3 African billionaires defy global economic challenges with increase in net worth - Report

While the fortunes of the world’s 500 richest individuals took a hit in 2022, with a total loss of $1.4 trillion, three African billionaires managed to buck the trend.

According to data from Billionaires.Africa, Nassef Sawiris, Nicky Oppenheimer, and Abdul Samad Rabiu all saw significant increases in their net worth over the course of the year.

Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris saw his wealth increase by more than $500 million in 2022. The eldest son of the late Egyptian industrialist Onsi Sawiris, Sawiris sits on the boards of Adidas and OCI N.V., a major international producer and distributor of nitrogen and methanol products.

The performance of Sawiris’ 38.8-percent stake in OCI N.V., which more than made up for the decline in his six-percent stake in Adidas, helped boost his net worth from $6.5 billion on Dec. 31, 2021, to $7.03 billion on Dec. 31, 2022.

Nigerian billionaire Abdul Samad Rabiu also saw his wealth increase significantly in 2022, with a rise of $2.2 billion.

The rise can be attributed to the listing of Rabiu’s food company, BUA Foods Plc, on the Nigerian Exchange on Jan. 5, as well as the strong performance of his stake in BUA Cement, one of Africa’s fastest-growing cement companies. Rabiu’s net worth has now increased from $5.6 billion to $7.8 billion.

South African billionaire Nicky Oppenheimer saw a more modest increase in his wealth in 2022, with a rise of $75 million. This was enough to put him on the list of African billionaires whose wealth increased in the previous year and to push his net worth above the $8-billion mark. 

Oppenheimer’s fortune is derived from private equity investments made through Stockdale Street in London and Tana Africa Capital in Johannesburg in Africa, Asia, the United States, and Europe.

Looking at the increase in these billionaires’ wealth figures, it is clear that the combination of industrial assets and diverse investment portfolios assisted them in weathering the economic challenges of 2022 and emerging with even greater wealth.