Four billionaires have more than the poor half of Africa

Africa

Four super rich have more money than half a continent

A new report shows: Extreme asset inequality in Africa continues to grow – and, according to Oxfam, endangers democracy.

Four of the richest men in Africa together have more assets than half of the 750 million people on the continent. This emerges from a report by the aid organization Oxfam, which was published on Thursday. According to Oxfam, their total assets are $ 57.4 billion-the equivalent of around 49 billion euros.

In particular, the report calls the Nigerian Aliko Dangote, the richest man in Africa. According to the magazine “Forbes”, the South Africans Johann Rupert and Nicky Oppenheimer and the Egyptian Nassef Sawiris are among the four richest people in Africa. According to Oxfam, her assets have increased by 56 percent in the past five years.

Aliko Dangote In 1957 in Kano, Nigeria, born and founded the Dangote Group in 1981, an industrial company, which is now multinational now, with a focus on cement, sugar, salt and food processing. His most important company, Dangote Cement, is Africa’s largest cement producer and operates works in several countries south of the Sahara. It also operates the largest urea granulate complex in Africa for the production of fertilizer, with an annual capacity of three million tons. He is said to have around $ 23 billion (21.19 billion euros).

The South African billionaire Johann Rupert is at the top of the Swiss luxury goods group Richemont. The company based in Switzerland is primarily known for brands such as Cartier and Montblanc. Richemont was created in 1998 by splitting off assets from Rembrandt Group, which his father had founded. Rupert holds seven percent of the broad investment company Remgro, whose chair he is also. According to “Forbes”, it has significant shares in several investment companies and land in South Africa. There he is considered the opponent of the fracking. According to “Forbes”, the family’s assets are $ 14.6 billion (around 13.4 billion euros).

Nicholas “Nicky” Frank Oppenheimer was born in Johannesburg in 1945 and is a South African entrepreneur and philanthropic. It comes from the well-known Oppenheimer dynasty behind the diamond empire of Debeers. According to “Forbes”, Oppenheimer also founded the Fireblade Aviation company in Johannesburg, which carries out charter flights. It is also said to have large areas of nature conservation country in South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. His assets are estimated at $ 10 billion (9 billion euros).

NASSEF SAWIRIS Is an investor and comes from the richest family in Egypt. In December 2020, he acquired a 5 percent share of the company Madison Square Garden Sports listed on the New York Stock Exchange. He is the owner of the NBA Knicks and the NHL Rangers. He leads OCI, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of nitrogen fertilizers with systems in Texas and Iowa, which is traded on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange. Forbes estimates his assets at nine billion dollars (8.2 billion euros)