All it took was a new coin in Zimbabwe to wipe out half of Strive Masiyiwa's fortune. The only billionaire in the country, he built his fortune from telecommunications. It has significant shares in two companies listed on the Zimbabwean stock exchange.
But his country's decision in June to ban all foreign currencies and allow only the Zimbabwean dollar accelerated inflation and sank the value of the new dollar. This, in turn, led to rapid losses in dollar terms on Masiyiwa's shares in companies: telecommunications company Econet Wireless Zimbabwe and mobile banking company Cassava Smartech. The result: Masiyiwa's fortune shrank to $ 1,1 billion, up from $ 2,3 billion a year ago, making him the biggest loser in percentage terms among Africa's 20 billionaires. "Confidence has evaporated from the market," said Hardy Pemhiwa, CEO of Econet Global Limited.
Such are the challenges of running a business in a country with an unstable economy - and a long history of conflict. "Considering what happened to the Zimbabwean dollar, which lost 95% of its value, Masiyiwa has done better than most," said John Robertson, an independent financial adviser at Harare.
While the problems in Zimbabwe are extreme, doing business in Africa is sometimes unpredictable and often volatile. Take, for example, the merger and subsequent stock market integration "orchestrated" by the second biggest winner this year, Abdulsamad Rabiu, whose fortune now stands at $ 3,1 billion, up from $ 1,6 billion last year. In January, Rabiu made a public offering that seemed to defy logic. It already had a listed cement company, the Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN), which at the end of December 2019 had a market capitalization of approximately $ 600 million. He then merged it with Obu Cement, also his own company, which, according to Forbes, was valued at just $ 600 million a year ago. With the "magic wand" of the markets, the joint venture, called BUA Cement Plc, which was listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange on January 8, 2020, has almost three times the value of the two companies before the merger.
The biggest winner of the year is Nassef Sawiris, with a fortune of $ 8 billion, up from $ 6,3 billion last year. It is the first time he enters the top two of the richest people on the continent. Sawiris' most valuable asset is its 5,7% stake in Adidas, valued at just over $ 4 billion. The rise in Adidas shares alone has added nearly $ 1,5 billion to its fortune since January 2019. Sawiris also controls a significant stake in fertilizer maker OCI NV. Last year, Sawiris and American investor Wes Edens bought the remaining stake they did not own in the British football club Aston Villa.
In total, the continent's billionaires are worth $ 73,4 billion, up from $ 68,7 billion a year ago, mainly thanks to rising stock prices. Of those tycoons, eight saw their fortunes rise or fall by at least $ 700 million. For the ninth year in a row, Nigeria's Aliko Dangote is the richest man in Africa, with a fortune of about $ 10,1 billion, up from $ 10,3 billion a year ago. The decrease is mainly attributed to the fall of the share of his company, Dangote Cement. The amount of his fortune is exactly what he had in the first year he entered the ranking of the richest in Africa in 2011, however it has decreased by more than 50% from the level of 2014.
A fortune that has not changed much but could decline rapidly next year belongs to one of only two African women billionaires: Isabel dos Santos, the eldest daughter of former Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos. In late December, an Angolan court ordered the freezing of assets held by Isabel dos Santos and her husband, Sindika Dokolo, in Angola. These include its stake in the telecommunications group Unitel and shares in two Angolan banks. Forbes estimates that these assets are worth hundreds of millions of dollars. In a statement, Isabel dos Santos states that the court decision includes "a number of untruths" and that she will fight it "using all the means of Angolan and international law at my disposal".
Out of a total of 54 African countries, only 8 have billionaires: Egypt and South Africa are associated with 5 billionaires each, followed by Nigeria with 4 and Morocco with 2. Forbes has identified a billionaire in Algeria, Angola, Tanzania and Z. The numbers are the same as last year, but representation is much better than nine years ago, when only four states hosted ten-digit fortunes.
The list of the 20 richest people in Africa:
1. Aliko Dangote $ 10.1 BILL 62 cement, sugar, flour
2. Nassef Sawiris $ 8 billion 59 constructions, chemicals
3. Mike Adenuga $ 7.7 Billion 66 telecommunications, oil
4. Nicky Oppenheimer $ 7.7 Billion 74 diamonds
5. Johann Rupert $ 6.5 Billion 69 luxury goods
6. Issad Rebrab $ 4.4 billion 76 foods
7. Mohamed Mansour $ 3.3 Billion 72 different
8. Abdulsamad Rabiu $ 3.1 DIS 59 cement, sugar
9. Naguib Sawiris $ 3 DIS 65 telecommunications
10. Patrice Motsepe $ 2.6 Billion 58 mines
11. Koos Bekker $ 2.5 Billion 67 SMEs, investments
12. Yasseen Mansour $ 2.3 billion 58 different
13. Isabel dos Santos $ 2.2 Billion 46 investments
14. Youssef Mansour $ 1.9 ΔΙΣ 74 different
15. Aziz Akhannouch $ 1.7 Billion 59 oil, miscellaneous
16. Mohammed Dewji $ 1.6 DIS 44 miscellaneous
17. Othman Benjelloun $ 1.4 BILLION 87 banking, insurance
18. Michiel Le Roux $ 1.3 BILLION 70 banking
19. Strive Masiyiwa $ 1.1 Billion 58 telecommunications
20. Folorunsho Alakija $ 1 ΔΙΣ 69 πετρέλαιο
Source: Forbes / By Kerry A. Dolan and Will Yakowicz