Items16The creator’s order
  1. 1Aliko DangoteAliko DangoteBorn 10 Apr 1957US$28.5bn. Dangote began by trading rice, sugar and cement before moving into manufacturing. Cement and oil refining make his Nigerian business story one of building industrial capacity as well as distributing goods.0i
  2. 2Abdul Samad RabiuAbdul Samad RabiuBorn 4 Aug 1960US$11.2bn. Rabiu established BUA in 1988 as a trading business. Its development into food production and cement manufacturing connects this fortune to products used by households and the construction industry.0
  3. 3Nassef SawirisNassef SawirisBorn 19 Jan 1961US$9.6bn. Nassef Sawiris led Orascom Construction Industries and later OCI, with activities spanning construction and industrial chemicals. His business interests differ from the telecom and resort-development careers of his brothers Naguib and Samih.0
  4. 4Mike AdenugaMike AdenugaBorn 29 Apr 1953US$6.5bn. Adenuga's business interests include telecommunications through Globacom and energy through Conoil. Those two capital-intensive sectors distinguish his Nigerian fortune from the food and cement businesses near the top of this list.0
  5. 5Naguib SawirisNaguib SawirisBorn 15 Jun 1954US$5.6bn. Naguib Sawiris built Orascom Telecom before expanding his investment interests. La Mancha's focus on precious and energy-transition metals shows how the business behind a fortune can move beyond its original industry.0i
  6. 6Patrice MotsepePatrice MotsepeBorn 28 Jan 1962US$4.3bn. Motsepe founded contract miner Future Mining in 1994 and ARMgold in 1997. Subsequent mergers helped create African Rainbow Minerals, linking his South African fortune to the development and ownership of mining businesses.0i
  7. 7Mohamed Mansour (businessman)Mohamed Mansour (businessman)US$4bn. Mohamed Mansour chairs the Mansour Group, whose businesses include vehicles, industrial equipment and consumer products. His interests also extend to Man Capital, an investment firm, giving this separately estimated fortune several commercial foundations.0i
  8. 8Michiel le RouxMichiel le RouxBorn 20 May 1949US$3.8bn. Le Roux was Capitec's founding chief executive and later its chairman. His wealth is closely associated with an ownership stake in the South African bank, rather than the value of all the deposits it holds for customers.0
  9. 9Koos BekkerKoos BekkerBorn 14 Dec 1952US$3.6bn. Bekker helped build the M-Net pay-television business and later led Naspers. Its early investment in Tencent illustrates how a South African media career became tied to the growth of international internet businesses.0
  10. 10Mohammed DewjiMohammed DewjiBorn 8 May 1975US$2.1bn. Dewji joined the trading business established by his father and helped expand MeTL across manufacturing, agriculture and other sectors. The Tanzanian group offers a different route from owning a single mine, bank or telecom operator.0i