recent years, ranks third in Africa with a fortune up from $1.8 billion to $11.70 billion.
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Behind this trio comes Swazi Natie Kirsh, active in the food industry and distribution, with a fortune estimated at $9.38 billion (+$1.76 billion). Part of the fortune of the Swazi (Eswatini) of South African origin comes from the spectacular growth of his 75% stake in Jetro Holdings, a company based in New York.
The Top 5 of the richest in Africa is completed by the Egyptian Nassif Sawiris present in the industry with 8.72 billion dollars (+300 million). Son of Onsi Sawiris and younger brother of billionaires Naguib Sawiris and Samih Sawiris, he made his fortune in nitrogen fertilizer with factories based in Texas and Iowa in the United States.
In the African ranking, his brother Naguib Sawiris, present in media & telecoms, is positioned 6th among billionaires. These six African billionaires are the only Africans in the Top 500 richest in the world from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
For the other billionaires, identified by Forbes which ranks all those who have a fortune greater than or equal to 1 billion dollars, we count the Nigerians Mike Adenuga (6.7 billion dollars) and Abdulsalam Rabiu (5.2 billion dollars) , Mohamed Mansour of Egypt (3.3 billion), the South Africans Koos Bekker (2.9 billion) and Patrice Motsepe (2.7 billion), the Algerian Issad Rebrab & family (2.5 billion)…
By country, there are six South Africans, five Egyptians, four Nigerians, two Moroccans, one Algerian, one Tanzanian, one Zimbabwean and one Swazi (Eswatini).
The 21 African billionaires at the end of 2024
| First and last names | Pays | Age | Fortune in billions the dollars | Sectors of activity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Where is Dangote? | Nigeria | 67 ans | 28,1 | Industry, Cement |
| Johann Rupert & family | South Africa | 74 ans | 13,7 | Diversified |
| Nicky Oppenheimer | South Africa | 79 ans | 11,7 | Diamond and miscellaneous |
| Nathan Kirsh | Eswatini | 92 ans | 9,38 | Agri-food & Distribution |
| Nassif Sawiris | Egypt | 63 ans | 8,72 | Industry |
| Naguib Sawiris | Egypt | 67 ans | 6,98 | Media & Telecom |
| Mike Adenuga | Nigeria | 70 ans | 6,7 | Telecom, Oil |
| Abdulsalam Rabiu | Nigeria | 63 ans | 5,2 | Cement, sugar |
| Mohamed Mansour | Egypt | 76 ans | 3,3 | Diversified |
| Koos Bekker | South Africa | 71 ans | 2,9 | Media, Investment |
| Patrice Motsepe | South Africa | 62 ans | 2,7 | Mines, Assurance |
| Issad Rebrab & family | Algeria | 80 ans | 2,5 | Agri-food |
| Michial Le Roux | South Africa | 74 ans | 1,8 | Banque & Finance |
| Mohammed Dewji | Tanzania | 48 ans | 1,8 | Divers |
| Strive Signs | Zimbabwe | 63 ans | 1,8 | Telecom |
| Aziz Akhannouch | Morocco | 63 ans | 1,7 | Diversified |
| Christopher Wiese | South Africa | 82 ans | 1,7 | Fashion & Retail |
| Othman Benjelloun | Morocco | 91 ans | 1,4 | Banque & Finance |
| Femi Otedolo | Nigeria | 61 ans | 1,4 | Energie & Divers |
| Youssef Mansour | Egypt | 78 ans | 1,3 | Divers |
| Yassen Mansour | Egypt | 62 ans | 1,2 | Divers |
Source: Bloomberg et Forbes
Finally, it should be remembered that the ranking only takes into account African billionaires residing on the continent and/or whose assets are mainly in Africa. This excludes the South African Elon Musk who also has Canadian and American nationalities, the Ethiopian Mohammed Al Amoudi also of Saudi nationality, the Somali Mo Ibrahim of British nationality, the Nigerian Adebayo Ogunlesi who joined the billionaires club after selling his company Global Infrastructure Partners to the American giant BlackRock, or the South African Dr Patrick Soon-Shiong naturalized American, the South African Ivan Glasenberg, CEO of Glencore who has the nationalities Swiss and Australian.
