Nigerians and South Africans dominate the top 10 spot on Forbes’ Africa billionaires list, which is an annual ranking of the richest Africans compiled and published by American business magazine, Forbes.

The 10 richest people in Africa according to Forbes have made their wealth sources including investments in diamonds, telecom, cement, sugar, media and mining amongst others. In total, they have a combined net of $59.8 billion.

The top 10 list doesn’t include a woman and is dominated by four South Africans and three Nigerians, with notable names like Aliko Dangote, Nicky Oppenheimer, Johann Rupert, Mike Adenuga, Abdul Samad Rabiu amongst the rest.

10. Koos Bekker

• Net Worth: $2.8billion
• Age: 68
• Location: South Africa
• Origin of wealth: Media and Investments
• Company: Naspers

According to Forbes, Koos Bekker is revered for transforming South African newspaper publisher, Naspers into an eCommerce investor and cable TV powerhouse. In 2019, Naspers put some assets into two publicly-traded companies, MultiChoice Group and Prosus which contain the Tencent stake.

9. Patrice Motsepe

• Net Worth: $3billion
• Age: 58
• Location: South Africa
• Origin of wealth: Mining
• Company: African Rainbow Materials

Patrice Motsepe, the founder and chairman of African Rainbow Minerals, became a billionaire in 2008 – the first black African on the Forbes list. In 2016, he launched a new private equity firm, African Rainbow Capital, focused on investing in Africa.

8. Naguib Sawiris

• Net Worth: $3.2billion
• Age: 66
• Location: Egypt
• Origin of wealth: Telecom
• Company: Orascom Telecom Holding

Naguib Sawiris is a scion of Egypt’s wealthiest family. His brother Nassef is also a billionaire. He built a fortune in telecom, selling Orascom Telecom in 2011 to Russian telecom firm, VimpelCom (now Veon) in a multibillion-dollar transaction.

7. Isaad Rebrab

• Net Worth: $3.2billion
• Age: 76
• Location: Algeria
• Origin of wealth: Food
• Company: Cevital Industrial Group

Issad Rebrab is the founder and CEO of Cevital, Algeria’s biggest privately-held company. Cevital owns one of the largest sugar refineries in the world, with the capacity to produce 2 million tons a year. Cevital owns European companies, including French home appliances maker Groupe Brandt, an Italian steel mill and a German water purification company.

6. Abdul Samad Rabiu

• Net Worth: $5.5billion
• Age: 60
• Location: Nigeria
• Origin of wealth: Cement, Sugar
• Company: BUA Group

Abdulsamad Rabiu is the founder of BUA Group, a Nigerian conglomerate active in cement production, sugar refining and real estate. In early January 2020, Rabiu merged his privately-owned Obu Cement company with listed firm Cement Co. of Northern Nigeria, which he controlled. The combined firm, called BUA Cement Plc, trades on the Nigerian stock exchange; Rabiu owns 98.5% of it. Rabiu, the son of a businessman, inherited land from his father. He set up his own business in 1988 importing iron, steel and chemicals.

5. Mike Adenuga

• Net worth: $6.3billion
• Age: 67
• Location: Nigeria
• Origin of wealth: Telecom, Oil
• Company: Globacom

Mike Adenuga, Nigeria’s second richest man, built his fortune in telecom and oil production. His mobile phone network, Globacom, is the third-largest operator in Nigeria, with 55 million subscribers. His oil exploration outfit, Conoil, operates 6 oil blocks in the Niger-Delta.

4. Johann Rupert

• Net Worth: $7.2billion
• Age: 70
• Location: South Africa
• Origin of wealth: Luxury goods
• Company: Compagnie Financiere Richemont

Johann Rupert is chairman of Swiss luxury goods firm, Compagnie Financiere Richemont. The company is best known for the brands Cartier and Montblanc. It was formed in 1998 through a spinoff of assets owned by Rembrandt Group Limited (now Remgro Limited), which his father formed in the 1940s. He owns a 7% stake in diversified investment firm Remgro, which he chairs, as well as 25% of Reinet, an investment holding co. based in Luxembourg.

3. Nicky Oppenheimer

• Net Worth: $8billion
• Age: 75
• Location: South Africa
• Origin of wealth: Diamonds
• Company: De Beers Group

Nicky Oppenheimer, the heir to his family’s fortune, sold his 40% stake in diamond firm, DeBeers to mining group, Anglo American for $5.1 billion in cash in 2012. He is the third generation of his family to run DeBeers, and took the company private in 2001. For 85 years until 2012, the Oppenheimer family occupied a controlling spot in the world’s diamond trade.

2. Nassef Sawiris

• Net Worth: $8.5billion
• Age: 60
• Location: Egypt
• Origin of wealth: Constructions, Investments
• Company: Orascom Construction

Nassef Sawiris is an investor and a scion of Egypt’s wealthiest family. His most valuable asset is a nearly 6% stake in sportswear maker Adidas. In December 2020, he acquired a 5% stake in New York-listed firm Madison Square Garden Sports, owner of the NBA Knicks and the NHL Rangers teams. He runs OCI, one of the world’s largest nitrogen fertilizer producers, with plants in Texas and Iowa; it trades on the Euronext Amsterdam exchange.

1. Aliko Dangote

• Net Worth: $12.1billion
• Age: 63
• Location: Nigeria
• Origin of wealth: Cement, Sugar
• Company: Dangote Group

Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest person, founded and chairs Dangote Cement, the continent’s largest cement producer. He owns 85% of publicly-traded Dangote Cement through a holding company. Dangote Cement produces 45.6 million metric tons annually and has operations in 10 countries across Africa. Dangote also owns stakes in publicly-traded salt and sugar manufacturing companies. Dangote Refinery has been under construction since 2016 and is expected to be one of the world’s largest oil refineries once complete.

Larry King, the multiple award-winning TV and radio host has died at the age of 87.

King who had a long-running show on CNN, Larry King Live was a household name for his many interviews with political leaders, celebrities and newsmakers.

King’s death was announced on his official Twitter handle stating that he passed on Saturday morning at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, USA.

The statement read in part:

“With profound sadness, Ora Media announces the death of our co-founder, host and friend Larry King, who passed away this morning at age 87 at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

“For 63 years and across the platforms of radio, television and digital media, Larry’s many thousands of interviews, awards, and global acclaim stand as a testament to his unique and lasting talent as a broadcaster.”

pic.twitter.com/x0Hl0X6vqU

— Larry King (@kingsthings) January 23, 2021

The statement did not however, reveal the cause of death, but sources say King was hospitalised for COVID-19 in early January.

Since the news broke, friends, colleagues and admirers have taken to different social networks to express their sadness and condole with the family of the celebrated broadcaster.

What you should know about Larry King

• King rose to fame in the 1970s with his radio programme The Larry King Show, on the commercial network Mutual Broadcasting System.
• He hosted the Larry King Live on CNN for 25 years, between 1985 and 2010, carrying out more than 30,000 interviews, including every sitting president from Gerald Ford to Barack Obama.
• King also wrote a column for the USA Today newspaper for over 20 years.
• After leaving CNN, King hosted another programme, Larry King Now, broadcast on Hulu and RT, Russia’s state-controlled international broadcaster.

A total of 53,460 third-generation (3G) and fourth-generation (4G) base transceiver stations (BTS) have been deployed in Nigeria in the last five years.

This was disclosed by the Executive Vice Chairman of Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Prof. Umar Danbatta at a briefing session for the new Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, Engr. Festus Yusuf Daudu.

According to Danbatta, the effective regulatory regime put in place by his leadership has created the desired impetus for the increased deployment of infrastructure by various telecoms operators, which in turn, has helped to improve the broadband penetration and other related service delivery in the telecoms industry.

“The BTS, fibre optic cables and other related infrastructure are central to the provision of improved service experience for Nigerians by their respective telecoms service providers.

“The licensed Infrastructure Companies (InfraCos) are also expected to add 38,296km to optic fibre cables when they commence full operations.”

What they are saying

According to Prof Danbatta:

• “The Commission will continue to put in its best in the discharge of its mandates, especially in facilitating the deployment of broadband, which is central to diversifying the Nigerian economy and national development”
• “Also, it is our belief that the communications industry, under the leadership of the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy, will experience more quantum leaps and retain its current leadership role in the telecommunications space”

In his reaction and comment, the new Perm Sec, Engr. Festus Yusuf Daudu said:

• “I want to thank NCC for its contribution to the Nigerian economy so far. I am not exaggerating about the achievements of NCC, in terms of contribution to GDP and how NCC’s effective regulatory role has been helping the economy in so many ways”

What you should know

• The BTS system is part of a GSM network that is responsible for the reception and transmission of radio signals from mobile phones.
• A Base Transceiver Station is a general description of equipment consisting of the telecommunication technology and the air interface of the mobile network (GSM, UMTS etc.).
• The deployment of the 3G and 4G base transceiver stations (BTS) increased from 30,000 to 53,460, in the last 5 years
• While the Fibre Optic Transmission cables expanded from 47,000km to 54,725km
• As at November, 2020, active telephony subscribers stood at 208 million with tele-density standing at 108.92%
• Active Internet subscriptions of 154.9 million were achieved with broadband penetration rate of 45.07%
• The number of subscriptions to DND service hit over 30 million as the service empowers Nigerians to be able to protect themselves from the menace of unsolicited text messages and calls.

Why this matters

Having more Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) is quite imperative for driving an improved broadband/telecoms service delivery to Nigerian subscribers.

The poor services currently experienced by many telephony subscribers, especially in areas not sufficiently covered by Base stations, will now be a thing of the past as even subscribers in the remotest rural areas can conveniently receive and make calls and as well as enjoy other subscription services, without hitches.