The global economic catastrophe caused by the epidemic has not spared the world’s billionaires. Africa’s billionaires have seen their net worths plummet, hurting their global rankings on Bloomberg and Forbes.
While the global economy has been difficult, some billionaires have weathered the storm and posted respectable earnings, increasing their net worth. Johann Rupert & family is one of them, having added $256 million to its $11.3 billion net worth. Others, though, have not been so fortunate.
According to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index, the five African billionaires listed below have seen their net worth decrease. The index ranks the world’s wealthiest people on a daily basis.
1. Aliko Dangote
For more than a decade, Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote has held the title of Africa’s richest man. According to Bloomberg’s real-time estimations of their net worth, the Nigerian business entrepreneur just lost the top rank to South Africa’s Johann Rupert.
According to the Bloomberg list, Dangote, who has a net worth of $16.7 billion, lost $681 million.
2. Nicky Oppenheimer
Nicholas Oppenheimer is the grandson of two well-known South African businessmen, Ernest Oppenheimer (grandfather) and Harry Oppenheimer (father). Nicky Oppenheimer is the former Chairman of Anglo American Corporation, which was created by his grandfather, Sir Ernest Oppenheimer, who also owned De Beers. For many years, Nicky’s father, Harry Oppenheimer, managed De Beers and Anglo-American Corporation.
Nicky joined Anglo American Corporation in 1968, rose through the ranks to become a Director in 1974 and Deputy Chairman in 1983. In 1985, he was appointed Deputy Chairman of De Beers and Chairman of the Diamond Trading Company, a De Beers subsidiary. Nicky became Africa’s third wealthiest person and South Africa’s second, with a net worth of $8.5 billion as of January 29, 2023.
According to Bloomberg, Nicky has a real-time net worth of $8.95 billion and has lost $150 million.
3. Naguib Sawiris
Naguib Sawiris is also a descendant of Egypt’s most powerful family. His brother Nassef is Africa’s second richest person. He made his wealth in the telecom industry, selling Orascom Telecom to Russian telecom business VimpelCom (now Veon) in a multibillion-dollar deal in 2011.
He is the chairman of Orascom TMT Investments, which owns a significant Egyptian asset manager and an Italian online startup, among other things. He also owns a majority stake in Euronews. He has also created the Silversands premium resort in Grenada.
Bloomberg reports that he has lost $99.4 million of his $5.65 billion net worth.
4. Nassef Sawiris
Nassef Sawiris is the Chairman of Orascom Construction Industries, one of the world’s major nitrogen fertilizer manufacturers. It operates plants in Texas and Iowa, and its stock is quoted on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange.
Orascom Construction Industries also owns and operates Orascom Construction, an engineering and construction firm. The company is listed on the Cairo and Nasdaq Dubai stock exchanges and is one of the leading participants in the Middle East engineering and construction sectors.
A 7% interest in Adidas is one of his most significant assets. He also purchased a 5% investment in Madison Square Garden Sports, a New York-listed company that owns the New York Knicks, Rangers, Liberty, the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League, and the Westchester Knicks. He also has a share in the cement conglomerate Lafarge Holcim.
The Egyptian lost $8.41 million from his $7.39 billion net worth, according to Bloomberg’s real-time rankings.
5. Natie Kirsh
Natie Kirsh is a billionaire from South Africa. The 91-year-old billionaire is in charge of a massive food and beverage empire. His 75% share in Jetro Holdings is one of his key sources of revenue. Kirsh has a net worth of $7.21 billion, according to Bloomberg, although it has dropped by $95.8 million.