Kenyan multimillionaire banker James Mwangi loses nearly $5 million in 56 days as Equity Group shares retreat from 21-month high

Kenyan multimillionaire businessman James Mwangi has seen the market value of his stake in Equity Group Holdings decline by Ksh550 million ($4.96 million) in the past 56 days, as shares in the Kenya-based group retreated from a record 21-month high.

Equity Group Holdings Limited is a leading financial services holding headquartered in Nairobi, the capital and largest city of Kenya.

Under the leadership of Mwangi, the holding has grown into one of the largest financial services groups in East Africa, operating through its subsidiaries in Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, in addition to its Kenyan operations.

As of press time, Oct. 22, shares in the Kenya-based financial services group were trading at KSh49.95 ($0.451) per share, 91-basis points higher than its opening price this morning.

In recent times, Equity Group has lost nearly eight percent of its market capitalization on the Nairobi bourse, as investors book profits after the share price surged to a record 21-month high of Ksh54.25 ($0.489) on Aug. 27.

Since Aug. 27, the group’s share price has declined from a price of Ksh54.25 ($0.489) to KSh49.95 ($0.451) as of the time of writing, accruing a loss of 7.5-percent for shareholders and insiders, such as Mwangi, who hold stakes in the financial services group.

As a result of the decline in the group’s share price, the market value of Mwangi’s stake has declined from Ksh6.93 billion ($62.55 million) to Ksh6.38 billion ($57.6 billion) between Aug. 27 and Oct. 22.

This translates to a loss of Ksh550 million ($4.96 million) for the multimillionaire banker in 56 days.