Often times, I hear people say, “Nobody dey know who carry 2nd. Na who carry first matter pass” translated, “any other position but the 1st is insignificant”. While Aliko Dangote retains the number 1 spot in the whole of Africa this year on Forbes’ Africa’s 50 Richest list with a net worth of $12.1billion, I take a closer look at billionaires in technology who made it to the list.
The list says 50 richest alright; but there are only 21 people on the list with Isabel dos Santos ($3.2b) and Folorunso Alakija ($1.6b); the only women at the 8th and 14th spot respectively.
The Forbes 2017 ranking for the richest men in Africa calculates the net worth of industry experts and this year, amidst the 2016 recession in Nigeria and Trump emerging US president (not like it affects anything-just thought I’d throw it in there), the billionaires have been named and take their positions in the strained African economy.
Mike Adenuga tops the list of billionaire telco owners in Africa according to Forbes’ 2017 ranking. In 2015, he was ranked 7th according to Forbes however within the last 1 year, Globacom, his telecom company has become the second largest operator in Nigeria with 36 million subscribers with operations in Ghana and the Republic of Benin. Overall, 63 year-old Mike Adenuga who was born in Ibadan, Nigeria is 3rd richest African with the source of his wealth credited to telecom and oil and a net worth of $5.8billion.
Egyptian born Naguib Sawiris was 10th richest in 2015 but has moved up to 7th overall and is now worth $3.7billion. Until December last year he was the chairman of Orascom Telecom Media and Technology Holding S.A.E; a company his father started. Naguib is the business man who was in the news late 2015 for offering to buy an Island for Syrian refugees to flee to in which case the sale never happened.
Onsi Sawiris is Naguib Sawiris’ dad. The 87 year old mogul founded the Orascom conglomerate whose business focus is in construction, telecommunications and tourism, science and technology. Onsi who has had his fair share of business woes had to flee his home country, Egypt at some point and in 2011, his other son Nassef, who heads the Orascom Construction Industries moved its listing to Euronext in Amsterdam, renaming it OCI. According to Forbes, Onsi Sawiris still owns nearly a quarter of OCI. In 2015, OCI spun off its construction business, which now trades again on the Egyptian exchange, as well as on Nasdaq Dubai, as Orascom Construction.
