A pan-African magazine says Africa has many more billionaires than previously reported, 55 of them worth USD 143.88 billion including a Nigerian said to be the richest black woman in the world.
"Move over, Oprah!" Ventures Africa says in its latest edition published this week.
Editor-in-chief Uzodinma Iweala said today the magazine's estimates are "on the conservative side."
The report predictably identifies Nigerian manufacturer Aliko Dangote as the richest African worth USD 20.2 billion, among 20 Nigerians listed.
Africa Ventures put the average net worth of Africa's billionaires at USD 2.6 billion and their average age at 65.
The oldest billionaires are Kenyan industrialist Manu Chandaria and Egyptian property tycoon Mohammed Al-Fayed, both aged 84. The youngest billionaires are Mohammed Dewji of Tanzania and Nigerian oil trader Igho Sanomi, both 38 years old.
Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt had the highest numbers of the richest Africans, with nine in South Africa and eight in Egypt. It said Algeria, Angola, Zimbabwe and Swaziland only have one billionaire each. It identified billionaires in only 10 of Africa's 53 countries.
The magazine's survey surprises by identifying oil tycoon Folorunsho Alakija as the richest black woman in the world, saying that she is worth USD 7.3 billion.
Forbes magazine in its respected list had estimated Alakija's fortune at USD 600 million and Oprah Winfrey's worth at USD 2.9 billion.
The Forbes list of Africa's 40 Richest has only 16 billionaires including two Nigerians.
"I think being more rigorous and being closer to the ground makes it easier to figure out on a continent where information is not as readily available and things are not as transparent," Iweala explained in a telephone interview.
