South Africa has overtaken Nigeria in the latest Forbes ranking of Africa’s billionaires, boasting the highest number of ultra-wealthy individuals, even as Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote remains the continent’s richest man.
Forbes’ 2025 list, released on Saturday, shows that Africa’s 22 billionaires now have a combined net worth of $105 billion, a sharp rise from $82.4 billion in 2024. However, while South Africa leads with seven billionaires, Nigeria, once dominant, has only four.
Dangote, owner of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, retains his top spot with a net worth of $23.9 billion, up from $13.9 billion last year. Forbes attributes this surge to the inclusion of his refinery’s valuation in the assessment.
Mike Adenuga, chairman of telecoms giant Globacom, ranks fifth in Africa with $6.8 billion, followed by Abdulsamad Rabiu of BUA Group in sixth place with $5.1 billion. Femi Otedola, chairman of FBN Holdings Plc, secures the joint 16th position with a net worth of $1.5 billion.
South Africa’s diversified economy has created more billionaires spanning industries such as mining, retail, and financial services. Egypt also matched Nigeria’s four entries, while Morocco had three, and Algeria, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe each had one.
Forbes noted that its rankings consider billionaires who reside in Africa or have their primary business operations there, excluding figures like UK-based Mo Ibrahim and South African-born Nathan Kirsh, who operates out of London.
“South Africa had the largest number of billionaires this year, with seven, followed by four from Nigeria and four from Egypt,” Forbes said.
“The list also includes three billionaires from Morocco, one from Algeria (Issad Rebrab), one from Tanzania (Mohammed Dewiji), and one (Strive Masiyiwa) from Zimbabwe.”
Forbes said the list is based on Africans who have their businesses in Africa and not those who made their wealth outside the continent.
“Our list tracks the wealth of African billionaires who reside in Africa or have their primary business there, thus excluding Sudanese-born billionaire Mo Ibrahim, who is a UK citizen, and South African Nathan Kirsh, who operates out of London and has his business in the US and UK,” Forbes said.
