Mohammed Al-Amoudi, $12.5 billion

Saudi Arabia. Oil

Born to a Saudi father and Ethiopian mother, Mohammed Al-Amoudi immigrated to Saudi Arabia as a child where he made a fortune handling lucrative construction contracts for the Saudi Royal family. He subsequently invested in Sweden, Morocco and Ethiopia. His most prominent assets include oil companies Svenska Petroleum Exploration, which produces crude oil in Africa, and refinery operator Preem. Al-Amoudi stays committed to the country of his birth: Ethiopia. In February, he announced a $3.4 billion investment in Ethiopia via his newly formed Derba conglomerate. The funds will be invested in agriculture, cement production, steel and transport. He also owns gold mines in the country and the very prestigious 5-star Sheraton Hotel, Addis. Passionate soccer fan.


Aliko Dangote, $11.2 billion

Nigeria. Sugar, Cement, Flour

Dangote loses his position as the world’s richest black man, but he remains Africa’s wealthiest individual nevertheless. He shed more than $2.6 billion from his net worth since last year as a consequence of Nigeria’s floundering stock market. His $15 billion (market cap) Dangote Group is Nigeria’s largest industrial conglomerate, with interests in everything from sugar refineries, flour milling, salt processing and cement plants in Nigeria, Zambia, Senegal, Tanzania and South Africa. Passionate philanthropist has given away millions to education, health and social causes.



Mike Adenuga, $4.3 billion

Nigeria. Telecom, banking, oil

Adenuga started off trading lace and Coca-cola before Nigeria’s former military president, Ibrahim Babangida took him under his wing. Adenuga was subsequently rewarded with lucrative oil blocks which changed his fortunes forever and saw him become the first Nigerian to strike oil in commercial quantities in the early 1990s. Today, his Conoil Producing Company is Nigeria’s largest indigenous oil exploration company. Daily production: 100,000 barrels per day. New ambition: Striving to build Africa’s largest mobile telecommunications network. His mobile phone operator, Globacom, already has over 15 million subscribers in Nigeria and over 500,000 in Benin Republic.



Patrice Motsepe, $2.7 billion

South Africa. Mining

South Africa’s first black billionaire trained as a lawyer at the University of Witwatersrand and went on to become the first black partner at storied Johannesburg law firm, Bowman Gilfillan. He later founded a small contracting business doing scut work, then acquired low-producing gold shaft mines in 1994. He turned the shafts profitable using lean management style. Today he is the Executive chairman of African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), a South African mining company with interests in platinum, nickel, chrome, iron, manganese, coal, copper and gold. He owns 41% of the company. Also owns Mamelodi Sundowns, a South African Football Club.


Oprah Winfrey, $2.7 billion

USA. Television

The Queen of all media is having a difficult time working her magic on OWN- the lifestyle-themed cable network she founded in a joint venture with Discovery Communications. The network completed its first full year, marked by ratings disappointments and turnover at the top. Never mind: She’s still the world’s richest black woman. In January, her Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy in South Africa graduated its first set of students.



Mo Ibrahim, $1.1 billion

United Kingdom. Telecoms

The Sudanese-born telecoms magnate conceptualized an unorthodox approach to solving Africa’s leadership problems. Through his Mo Ibrahim Foundation, he awards $5 million annually to democratically-elected African leaders who deliver the dividends of good governance to their people and equally transfer power to their successors in democratic fashion. Mo made his fortune by founding Celtel, a mobile a mobile phone company that serves 23 countries in Africa and the Middle East. He sold it off in 2005 for $3.4 billion. He subsequently founded Satya Capital, a $150 million private equity firm which invests solely in African companies. Enjoys smoking pipe.