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.
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.
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.
