Featured
How Moroccan billionaire Moulay Elalamy took 92.3% control of Sweden's Arktika bank
Le Desk revealed that Moulay Hafid Elalamy structured 92.3% control of Sweden's Arktika Capital AB through a chain of Saham vehicles, with his son installed as CEO.
Editors' Picks
South Africa's Datatec posts one of its best years ever as AI drives record demand for cybersecurity and IT infrastructure
Datatec posted gross invoiced income of $8.5 billion and headline earnings per share up 56.5% in FY2026, with CEO Jens Montanana describing it as one of the strongest years in the group's history.
Egypt's billionaire El-Sewedy family eyes Cameroon investments as part of a new Algeria-Egypt industrial consortium
Egypt's Elsewedy Electric is part of a new Algerian-Egyptian industrial consortium targeting investments in Cameroon's energy and industrial sectors, according to reporting from News du Camer.
Most African boards have a strong executive bench but no CEO-ready successor, Heidrick and Struggles warns
Only four in 10 African board members feel confident their CEO succession planning leaves the organisation stronger, according to the 2026 Heidrick and Struggles CEO and Board Confidence Monitor.
Exclusive Content For Paid Supporters
Executive Insight: Othman Benjelloun and the Moroccan Banking Complex
Othman Benjelloun has surfaced in Billionaires.Africa coverage five times in two weeks. A 93-year-old engineer from Fez built one of Africa's most geographically distributed banking networks. What the May visibility represents.
The Inside Story: What Dangote, Motsepe, Masiyiwa, Rabiu, Kagame and the Others Are Now Saying in Coordination, and What Foreign Investors Should Read Into It
Seven African industrial principals — Dangote, Motsepe, Masiyiwa, Rabiu, Kagame, Tinubu, Nahdi — have converged on one coordinated policy framework over six days. What foreign investors should read into it.
Executive Insight: James Mwangi’s Lobito Corridor Bet and the Next Phase of Pan-African Banking Consolidation
James Mwangi just announced Equity Group's expansion into Angola, Zambia and Mozambique along the Lobito Corridor — the most ambitious single banking expansion announcement of 2026.
Egypt's billionaire El-Sewedy family eyes Cameroon investments as part of a new Algeria-Egypt industrial consortium
Egypt's Elsewedy Electric is part of a new Algerian-Egyptian industrial consortium targeting investments in Cameroon's energy and industrial sectors, according to reporting from News du Camer.
Egyptian billionaire Ahmed El-Sewedy meets prime minister to map out billions in new factories and car production
Ahmed El Sewedy met Egypt's Prime Minister Madbouly on May 24 to outline Elsewedy Electric's expansion plans, including a new 80,000-vehicle-per-year automotive factory with global partners.
How Moroccan billionaire Moulay Elalamy took 92.3% control of Sweden's Arktika bank
Le Desk revealed that Moulay Hafid Elalamy structured 92.3% control of Sweden's Arktika Capital AB through a chain of Saham vehicles, with his son installed as CEO.
Moroccan billionaire Moulay Hafid Elalamy acquires majority stake in Sweden's Arktika Capital, a debt portfolio specialist
Moroccan billionaire Moulay Hafid Elalamy has acquired a majority stake in Arktika Capital AB, a Swedish licensed credit institution that buys and manages non-performing loan portfolios across Europe.
Moroccan billionaire Anas Sefrioui discusses $46 million CIMAF cement expansion plan with Gabon's president
Anas Sefrioui's CIMAF presented a CFA26 billion expansion plan to Gabon's president on May 20, targeting a third cement line and expanded clinker production at the Owendo factory.
Sue Nabi studied water engineering in Algeria and ended up running a $6 billion global beauty empire
Sue Nabi studied water engineering in Algeria, joined L'Oréal as a sales rep and spent three decades building one of global beauty's most remarkable careers
Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris draws Endeavour Mining's weakest investor backing at 2026 annual meeting
Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris kept his seat on Endeavour Mining's board at its 2026 AGM, but drew the weakest shareholder support of any director.
Egypt jailed him for nine years. He came out and built an $8 billion real estate empire.
Hisham Talaat Moustafa served nine years in prison, walked out in 2017 and built Egypt's largest listed real estate developer into an $8 billion annual sales machine.
How Nigerian tycoon Hassan Hammoud built Mamuda Group from leather into a $150 million conglomerate with 11,000 workers
Hassan Hammoud turned his late father's failing Kano tannery into a Nigerian conglomerate with 11,000 workers spanning leather, food, care products and beverages.
Aliko Dangote's sugar firm opens a $324 million rights issue to bankroll local production
Aliko Dangote's Dangote Sugar has opened a N485.9 billion ($324 million) rights issue to strengthen its balance sheet and fund a major local-production drive.
Rite Foods, owned by tycoon Adebola Adegunwa, wins court order halting rival's copycat energy drink in Nigeria
Nigeria's Federal High Court ordered Mamuda Beverages to stop producing Pop Power Energy Drink after finding it copies the Fearless bottle design.
Nigeria's ex-Skye Bank chairman Tunde Ayeni gets $150,000 bail after 21 days in Kuje prison
An Abuja court granted ex-Skye Bank chairman Tunde Ayeni N200 million bail on May 25, with conditions including property-owning sureties and a N15 billion bank guarantee.
S&P upgrades Nigeria's credit rating and names Dangote Refinery as a key reason why
S&P upgraded Nigeria's sovereign credit rating to B from B-, specifically naming the Dangote Refinery's ramp-up to near full capacity as a key driver of the country's improving economic outlook.
Billionaire Abdul Samad Rabiu says BUA Cement prices will fall as naira stability eases costs
BUA Cement chairman Abdul Samad Rabiu told shareholders cement prices will fall as naira stability eases costs, after the company posted a record 2025 profit.
Nigerian oil billionaire Igho Sanomi turns 51 with a standout philanthropy record
Nigerian oil billionaire Igho Sanomi turns 51 with a philanthropy record spanning hospital wards, flood zones and cancer research labs on two continents.
Billionaire Femi Otedola says he sold his Geregu Power stake to buy $100 million worth of Dangote Refinery shares
Femi Otedola confirmed he sold his Geregu Power stake to fund a $100 million investment in the Dangote Petroleum Refinery IPO as demand for the offering approaches $2 billion.
Madagascar billionaire Hassanein Hiridjee is formally elected to Jumia's board as the e-commerce group targets 2027 profitability
Jumia shareholders formally elected Hassanein Hiridjee to the supervisory board on May 15 with 98% support, cementing Axian's governance role as the NYSE-listed e-commerce group targets 2027 profitability.
The curious case of Prateek Suri, the billionaire Africa cannot seem to verify
Prateek Suri claims a $5 billion acquisition made him Africa's richest Indian. The acquirer changes names depending on which publication you read, and his products are nearly impossible to find in African retail.
Tanzanian billionaire Edha Nahdi's Amsons Group is in advanced talks to acquire Oryx Energies for $250 million
Tanzania's Amsons Group is in advanced talks to acquire Geneva-based Oryx Energies for $250 million, including its Tanzania fuel and LPG assets.
Tanzania eyes takeover of billionaire Mohammed Dewji's idle Mbeya tea estates
Tanzania's government told parliament it is negotiating a takeover of over 2,000 idle hectares of Mo Dewji's MeTL tea estates in Mbeya to restart production and protect farmers.
Kenyan billionaire Joshua Kulei surfaces as beneficiary in $3.5 billion government contracts
Company records show Joshua Kulei is a beneficial owner of Liaison Capital, the firm behind Kenya's Sh42 billion Talanta Sports City and Sh415 billion military housing programme.
Ugandan tycoon and MTN's largest individual shareholder Charles Mbire says the telecom giant is open to partnering with Starlink
MTN Uganda chairman Charles Mbire said the company is open to a Starlink partnership after Uganda formally licensed the satellite internet provider on May 15.
Kenyan port billionaire Abubakar Joho wins court round in drug trafficking smear case
A Kenyan court has rejected a bid to remove key evidence in a criminal defamation case brought by Mombasa port billionaire Abubakar Joho over drug trafficking claims.
Tanzanian billionaire Edha Nahdi tells African businesses to stop waiting for foreign donors and start funding the continent themselves
Amsons Group CEO Edha Nahdi told the Africa CEO Forum in Kigali that African businesses must stop depending on foreign donors and take ownership of the continent's development financing.
South Africa's Datatec posts one of its best years ever as AI drives record demand for cybersecurity and IT infrastructure
Datatec posted gross invoiced income of $8.5 billion and headline earnings per share up 56.5% in FY2026, with CEO Jens Montanana describing it as one of the strongest years in the group's history.
Most African boards have a strong executive bench but no CEO-ready successor, Heidrick and Struggles warns
Only four in 10 African board members feel confident their CEO succession planning leaves the organisation stronger, according to the 2026 Heidrick and Struggles CEO and Board Confidence Monitor.
Elon Musk's SpaceX has a secret weapon: Anthropic is paying it $1.25 billion a month to keep training its AI
Anthropic is paying SpaceX $1.25 billion a month for access to its Colossus supercomputing clusters through May 2029, a $15 billion annual deal disclosed in SpaceX's S-1 that transforms the IPO's investment case beyond rockets and satellites.
Elon Musk is taking SpaceX public on June 12 and it could be the largest IPO in the history of financial markets
Elon Musk's SpaceX has filed its S-1 prospectus with the SEC for a June 12 Nasdaq debut targeting a $1.75 trillion valuation and a raise of up to $75 billion, which would shatter every IPO record in history.
South Africa is the only African country in the global top 20 for billionaire growth, and it is ranked 13th
South Africa is the only African country among the world's 20 fastest-growing billionaire markets, ranked 13th globally with a projected 40% increase from 10 billionaires in 2026 to 14 by 2031, according to Knight Frank's Wealth Report 2026.
Canal Plus, controlled by French billionaire Vincent Bollore, lists on the JSE on June 3
Canal Plus will list on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on June 3 as it battles declining DStv subscribers, with MultiChoice revenue falling 6% in Q1 2026.
Standard Bank overtakes Capitec and FirstRand to become Africa's most valuable bank at R517 billion
Standard Bank closed Friday at a market cap of R517 billion, overtaking both Capitec and FirstRand to become Africa's most valuable bank on the JSE.
Johann Rupert delivered €22.4 billion in Richemont sales and said he is more relaxed about the next two years than ever
Johann Rupert's Richemont posted €22.4 billion ($26 billion) in fiscal 2026 sales, up 11% at constant rates, with Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels leading 14% jewelry growth as net profit surged 27% to €3.5 billion ($4.1 billion).
Qatar's billionaire Al-Khayyat family is bidding to build Africa's largest airport in Ethiopia
Qatar's Al-Khayyat family, through Power International Holding, is bidding to build Ethiopia's planned $12.5 billion Bishoftu airport and a 400-kilometre highway in the DRC.
Somali tycoon Amina Moghe Hersi's Atiak Sugar Factory has eaten $204 million and produced nothing in years. Uganda is demanding answers.
Uganda's parliament is demanding answers after Amina Moghe Hersi's Atiak Sugar Factory consumed $204 million in public and private funds without producing sugar in years.
Saudi-Ethiopian Mohammed Al-Amoudi is worth $9 billion on Bloomberg but missing from the Forbes 2026 billionaires list and here is why
Mohammed Al-Amoudi is worth $9.12 billion on Bloomberg but does not appear on the Forbes 2026 billionaires list. Here is why.
How Djiboutian tycoon Abdourahman Boreh helped Dubai build a port empire in the Horn of Africa, then became its most inconvenient witness
Abdourahman Boreh brokered DP World's entry into Djibouti, collected fees from both sides, then fled into exile as the whole deal unravelled.
Dahabshiil founder Abdirashid Duale pledges $150,000 as drought deepens in northern Somalia
Dahabshiil pledged $150,000 for drought relief in northern Somalia, with founder Abdirashid Duale urging faster action as shortages spread.
Ethiopia’s richest man Mohammed Al-Amoudi brings Carrefour into Ethiopia
Ethiopia’s richest man, Mohammed Al-Amoudi, brings Carrefour to 13 Midroc stores, marking the retailer’s first physical presence in Ethiopia.
Ethiopia’s richest man Mohammed Al-Amoudi sees wealth rebound past $8.1 billion
Mohammed Al-Amoudi’s net worth rebounds to more than $8.1 billion after a $2.42 billion gain tied to his stake in Preem.
Somali e-visa controversy: Ismail Ahmed points to Premier Bank involvement
Ismail Ahmed claims Premier Bank helped design Somalia’s e-visa system and benefits from visa fees through Empire Tech Solutions.
Latest Posts
South Africa's Datatec posts one of its best years ever as AI drives record demand for cybersecurity and IT infrastructure
Datatec posted gross invoiced income of $8.5 billion and headline earnings per share up 56.5% in FY2026, with CEO Jens Montanana describing it as one of the strongest years in the group's history.
Egypt's billionaire El-Sewedy family eyes Cameroon investments as part of a new Algeria-Egypt industrial consortium
Egypt's Elsewedy Electric is part of a new Algerian-Egyptian industrial consortium targeting investments in Cameroon's energy and industrial sectors, according to reporting from News du Camer.
Most African boards have a strong executive bench but no CEO-ready successor, Heidrick and Struggles warns
Only four in 10 African board members feel confident their CEO succession planning leaves the organisation stronger, according to the 2026 Heidrick and Struggles CEO and Board Confidence Monitor.
Egyptian billionaire Ahmed El-Sewedy meets prime minister to map out billions in new factories and car production
Ahmed El Sewedy met Egypt's Prime Minister Madbouly on May 24 to outline Elsewedy Electric's expansion plans, including a new 80,000-vehicle-per-year automotive factory with global partners.
Madagascar billionaire Hassanein Hiridjee is formally elected to Jumia's board as the e-commerce group targets 2027 profitability
Jumia shareholders formally elected Hassanein Hiridjee to the supervisory board on May 15 with 98% support, cementing Axian's governance role as the NYSE-listed e-commerce group targets 2027 profitability.
How Moroccan billionaire Moulay Elalamy took 92.3% control of Sweden's Arktika bank
Le Desk revealed that Moulay Hafid Elalamy structured 92.3% control of Sweden's Arktika Capital AB through a chain of Saham vehicles, with his son installed as CEO.
The curious case of Prateek Suri, the billionaire Africa cannot seem to verify
Prateek Suri claims a $5 billion acquisition made him Africa's richest Indian. The acquirer changes names depending on which publication you read, and his products are nearly impossible to find in African retail.
How Nigerian tycoon Hassan Hammoud built Mamuda Group from leather into a $150 million conglomerate with 11,000 workers
Hassan Hammoud turned his late father's failing Kano tannery into a Nigerian conglomerate with 11,000 workers spanning leather, food, care products and beverages.
Elon Musk's SpaceX has a secret weapon: Anthropic is paying it $1.25 billion a month to keep training its AI
Anthropic is paying SpaceX $1.25 billion a month for access to its Colossus supercomputing clusters through May 2029, a $15 billion annual deal disclosed in SpaceX's S-1 that transforms the IPO's investment case beyond rockets and satellites.
Elon Musk is taking SpaceX public on June 12 and it could be the largest IPO in the history of financial markets
Elon Musk's SpaceX has filed its S-1 prospectus with the SEC for a June 12 Nasdaq debut targeting a $1.75 trillion valuation and a raise of up to $75 billion, which would shatter every IPO record in history.
South Africa is the only African country in the global top 20 for billionaire growth, and it is ranked 13th
South Africa is the only African country among the world's 20 fastest-growing billionaire markets, ranked 13th globally with a projected 40% increase from 10 billionaires in 2026 to 14 by 2031, according to Knight Frank's Wealth Report 2026.
Niger State invites Aliko Dangote into Bida Basin crude oil exploration
Niger State has invited Aliko Dangote and private investors to explore crude oil at the Bida Basin under a public-private partnership structure.
Jamaican billionaire Michael Lee-Chin is suing a bank to stop it from selling his $35 million Cayman mansion
Two Lee-Chin companies have sued FirstCaribbean Bank in the Cayman Islands to block a forced sale of his $35 million Seven Mile Beach estate.
Aliko Dangote's sugar firm opens a $324 million rights issue to bankroll local production
Aliko Dangote's Dangote Sugar has opened a N485.9 billion ($324 million) rights issue to strengthen its balance sheet and fund a major local-production drive.
African Wealth Briefing — Tues., May 26, 2026
Aliko Dangote says the oil mafia tried to kill his refinery; Standard Bank overtakes Capitec and FirstRand at R517 billion; Johann Rupert delivers €22.4 billion in Richemont sales and signals a more relaxed outlook.
Rite Foods, owned by tycoon Adebola Adegunwa, wins court order halting rival's copycat energy drink in Nigeria
Nigeria's Federal High Court ordered Mamuda Beverages to stop producing Pop Power Energy Drink after finding it copies the Fearless bottle design.