Isabel dos Santos is the only
Angolan listed as a billionaire
Africa has 55 billionaires, far
more than previously thought,
Nigeria-based Ventures financial
magazine says.
They include three women - the
mother of Kenya's president, a
daughter of Angola's president
and a Nigerian oil tycoon and
fashion designer.
The richest man is Nigeria's Aliko
Dangote, with a fortune of $
20.2bn (£12.5bn), Ventures said.
The list is likely to reignite debate
about inequality between rich and
poor people in Africa,
correspondents say.
In April, the World Bank said the
number of people living in
extreme poverty in Africa had
risen in the past three decades
from 205 million to 414 million.
'Conservative estimate'
A report earlier this month by
research group Afrobarometer
suggested that economic growth
in Africa was primarily benefiting a
small elite.
This is the first time the respected
Ventures magazine has
published a list of rich Africans
, reports the BBC's Tomi Oladipo
reports from Nigeria's main city
Lagos.
The 55 billionaires it has identified
are more numerous than the 16
listed by US financial magazine
Forbes last year
.
It was able to identify dozens
more billionaires by using "on-the-
ground knowledge" to overcome
hurdles that may have
"hampered" other researchers,
Ventures said.
The magazine estimated the 55
billionaires' combined fortunes at
$143.88bn, an average of a $2.6bn
per person.
Of the 55, 20 are Nigerian, nine
are South African and eight are
Egyptian, Ventures said.
The richest woman is Nigeria's
Folorunsho Alakija, who made her
$7.3bn fortune mainly in the
country's oil industry, it added.
She also studied fashion in London
and made dresses for Maryam
Babangida, the late wife of
Nigerian military ruler Ibrahim
Babangida, Ventures said.
Isabel Dos Santos, an Angolan
investor and the eldest daughter
of Angolan President Jose Eduardo
dos Santos, together with Ngina
Kenyatta, the mother of Kenya's
President Uhuru Kenyatta, also
made the cut, it added.
Ventures listed Harvard-trained
businessman Allan Gray as South
Africa's richest man, with a
fortune of $8.5bn.
"This media-shy South African
moneyman controls two
investment companies that
collectively manage over $50bn in
assets," Ventures said.
Nathan Kirsh, a property tycoon in
the tiny kingdom of Swaziland,
also made it on the list.
He is worth $3.6bn, and has
business interests in London and
New York, Ventures said.
Ventures editor-in-chief Oozo
Eewala told the BBC's Focus on
Africa radio programme that its
estimate of 50 billionaires was
probably conservative.
"There is this culture of you don't
necessarily want to show your
wealth, considering the gap
between rich and poor," he said.
"If you have a lot of money, there
are a lot of people that you have
to support so we think people
may be a little reluctant to be all
splashy about what they have and
what their assets are." source : http://mobile.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24433996