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Of the more than two dozen Africans who can brag to be members of the world’s exclusive “Three Comma Club,” only a tiny handful have Instagram accounts. But who gets the most likes? Meet the seven African billionaires who have the largest following on Instagram.
1. Mohammed Dewji
Instagram Handle: @moodewji
Number of followers – 3.4 million
No other member of Africa’s “Three Comma Club” boasts a larger following on Instagram than Mohammed Dewji, Africa’s youngest billionaire.
Dewji is the CEO of MeTL Group, Tanzania’s largest diversified conglomerate.
He posts quite regularly on Instagram.
From a picture of himself fumbling around with a football to a video of himself giving a keynote address at Georgetown University, Dewji keeps giving his 3.4 million followers a privileged glimpse into the fabulous life of a young African billionaire at his prime.
2. Femi Otedola
Instagram Handle: @femiotedola
Number of followers – 1.4 million
Nigerian billionaire energy magnate Femi Otedola is easily the most popular wealthy person in the country – after Aliko Dangote.
And that popularity spills into social media.
With 1.4 million followers on Instagram, Otedola is social media royalty in Nigeria.
And he gives quite a show: From a video where he is dancing with his wife during her birthday celebrations in London, to a picture where he is hosting his daughter and her fiance at his Dubai villa – and yet another where he is just chilling in Monte Carlo – where he also has a home – every single post he makes on Instagram goes viral and generates buzz in Nigerian media circles – and gets Nigerians young and old, longing for the good life.
3. Tony O. Elumelu
Instagram Handle: @tonyoelumelu
Number of followers: 867k+
Tony Elumelu, the original “Africapitalist,” has built his following of 867,000 followers with a highly motivating feed of workout inspiration and James Bond–esque poses. Elumelu is the founder of Heirs Holding, and lives his life like it’s a movie. And it’s all so fascinating to watch.
4. Aziz Akhannouch
Instagram Handle: @azizakhannouch
Number of followers – 391K
Last September, King Mohammed VI of Morocco appointed billionaire Aziz Akhannouch of the National Rally of Moroccan Independents as the head of government.
Akhannouch became Morocco’s prime minister – and one of the most watched public figures in the kingdom, so his 391,000 followers on Twitter is no surprise.
5. Aliko Dangote
Instagram Handle: @aliko_dangotegcon
Number of followers: 292k
Someone close to Aliko Dangote probably cajoled him into opening an Instagram account against his will. Dangote, Africa’s richest man, has not posted on the social media site since June 4, 2018, when he put up a low-resolution photograph of himself with the caption: “In whatever you do, strive to be the best.”
Boring stuff.
But he is Aliko Dangote, so two hundred and ninety two thousand people follow him.
6. Strive Masiyiwa
Instagram Handle: @strivemasiyiwa
Number of followers: 292K
Unfortunately, this post is not about African billionaires with the highest following on Facebook, because if it were, Strive Masiyiwa would be king.
The Zimbabwean telecom billionaire boasts a following of 5.8 million people on Facebook, where he shares interesting anecdotes from his life’s journey and offers lessons he has learned in business.
On Instagram, however, he has about 292,000 followers – the same as Dangote.
He hasn’t posted since November 2021.
On his instagram feed, there’s the occasional picture of him with an African president and one where he takes a pose with U.S. televangelist T.D Jakes. Nothing exciting.
7. Folorunsho Alakija
Instagram Handle: alakijaofficial
Number of followers: 194k
You might not be aware, but Nigeria’s richest woman and oil baroness Folorunsho Alakija moonlights as an evangelical preacher in Lagos, the commercial capital of the West African country.
So a lot of her instagram feed material features her on the pulpit, charging Nigerians to work hard and listen to God in order to prosper.
More than 194,000 people follow her for that type of content.
