1.Aliko Dangote
Alhaji Aliko Dangote (born April 10, 1957) is a businessman based in Nigeria. He is the owner of the Dangote Group, which has operations in Nigeria and several other countries in Africa, including Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, South Africa and Zambia. A wealthy supporter of erstwhile President Olusegun Obasanjo and the ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP), Dangote controls much of Nigeria's commodities trade through his corporate and political connections. With an estimated current net worth of around US$ 13.8 billion, he was ranked by Forbes as one of the richest Nigerian citizens and richest person of African descent in the world toppling Mohammed Al Amoudi ($12.3 billion) and Oprah Winfrey ($2.7 billion.)
The Dangote Group, originally a small trading firm founded in 1977, is now a multi-trillion naira conglomerate with operations in Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, and Togo. Dangote's businesses include food processing, cement manufacturing, and freight. The Dangote Group dominates the sugar market in Nigeria: it is the major sugar supplier to the country's soft drink companies, breweries, and confectioners. Dangote Group has moved from being a trading company to Nigeria's largest industrial group, including Dangote Sugar Refinery (the most capitalized company on the Nigeria Stock Exchange, valued at over US$3 billion with Aliko Dangote's equity topping US$2 billion), Africa's largest Cement Production Plant: Obajana Cement, Dangote Flour amongst others.
Dangote played a prominent role in the funding of Obasanjo’s re-election campaign in 2003, to which he contributed over N200 million (US$2M). He gave N50 million (US$0.5M) to the National Mosque under the aegis of "Friends of Obasanjo and Atiku", and contributed N200 million to the Presidential Library. These controversial gifts to members of the ruling People's Democratic Party have contributed to concerns over continued graft despite highly-publicized anti-corruption drives during Obasanjo's second term.
On 23 May 2010, England's Daily Mirror newspaper reported that Dangote was interested in buying a 16 percent stake in Premiership side Arsenal belonging to Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith. Dangote later denied these rumours.
2.Nicky Oppenheimer
Nicholas "Nicky" F. Oppenheimer (born 8 June 1945) is a South African businessman, the chairman of the De Beers diamond mining company and its subsidiary, the Diamond Trading Company. He also has a large financial interest in the diversified mining company Anglo American. In November 2011 the Oppenheimer family sold the entirety of their 40% stake in De Beers to Anglo American. He and his family control the Tswalu game reserve in the Kalahari, set up by his friend Stephen Boler.
Nicholas is the son of Bridget (née McCall) and Harry Oppenheimer,[3] and grandson of Ernest Oppenheimer, the first generation of the family to chair (from 1929) the De Beers diamond mining company in South Africa, founded by Cecil John Rhodes in 1888. He is of German Jewish descent on his father's side.
He was educated in England at Harrow School and Christ Church, Oxford where he graduated with a degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, and later took the Oxford MA.
Forbes "World's Richest People" List of billionaires (2008) estimated his net worth at £2.8 billion in 2008.
In 1968 he married Orcillia "Strilli" Lasch, daughter of industrial tycoon Helli Lasch. He lives mainly in Johannesburg on the Brenthurst Gardens estate. He and his wife are members of the St George's Anglican Church, Parktown, Johannesburg. The Brenthurst Garden is affiliated to The Quiet Garden Trust, a Christian organisation providing places for prayer, silence and reflection. He also has a country estate in England, Waltham Place (with gardens open to the public and an associated organic Farm), at White Waltham in Berkshire.
3.Nassef Sawiris
Nassef Onsi Sawiris (born in Egypt in 1961) is an Egyptian businessman and billionaire the youngest of the three sons of Onsi Sawiris, the other two being Naguib Sawiris and Samih Sawiris. As of 2011 his net worth was estimated by Forbes to be $5.6 billion, making him the 182nd richest person in the world.
Nassef Sawiris received his secondary education in the German International School of Cairo, Egypt. Then he continued at University of Chicago where he received a bachelor's degree in Economics in 1982.
He oversaw the construction activities of Orascom since 1990 and is the CEO of Orascom Construction Industries since the company's incorporation in 1998. He is also a Director of the Dubai International Financial Exchange (NASDAQ Dubai), of Besix (Belgium) and of NNS Holding (Luxembourg) and President of E.C.C (Egyptian Cement Company) and a director at Lafarge.
He is a member of the Business Secretariat of the Egyptian National Democratic Party, the American Chamber of Commerce, the German-Arab Chamber of Industry and Commerce and the Young President's Club.
Described as "reclusive" by the Financial Times and Barron's, Rupert rarely gives interviews and shuns public events. In 2006 the same newspaper also called him "Rupert the Bear" for predicting a world economic crisis.
4.Johann Rupert
Johann Peter Rupert (born 1 June 1950) is the eldest son of the late South African business tycoon Anton Rupert and his wife Huberte Rupert. He is the chairman of the Swiss-based luxury-goods company Richemont as well as of the South Africa-based company Remgro. It was announced on 13 November 2009 that as of 1 April 2010, he would also assume the position of Chief Executive Officer of Compagnie Financiere Richemont.
Rupert grew up in the South African town of Stellenbosch, where he also attended the well-known school for boys, Paul Roos Gymnasium and the University of Stellenbosch, studying economics and company law. He dropped out of the university to pursue a career in business but in 2004 Stellenbosch University awarded him an honorary doctorate in economics. In 2008 he was awarded an honorary doctorate in commerce from Nelson Mandela University.
5.Naguib Sawiris
Naguib Onsi Sawiris (born June 15, 1954) is an Egyptian businessman and politician. He was executive chairman of the telecommunications companies Wind Telecom and Orascom Telecom Holding (OTH) before turning to politics in May 2011. OTH launched the first mobile operator in Egypt, Mobinil in 1998.
OTH has 20,000 employees and manages 11 GSM operators around the globe. In the beginning, OTH’s strategy was to target underpenetrated high population markets. However, soon after it started to pursue more developed markets with the launch of Wind Mobile by its Globalive subsidiary in Canada in December 2009. Moreover, OTH launched the first mobile operator in North Korea in 2008, “Koryolink”.
Sawiris joined Orascom in 1979. The Orascom Group is the country’s largest private sector employer and has the largest market capitalization on the Cairo & Alexandria Stock Exchange. Sawiris established and built the railway, information technology, and telecommunications sectors of Orascom. The conglomerate was later split into separate operating companies: Orascom Telecom (OT), Orascom Construction Industries (OCI), Orascom Hotels & Development and Orascom Technology Systems (OTS). OTH was established in late 1997 and since then has been chaired by Sawiris.
6.Patrice Motsepe
Patrice Tlhopane Motsepe (born 28 January 1962 in Soweto) is a South African mining magnate. His company, African Rainbow Minerals, has interests in gold, ferrous metals, base metals, and platinum. He topped the Sunday Times Annual Rich List in 2011, with his wealth estimated to be around R22.99 billion ($3.28 billion).
Since 2003, he is the owner of football club Mamelodi Sundowns.
He is married to Dr. Precious Makgosi Moloi and they have three sons.
Motsepe was born in Hammanskraal to a schoolteacher turned small businessman who exploited connections to get his children admitted to the best schools available to them. He eventually earned a law degree and became a partner in the law firm Bowman Gilfillan in 1994, the same year Nelson Mandela was elected the country’s first black president. He specialized in mining and business law at a time when the new government had begun the process of promoting black empowerment and entrepreneurship. Motsepe soon founded a mining services venture to glean gold dust from inside mine shafts, implementing a system of worker remuneration that combined a low base salary with a profit-sharing bonus. In 1997, with gold prices at a low, he used his connections and the black empowerment policy to arrange for finance on favorable terms, and set up a firm to begin buying the operating mines that would become the source of his wealth.
7.Onsi Sawiris
Onsi Sawiris (also written Sawires) is an Egyptian businessman. He was estimated to be worth approximatively $2.9 billion according to Forbes in 2011. He is the patriarchal head of the Sawiris Family. The name Sawiris is alleged to be the Arabic/Coptic equivalent for the Latin/Roman Severus, but such connection was rejected by Sawiris himself.
In his early business career, he was disenchanted with the socialist government of Egyptian president Gamal Abdel Nasser. He was prevented from leaving the country for six years in the 1960s.[2] After a spell in Libya, he returned to Egypt during the more business-friendly regime of the following Egyptian president, Anwar Sadat. He and his three sons, all educated in Europe and the United States They resumed their activities in Egypt with full force over the past three decades under the government of Hosni Mubarak and its liberal business policies.
He founded the Orascom conglomerate, whose various construction, telecommunications and tourism, science and technology and industry companies are run by his three sons, Naguib Sawiris, Nassef Sawiris, Samih Sawiris. Orascom is involved in tourism development, telecommunications, construction and other fields.
8.Mike Adenuga
Mike Adenuga Junior (b.April 29, 1953) is the Nigerian Chairman Chief Executice Officer of Globacom.
Adenuga's rise to wealth and accompanying fame is an interesting story. His resolve to succeed against all odds started when, while in America, he worked as a taxi driver and security guard to sustain himself in school.
Born on April 29, 1953, Michael Adeniyi Isola Adenuga had his secondary school education at the Ibadan Grammar School, Ibadan, Oyo State, before proceeding to the North-Western University in Oklahoma and Pace University, New York, both in the United States where he studied business administration.
At age 26, Adenuga had already become a millionaire with connections in high places. With his unique flair for risks and sheer tenacity of purpose, in no time he started reaping profits in billions. He owns Equitorial Trust Bank and Consolidated Oil, which carries out crude oil drilling, refining and marketing.
His first shot into the consciousness of Nigerians was when his company, Consolidated Oil became the first indigenous company to strike crude in December1991. He recently made foray into the telecommunications sector. With his Communications Investment Limited, CIL, he was issued a conditional licence in 1999 and frequencies to operate the Global System of Mobile Communications (GSM). The licence was later revoked. Again, when in 2002, the government through the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), organised new auction for the GSM licence, the CIL participated and was one of the four that won the bid. He paid the $20 million mandatory deposit.
However, in the process of effecting the release of the balance payment of $265 million, the company was adjudged to have failed to pay within stipulated time. CIL lost both the licence and $20 million deposit. He later went on to bid for the Second National Operator (SNO) licence, and deposited another $20 million. This time, he was lucky.
He won the bid in August 2002 through his Globacom Limited. The SNO has a wider range of operations as Globacom has the right to operate as a national carrier, operate digital mobile lines, serve as international gateway for telecommunications in the country and operate fixed wireless access phones.
Adenuga's estate business and company shares traverse several countries in Western Europe, North America and the Middle-East.
