Aliko Dangote of Nigeria remains Africa’s richest person, according to Forbes’ 2025 list of African billionaires. His net worth saw a massive increase from the previous year, with his fortune now at an estimated $23.9 billion. This jump was largely due to the opening and valuation of his $20 billion Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Nigeria, which began limited operations in 2024 and significantly boosted Nigeria’s fuel self-sufficiency. The ranking is based on stock prices and currency exchange rates as of early March 2025.
Top 10 richest people in Africa as of March 2025:
1. Aliko Dangote – $23.9 Billion (Nigeria)
With wealth from cement, sugar, and his oil refinery. Aliko Dangote built his fortune through the Dangote Group, a massive industrial conglomerate that dominates several key sectors in Nigeria and across Africa. He strategically shifted from a commodities trading business to local manufacturing, focusing on essential goods for the region’s large population.
2. Johann Rupert – $14 billion (South Africa)
With wealth from luxury goods through his company, Richemont. Johann Rupert’s wealth primarily comes from his association with and majority ownership of two major holding companies: the Swiss luxury goods group Compagnie Financière Richemont and the South African diversified investment firm Remgro. His fortune was built upon the foundation laid by his father, Anton Rupert, who started a tobacco company in the 1940s that would grow into a business empire.
3. Nicky Oppenheimer – $10.4 Billion (South Africa)
With wealth from mining and diamonds (De Beers). Nicky Oppenheimer’s wealth primarily originates from his family’s long-standing dominance in the global diamond industry. The Oppenheimer family controlled De Beers, the world’s leading diamond company, for 85 years before selling their stake to Anglo American in 2011.
4. Nassef Sawiris – $9.6 billion (Egypt)
With investments in construction, engineering, and sports. Nassef Sawiris’s wealth primarily comes from his ownership stakes in a diverse portfolio of major companies across various sectors, including construction, engineering, chemicals, and sports. He hails from Egypt’s wealthiest family, the Sawiris family, and has strategically grown his inheritance through savvy investments and business leadership.
5. Mike Adenuga – $6.8 Billion (Nigeria)
With investments in telecommunications (Globacom) and oil. Mike Adenuga’s substantial wealth stems primarily from his highly successful ventures in two key sectors: telecommunications and oil exploration and production. He is the founder and chairman of two major Nigerian conglomerates: Globacom and Conoil Plc.
6. Abdulsamad Rabiu – $5.1 Billion (Nigeria)
Founder of the BUA Group with interests in cement, sugar, and real estate. Abdulsamad Rabiu’s wealth primarily comes from his ownership of the BUA Group, a Nigerian conglomerate with significant interests in manufacturing, infrastructure, and agriculture. He founded BUA Group in 1988, and it has grown to become a major player in the West African economy.
7. Naguib Sawiris – $5 Billion (Egypt)
An investor in telecommunications and real estate. Naguib Sawiris’s wealth comes from his extensive investments in the telecommunications and real estate sectors, largely built on the foundation of his family’s business empire, the Sawiris family of Egypt. Unlike his brother Nassef, who focused more on construction and chemicals, Naguib’s path led him to become a pioneer in mobile network operations across the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.
8. Koos Bekker – $3.4 Billion (South Africa)
Known for transforming media company Naspers into a global tech investor. Koos Bekker’s wealth stems from his strategic leadership and long-term vision in transforming the South African media company Naspers into a global internet and e-commerce powerhouse. His fortune is largely tied to his holdings in Naspers and its international internet investment arm, Prosus.
9. Mohamed Mansour – $3.4 Billion (Egypt)
Who oversees the Mansour Group conglomerate with diverse business interests. Mohamed Mansour’s fortune is derived from his leadership of the Mansour Group, a diversified, family-owned Egyptian multinational conglomerate. He and his two billionaire brothers, Youssef and Yasseen, expanded the group from a cotton trading business into a powerful industrial force.
10. Patrice Motsepe – $3 Billion (South Africa)
A mining tycoon who founded African Rainbow Minerals. Patrice Motsepe’s fortune primarily comes from his founding and ownership of African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), a major South African mining company. His wealth has since diversified through significant investments in finance, technology, and sports.
