Table of Contents
African billionaires have had yet another opportunity to smile at their bank accounts this year, with five of them pocketing no less than $39 million in dividends each in 2021.
In addition to massive year-to-date increases in their net worth since the start of the year, these billionaires are also taking home large dividend checks from companies both in Africa and abroad.
Data computed by Billionaires.Africa revealed that five African billionaires with a net worth in excess of $1 billion have received dividends of more than $39 million since the year began.
While some received a dividend worth more than half a billion dollars in 2021, others went home with more modest dividends in the range of $39 million or more.
#1 Aliko Dangote
Total Dividends in 2021: $573.5 million
Nationality: Nigerian
The founder and chairman of Africa’s most diversified manufacturing conglomerate, Dangote Cement Plc, Aliko Dangote received the most dividends so far in 2021, with the billionaire pocketing $636 million from his businesses domiciled in Nigeria.
He received a dividend of $569.5 million from his flagship company, Dangote Cement.
He also received a dividend of $2.4 million and $1.6 million from Dangote Sugar Refinery and NASCON Allied Plc, respectively, in 2021.
#2 Patrice Motsepe
Total Dividends in 2021: $183.2 million
Nationality: South African
Patrice Motsepe, the first Black African on the Forbes List and the founder of African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), a leading South African diversified mining and minerals company, received a total dividend of $183.2 million in 2021.
The dividend was paid from headline earnings of R13 billion ($913.7 million), which ARM posted at the end of its 2021 financial year.
#3 Johann Rupert
Total Dividends in 2021: $137.5 million
Nationality: South African
One of South Africa’s wealthiest businessmen and the founder of the Switzerland-based luxury goods holding company Compagnie Financiere Richemont, Johann Rupert has earned a total dividend of $137.5 million so far in 2021.
Data retrieved from Richemont’s 2021 annual report revealed that Rupert received a dividend of $123.3 million from the Switzerland-based luxury goods holding.
He also received a dividend of $14.3 million and $257,000 from Reinet and Remgro Limited, respectively, in 2021.
#4 Abdul Samad Rabiu
Total Dividends in 2021: $98.5 million
Nationality: Nigerian
Nigerian billionaire industrialist Abdul Samad Rabiu saw impressive dividends this year.
According to data compiled by Billionaires.Africa, he received a dividend of $98.5 million from his flagship company, BUA Cement Plc.
BUA Cement is the second-largest producer of cement products in Nigeria after Dangote Cement. It has a total combined installed capacity of 8 million tonnes per annum.
#5 Nassef Sawiris
Total Dividends in 2021: $39.7 million
Nationality: Egyptian
Egypt’s wealthiest man Nassef Sawiris has received a dividend of $39.7 million so far in 2021 from his stakes in Adidas, the largest sportswear and sports equipment manufacturer in Europe, and Orascom Construction Plc, a leading global engineering and construction contractor, with a footprint in the Middle East, Africa and the United States.
