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Billionaire wealth in Africa continues to surge, fueled by rising equity markets, corporate profits, and more stable regional currencies. In 2026, the continent’s 23 richest individuals are worth $126.7 billion, up 21% from 2025, adding $20.3 billion collectively to their fortunes.
Leading sectors include telecommunications, mining, cement, energy, luxury goods, and banking.
Africa’s population is estimated at over 1.5 billion people in 2026, accounting for roughly 18% of the global population.
It is the world’s fastest-growing region, with projections expecting the population to reach 2.5 billion by 2050.
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While billionaires are spread across the continent, some countries have become hotbeds for ultra-wealth, hosting the largest number of dollar-denominated billionaires. These countries combine large populations, diversified economies, and deep capital markets, enabling entrepreneurs and industrialists to build vast fortunes that rival global peers.
In this feature, we take a look at the top 7 African countries with the highest number of dollar-denominated billionaires based on Forbes ranking index.
Eswatini
Eswatini has only one billionaire with a dollar-denominated net worth. That individual is Nathan Kirsh, whose fortune is estimated at around $7.8 billion, placing him among the richest people in Africa and the world.
Kirsh built most of his wealth through Jetro Holdings, a U.S.-based wholesale distribution business that owns Restaurant Depot and Jetro Cash and Carry. These companies supply food and other goods to small retailers, restaurants, and independent stores across the United States.
Although Kirsh’s businesses operate globally, particularly in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, he is widely recognized as Eswatini’s richest person and the country’s only billionaire on the Forbes global billionaires list.
Kirsh began building his fortune in the late 1950s when he launched a corn milling business in Swaziland (now Eswatini). Over the decades, he expanded into food distribution, supermarkets, and property investments across several countries, eventually creating a global retail and real estate empire. As of March 6, 2026, the country has an estimated population of about 1.27 million people.
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe counts Strive Masiyiwa as its sole dollar-denominated billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $2.2 billion, according to the latest Forbes real-time billionaire rankings.
Masiyiwa, a telecommunications entrepreneur, is the founder and largest shareholder of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, holding about 38% of the publicly traded company.
Launched in 1998 despite significant regulatory and political hurdles, Econet Wireless became a cornerstone of Zimbabwe’s mobile telecom industry. Masiyiwa also owns roughly 33% of EcoCash, the mobile money platform affiliated with Econet, which dominates digital payments in the country.
Beyond Zimbabwe, Masiyiwa has expanded his telecom interests across Africa through Liquid Intelligent Technologies, which provides fiber optic and cloud solutions to telecom providers in multiple countries. He has also invested in fintech and power distribution companies on the continent. Internationally, Masiyiwa serves on the board of Netflix, where he holds stock options.
Tanzania
According to the latest Forbes real-time billionaire rankings, the country’s sole billionaire is Mohammed Dewji, with an estimated net worth of about $2.1 billion.
Dewji is the chief executive officer of MeTL Group (Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania Limited), a diversified conglomerate originally founded by his father in the 1970s.
Under Dewji’s leadership, the company has grown into one of East Africa’s largest privately owned businesses, with operations spanning textile manufacturing, flour milling, beverages, edible oils and other consumer goods.
The group has expanded significantly beyond Tanzania and now operates in more than 10 African countries, including Uganda, Ethiopia and Kenya, making it a major regional industrial player. Through these businesses, Dewji has helped transform MeTL into a large manufacturing and trading enterprise serving markets across East, Central and Southern Africa.
Beyond business, Dewji is also known for his philanthropic commitments. In 2016, he became one of the few African billionaires to sign The Giving Pledge, promising to donate at least half of his wealth to charitable causes. His philanthropy focuses on improving education, healthcare and opportunities for young people in Tanzania.
Dewji has also drawn international attention following a 2018 kidnapping incident in Dar es Salaam, after which he was released nine days later. Today, he remains Tanzania’s richest individual and its only billionaire on the Forbes list.
MoroccoÂ
Morocco has a small but influential group of dollar-denominated billionaires whose wealth is rooted in key sectors such as banking, petroleum distribution and real estate development.
According to the latest Forbes real-time billionaire rankings, the country is home to three billionaires, reflecting the prominence of family-owned conglomerates and long-established business empires in the Moroccan economy.
The richest among them is Othman Benjelloun, with an estimated net worth of about $1.6 billion. He serves as the CEO of BMCE Bank of Africa, a major financial institution with more than $12 billion in assets and operations across West, Central and East Africa. Benjelloun also expanded his family’s insurance business RMA into one of the country’s leading insurers.
Through his holding company FinanceCom, he also owns a stake in the Moroccan arm of Orange. One of his landmark projects is the Mohammed VI Tower, a 55-story building in Rabat that ranks among the tallest towers in Africa.
Another billionaire is Aziz Akhannouch, worth about $1.5 billion. His fortune comes largely from Akwa Group, a petroleum and chemicals company with diversified interests across Morocco’s energy sector.
The list also includes Anas Sefrioui, whose wealth of around $1.3 billion comes from Groupe Addoha, a listed homebuilder that built its success developing affordable housing projects across Morocco.
NigeriaÂ
Nigeria remains home to some of Africa’s most influential billionaires, led by industrialists whose fortunes are closely tied to cement, energy, telecommunications and finance. The country currently has four dollar-denominated billionaires on the Forbes real-time rankings, reflecting the growing scale of Nigeria’s private sector and capital markets.
At the top of the list is Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest person, with an estimated net worth of about $28.5 billion. Dangote added roughly $4.6 billion to his wealth over the past year as shares of Dangote Cement surged nearly 69%.
The company also reported record earnings, doubling profits in 2025 to about N1 trillion. Dangote is also preparing to list the Dangote Refinery on the stock market and recently signed a $400 million agreement with a Chinese machinery firm to accelerate plans to double the refinery’s capacity by 2029.
Another major wealth gainer is Abdulsamad Rabiu, whose net worth jumped by 120% to about $11.2 billion, making him the third richest person in Africa. The surge was largely driven by a 135% rise in shares of BUA Cement, which outperformed the broader Nigerian Exchange Limited during a year of record corporate profits.
Nigeria’s telecom and oil billionaire Mike Adenuga is also among the country’s wealthiest individuals, with an estimated fortune of about $6.5 billion. He built his wealth through Globacom, Nigeria’s third-largest mobile network with more than 17 million subscribers, and Conoil Producing, which operates several oil blocks in the Niger Delta.
With a net worth of $1.3 billion Femi Otedola comes in fourth place. Otedola, lost $200 million in wealth after selling the majority of his stake in Geregu Power at a discount to the public company’s market price in 2025.
Together, these billionaires illustrate Nigeria’s status as Africa’s largest economy and a major hub for billionaire wealth, driven largely by industrial manufacturing, telecom infrastructure and energy investments.
EgyptÂ
Egypt is home to a few dollar-denominated billionaires whose fortunes span construction, telecommunications, real estate and diversified conglomerates. According to the latest Forbes real-time billionaire rankings, the country has six billionaires, many of whom come from the influential Sawiris and Mansour business families that have played a major role in shaping Egypt’s private sector.
The richest Egyptian is Nassef Sawiris, with a fortune of about $9.2 billion. He is the executive chairman of Orascom Construction, a global contractor involved in infrastructure and industrial projects. Sawiris is also a major investor through OCI N.V., making construction and industrial investments the backbone of his wealth.
His brother Naguib Sawiris follows with an estimated $5.5 billion fortune built largely in telecommunications. He founded Orascom Telecom Holding, which expanded mobile networks across the Middle East, Africa and Asia before merging assets into VEON.
The Mansour family also features prominently on Egypt’s billionaire list. Mohamed Mansour has a net worth of about $4 billion through Mansour Group, which holds interests in automotive distribution, retail and heavy equipment. His brothers Youssef Mansour ($1.8B) and Yasseen Mansour ($1.3B) are also key stakeholders in the group’s diversified businesses.
Another member of Egypt’s wealthy elite is Samih Sawiris, worth about $1.3 billion. He founded Orascom Development Holding, which builds and operates large-scale resorts and tourism projects across Egypt, Switzerland and Montenegro.
South AfricaÂ
South Africa has the largest concentration of billionaires on the African continent, with fortunes spanning industries such as luxury goods, mining, banking, media, retail and financial services.
- According to the latest Forbes real-time billionaire rankings, the country is home to eight dollar-denominated billionaires whose wealth is tied to globally recognized companies and investment groups.
- At the top of the list is Johann Rupert, with an estimated net worth of about $14.5 billion. Rupert serves as chairman of Compagnie Financière Richemont, the owner of luxury brands such as Cartier and Montblanc. His wealth is also linked to investments through Remgro and Reinet.
- Another prominent billionaire is Nicky Oppenheimer, whose fortune of about $10.6 billion originates from the global diamond trade. Oppenheimer was the third generation of his family to lead De Beers before selling the family’s 40% stake to Anglo American for $5.1 billion in 2012. Today he also runs Fireblade Aviation and owns extensive conservation land across southern Africa.
South Africa’s billionaire ranks also include Patrice Motsepe ($3.8B), founder of African Rainbow Minerals; Koos Bekker ($3.6B), former CEO of Naspers; and Michiel Le Roux ($3.3B), founder of Capitec Bank.
Others on the list include Jannie Mouton ($2.4B), founder of PSG Group; Christoffel Wiese ($1.8B), chairman of Shoprite Holdings; and Paul van Zuydam ($1.6B), linked to the cookware brand Le Creuset.
Together, these billionaires highlight South Africa’s position as Africa’s most developed and diversified billionaire economy, with wealth rooted in both traditional sectors like mining and newer industries such as finance, media and luxury goods.
