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The year 2021, although marred by the COVID-19 pandemic just like 2020, delivered impressive wealth gains for African billionaires, and also multimillionaires on the continent.
These impressive gains can be linked to the robust financial performance of these tycoons’ assets and the companies that are directly and indirectly linked to them.
While billionaires like Mohammed Al-Amoudi, who controls a collection of industrial assets in Sweden, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Morocco, and Abdul Samad Rabiu the founder and owner of one of Nigeria’s leading cement makers, both recorded a net-worth loss of about $1 billion in 2021, other African billionaires like South Africa’s richest man Johann Rupert and Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote recorded wealth gains of more than $1 billion for the year.
Research conducted by Billionaires.Africa revealed that four of the 20 Africans with a net worth of over $1 billion recorded a wealth bump of at least $1 billion in 2021.
Here is how these billionaires performed.
#1 Johann Rupert
Net worth: $11.9 billion
Wealth gains in 2021: $3.88 billion
Johann Rupert became the richest man in South Africa in 2021 thanks to a bump in the value of his stake in the Swiss luxury goods holding company, Compagnie Financiere Richemont S.A. (Richemont).
Rupert, who is the chairman of Richemont and Remgro Limited, an investment holding based in South Africa, recorded a staggering net-worth gain of $3.88 billion for the year through his stakes in Remgro and Richemont.
Sustained buying interest in the shares of these companies for the year led to a double-digit surge in their valuation, causing the market value of his positions in the companies to increase.
As a result, his net worth soared from $8.02 billion on Dec. 31, 2020 to $11.9 billion on Dec. 31.
This translates to a $3.88-billion gain for the billionaire in 2021.
#2 Natie Kirsh
Net worth: $8.27 billion
Wealth gains in 2021: $1.81 billion
Nathan “Natie” Kirsh, a Swazi businessman and one of the richest billionaires of African descent, saw his net worth increase by $1.81 billion in 2021, as investments made through his conglomerate, Kirsh Group, surged in value.
Kirsh holds the majority of his investments through Kirsh Group, a family-owned conglomerate that maintains private equity investments in Africa, Asia, the United States and Europe.
The conglomerate holds a majority 75-percent stake in Jetro Holdings, a leading consumer goods business that controls Jetro Cash & Carry and Restaurant Depot stores across more than 30 states in the United States.
Data gathered by Billionaires.Africa revealed that his net worth in 2021 increased from $6.46 billion on Dec. 31, 2021 to $8.27 billion on Dec. 31.
This translates to a 28.02-percent bump or a gain of $1.81 billion in his net worth.
#3 Strive Masiyiwa
Net worth: $2.6 billion
Wealth gains in 2021: $1.4 billion
Zimbabwe’s wealthiest man Strive Masiyiwa recorded a net worth gain of $1.4 billion in 2021 thanks to the revaluation of his stakes in Africa’s largest carrier-neutral data center provider, Africa Data Centers, and Liquid Telecom, which provides fiber optic and satellite services to telecom firms in Africa.
During the year, the London-based Zimbabwean billionaire also benefitted from a 666.8-percent bump in the share price of his publicly traded telecom company, Econet Wireless Zimbabwe.
As a result of the upward shift in the valuation of his companies, Masiyiwa recorded a staggering $1.4 billion surge in his net worth in 2021: from $1.2 billion at the start of the year to $2.6 billion.
As of Dec. 22, his 52.85-percent stake in Econet Zimbabwe was valued at ZWL99.7 billion ($309.5 million) thanks to a $269-million value bump during the year.
#4 Aliko Dangote
Net worth: $19.1 billion
Wealth gains in 2021: $1.3 billion
The richest Black man alive, Aliko Dangote, recorded a net worth gain of $1.3 billion as a result of an increase in the share price of his flagship company, Dangote Cement Plc, and his integrated sugar business, Dangote Sugar Refinery.
The surge in the share price of Dangote Sugar and Dangote Cement, Africa’s largest cement maker, led to an increase in the market value of his stakes in these companies. The value bump triggered a $1.3-billion increase in his net worth during the year.
Data gathered by Billionaires.Africa revealed that his net worth in 2021 rose from $17.8 billion on Dec. 31, 2020 to $19.1 billion on Dec. 31.
This translates to a 7.3-percent increase, or a gain of $1.3 billion in his net worth.
