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Africa’s Billionaire Power List: The Top 10 Richest People Shaping the Continent in 2025

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2 months ago

July 15, 2025

Chiraag

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What does it mean to be wealthy in Africa today? In 2025, it’s no longer just about oil rigs or diamond mines. It’s about influence, strategy, and the power to shape the continent’s future.

This year’s richest Africans are a cross-section of the continent’s evolving economy. From legacy moguls to first-generation disruptors, these billionaires are steering Africa into a new era of growth, with their portfolios spanning cement, fintech, conservation, luxury goods, mobile networks, and mega refineries.

Let’s take a closer look at the ten most powerful players in Africa’s economic story right now.

Also read: From Gold Mines to Tech Titans: South Africa’s Top 10 Billionaires in 2025

1. Aliko Dangote: $23.9 Billion

Still sitting on the throne is Aliko Dangote, Nigeria’s industrial giant. The Dangote Group has long been a staple in cement and sugar, but the game-changer is its $20 billion oil refinery near Lagos. At 650,000 barrels a day, it is one of the largest in the world, and it’s turning Nigeria from an importer to a potential energy exporter.

2. Johann Rupert: $14 Billion

South Africa’s luxury goods king, Johann Rupert, is the chair of Richemont, which owns Cartier and Montblanc. Despite market shifts, Rupert’s brands remain status symbols globally. His influence stretches from fashion capitals to financial forums, proving old money still talks, especially when it’s wrapped in Swiss timepieces.

3. Nicky Oppenheimer: $10.4 Billion

Once at the helm of De Beers, Nicky Oppenheimer is South Africa’s diamond legacy. Since selling the family’s stake in 2012, he’s redirected his fortune into conservation and impact investing, reshaping how the wealthy give back and grow capital at the same time.

4. Mike Adenuga: $6.7 Billion

Globacom boss Mike Adenuga has built Nigeria’s second-largest mobile network, serving over 60 million subscribers. Add oil and finance to the mix (via Conoil and Sterling Holdings), and you get a billionaire who’s quietly built a telecom-and-energy empire that connects and powers a nation.

5. Abdulsamad Rabiu: $5.1 Billion

The founder of BUA Group, Abdulsamad Rabiu, is another Nigerian titan making waves in cement, real estate, and infrastructure. His investments are helping power West Africa’s construction boom, earning him a place among Africa’s most dynamic self-made industrialists.

Africa’s wealthiest 2025, top 10 African billionaires, Patrice Motsepe mining and sport, Koos Bekker Tencent investment, Naguib Sawiris real estate, Abdulsamad Rabiu BUA Group, Mohammed Dewji MeTL, Joburg ETC

Image 1: Africa CEO Forum

6. Naguib Sawiris: $5 Billion

Egypt’s Naguib Sawiris made his billions in telecoms through Orascom, which he later sold in a record deal. Now the savvy investor chairs Orascom TMT, owns luxury resorts in the Caribbean, and continues to bet on asset management, tech, and real estate.

7. Koos Bekker: $3.2 Billion

Koos Bekker revolutionised South African media when he took Naspers global. He’s best known for orchestrating the legendary Tencent investment, turning a local company into a tech investment juggernaut. Today, he chairs both Naspers and Prosus, with assets ranging from e-commerce to streaming.

8. Patrice Motsepe: $3 Billion

From mines to football fields, Patrice Motsepe wears many hats. As founder of African Rainbow Minerals and ARC, and president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), he blends business, sport, and philanthropy. Motsepe remains a role model for how corporate influence can meet community impact.

9. Mohammed Dewji: $2.2 Billion

Mohammed Dewji, Tanzania’s only billionaire, runs MeTL Group, which spans manufacturing, logistics, and agriculture in over 10 countries. He’s also part of the Giving Pledge, promising to donate half his wealth. Dewji represents a generation of billionaires redefining success with purpose.

10. Prateek Suri: $1.4 Billion

A fresh face on the list, Prateek Suri is the founder of Maser Group and MDR Investments, with interests in electronics, infrastructure, mining, and even yachts. His $5 billion acquisition deal in 2025 made headlines as the largest by a foreign-born investor in Africa. Based in Lagos, Suri is fast becoming the tech tiger of the continent.

Billionaires and the Bigger Picture

Behind the billions are some familiar truths: a growing middle class, an increasingly digital world, and a continent whose industries are no longer peripheral; they’re pivotal. As Africa becomes more central to global trade, thanks in part to the AfCFTA, these billionaires are shaping not just their own futures but that of the entire region.

From Johannesburg to Cairo and Lagos to Dar es Salaam, the message is clear: the age of African wealth is not coming; it’s already here.