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Gulaam Abdoola built a $115 million property empire from Gaborone to Dar es Salaam and Dubai
Gulaam Abdoola built Turnstar Holdings from nothing into a $115 million property group spanning Botswana, Tanzania and Dubai, making him one of southern Africa's most quietly formidable real estate tycoons.
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Family Bank founder Titus Muya and associates pocket $36.6 million paper gain as Kenyan lender surges 44% on NSE debut
Family Bank founder Titus Muya and his associates pocketed a $36.6 million paper gain as the Kenyan lender surged 44% on its NSE debut Tuesday.
Malawian billionaire Thom Mpinganjira donates $58,000 to fund repatriation of Malawians stranded in South Africa
Malawi's first billionaire Thom Mpinganjira has donated K100 million to support the government's repatriation of Malawians facing abuse and hardship in South Africa.
IDH chief executive Hend El- Sherbini launches $291 million bid to take Egypt's diagnostics giant private
IDH chief executive Hend El Sherbini and co-investor Moamena Kamel have launched a $291 million bid to take the diagnostics group private and delist it from London.
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The Inside Story: The Invisible Billionaire
He is worth roughly $9 billion on Bloomberg and absent from Forbes entirely. Inside the private empire of Mohammed Al-Amoudi — and why a collapsed Moroccan refinery just pulled him back into view.
Deep-Dive Report: Ahmed El Sewedy — Wiring a Region
The Elsewedy Electric chief is turning Egypt’s cable champion into a pan-regional infrastructure and manufacturing force — from power lines to electric cars. Inside the empire, the expansion, and an honest read of the number.
Wealth Intelligence: Abdul Samad Rabiu — The Fastest Climb
BUA’s cement-and-food champion nearly doubled his fortune in 2026 to become Africa’s second-richest — and just handed his son the next chapter. A full read of the holdings, the surge, and the succession.
IDH chief executive Hend El- Sherbini launches $291 million bid to take Egypt's diagnostics giant private
IDH chief executive Hend El Sherbini and co-investor Moamena Kamel have launched a $291 million bid to take the diagnostics group private and delist it from London.
Egyptian billionaire Ahmed El Sewedy backs $500 million deal to manufacture Abu Dhabi-based ROX electric vehicles in Egypt
Ahmed El Sewedy's ESI has partnered with Abu Dhabi-headquartered EV company ROX in a $500 million joint venture to manufacture electric vehicles in Egypt for African markets.
Othman Benjelloun leads five Moroccan groups onto Forbes' top 100 Arab family businesses list
Othman Benjelloun's O Capital Group ranked 21st on Forbes Middle East's 2026 Arab family business list as Morocco set a new record with five entries.
Egypt's Hassan Allam wins $727 million Waldorf Astoria Diriyah deal
Egypt's Hassan Allam Holding has won a $727 million contract to build the Waldorf Astoria Hotel and mixed-use superblock at Saudi Arabia's Diriyah giga-project.
Kylian Mbappe earns $100 million a year and is building the empire that survives after football
Kylian Mbappe earns $100 million a year, is chasing the all-time World Cup scoring record and is quietly building a $250 million empire designed to survive long after football ends.
Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris joins the $2 million pre-seed round of UAE fintech Sovra as an early backer
Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris has joined a $2 million pre-seed round in UAE fintech Sovra, a self-custodial global dollar account platform.
Morocco's billionaire prime minister is fighting bills to cap fuel prices in his own industry
Morocco's billionaire Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch is opposing opposition bills to cap fuel prices and nationalise the Samir refinery in a market he controls through Afriquia.
Hassan Allam commits $400 million to Egypt data centre project
Hassan Allam Digital Infrastructure has signed a $400 million deal with Egypt's telecoms regulator to build a data centre complex serving government, financial and cloud computing clients.
Nigeria's SEC bans unauthorized Dangote Refinery IPO marketing
Nigeria's SEC has banned marketing of a purported Dangote Petroleum Refinery IPO, warning no application has been filed with or approved by the regulator.
Cameroonian billionaire Paul Fokam's Afriland enters Islamic finance and sukuk
Paul Kammogne Fokam's Afriland First Group has launched financial advisory and sukuk issuance services across West Africa, deepening its Islamic finance footprint beyond Cameroon.
Nigerian billionaire Abdul Samad Rabiu relaunches BUA Rice with son in charge
Abdulsamad Rabiu's BUA Foods has relaunched BUA-branded rice into Nigerian markets as his son Isyaku Khalifa Rabiu takes charge of the group's global procurement and supply chain.
Nigerian billionaire Tony Elumelu credits his success to luck
Tony Elumelu told a YouTube interviewer he got rich by luck. Coming from one of Africa's most relentlessly driven billionaires, the admission stopped people cold.
Africa's richest man says Forbes is underestimating his fortune. His refinery alone, he says, is worth $40 billion.
Aliko Dangote has pushed back on Forbes' estimate of his net worth, saying his oil refinery alone is worth more than $40 billion.
Congo's richest oil trader Willy Etoka marries President Denis Sassou Nguesso's daughter
Congolese businessman Willy Etoka has married Claudia Sassou Nguesso, daughter of Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso, in a ceremony held in Brazzaville.
Cameroonian banking billionaire Paul Fokam launches Africa Diamond Invest securities firm in Togo
Cameroonian billionaire Paul Kammogne Fokam's Afriland First Holding has launched Africa Diamond Invest, a new securities firm targeting West African financial markets from a Lomé base.
Nigerian billionaire Ladi Jadesimi will pocket $5.5 million from Aradel Holdings as the company posts its most profitable year ever
Ladi Jadesimi's 5.27 percent stake in Aradel Holdings will earn him N7.5 billion in total dividends for 2025 after the company posted record profits.
High Court clears the way to distribute Simeon Nyachae's estate
A Kenyan court has dismissed a challenge by Simeon Nyachae's son, clearing the way to distribute the late politician's sprawling estate and business empire
Kenya signs $1.2 billion JKIA deal with China Road and Bridge; government says Chivayo firm did not bid
Chirchir stated that no Chivayo-linked company bid for the JKIA contract, naming China Road and Bridge Corporation as the signatory.
Family Bank founder Titus Muya and associates pocket $36.6 million paper gain as Kenyan lender surges 44% on NSE debut
Family Bank founder Titus Muya and his associates pocketed a $36.6 million paper gain as the Kenyan lender surged 44% on its NSE debut Tuesday.
Billionaire Rostam Aziz's Taifa Mining clears key hurdle at Tanzania gold project set for construction
Rostam Aziz's Taifa Mining has cleared a critical pre-construction drilling milestone at Lake Victoria Gold's fully permitted Imwelo gold project in Tanzania.
Tanzanian billionaire Edha Nahdi's cement bets pay off as EAPC profit jumps five-fold
Tanzanian tycoon Edhah Abdallah Munif's investments in Kenya's two biggest cement companies are already paying off handsomely, with both posting sharply improved financial results.
Madagascar tycoon Mamy Ravatomanga's security firm severs ties with France's Amarante International
A security firm formerly linked to Madagascar's Mamy Ravatomanga has broken with France's Amarante International as his Sodiat Group empire faces deepening judicial pressure.
Kenyan tycoon TK Muya's Family Bank wins regulatory approval for its long-awaited NSE listing
Family Bank has received Capital Markets Authority approval to list on the Nairobi Securities Exchange on June 23 after raising KES 8 billion ($61.8 million) in 2025.
Adil Popat's Simba Corp commits $7.7 million to Kenya electric vehicle assembly line
Adil Popat's Simba Corp is investing Sh1 billion ($7.7 million) in a dedicated electric vehicle assembly line at its Mombasa plant through subsidiary Associated Vehicle Assemblers.
Ramachandran Ottapathu arrived in Botswana with BWP200 and built a $40 million retail empire
Ramachandran Ottapathu arrived in Botswana from a small Kerala town with BWP200 and no connections, then built Choppies into southern Africa's largest grocery chain outside South Africa.
Koos Bekker has spent $334m to take over a Somerset town and residents are demanding a boycott
South African billionaire Koos Bekker has spent $334m buying up a Somerset town's businesses and properties, triggering a boycott campaign against his empire.
Gulaam Abdoola built a $115 million property empire from Gaborone to Dar es Salaam and Dubai
Gulaam Abdoola built Turnstar Holdings from nothing into a $115 million property group spanning Botswana, Tanzania and Dubai, making him one of southern Africa's most quietly formidable real estate tycoons.
Chandra Chauhan turned a $4.87 million company into an $800 million retail giant in Botswana
Chandra Chauhan arrived at a struggling Botswana retailer worth $4.87 million in 2002 and built it into an $800 million southern African retail powerhouse spanning four countries.
Inside Zimbabwean mogul Wicknell Chivayo's R160m Clifton home — Black Coffee's new neighbor
Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivayo has dropped $8.7m on a SAOTA-designed Clifton mansion, his most striking real estate move yet.
Malawian billionaire Thom Mpinganjira donates $58,000 to fund repatriation of Malawians stranded in South Africa
Malawi's first billionaire Thom Mpinganjira has donated K100 million to support the government's repatriation of Malawians facing abuse and hardship in South Africa.
Flamboyant Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivayo pledges $163 million solar project to Eswatini after King grants him citizenship
Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivayo has pledged a R3 billion 300MW solar project to Eswatini after King Mswati III granted him citizenship and a diplomatic passport.
Johann Rupert's Richemont invests $11 million in Italian leather hub to serve Cartier, Montblanc and three other maisons
Johann Rupert's Richemont has poured more than $11 million into expanding its Scandicci leather production hub in Italy, more than doubling the facility's size.
Morocco rejects plan to nationalise Ethiopian billionaire Mohammed Al-Amoudi's collapsed SAMIR refinery
Morocco's upper house has rejected a bid to nationalise the SAMIR refinery, the shuttered facility once owned by billionaire Mohammed Al-Amoudi that collapsed under $4 billion in debt.
Saudi-Ethiopian billionaire Mohammed Al Amoudi's MIDROC secures $80 million for Sheraton Addis upgrade
Mohammed Al-Amoudi's MIDROC Ethiopia has signed an $80 million IFC loan to refurbish the Sheraton Addis and build a second Sheraton hotel in Addis Ababa.
Qatar's billionaire Al-Khayyat family is bidding to build Africa's largest airport in Ethiopia
Qatar's Al-Khayyat family, through Power International Holding, is bidding to build Ethiopia's planned $12.5 billion Bishoftu airport and a 400-kilometre highway in the DRC.
Somali tycoon Amina Moghe Hersi's Atiak Sugar Factory has eaten $204 million and produced nothing in years. Uganda is demanding answers.
Uganda's parliament is demanding answers after Amina Moghe Hersi's Atiak Sugar Factory consumed $204 million in public and private funds without producing sugar in years.
Saudi-Ethiopian Mohammed Al-Amoudi is worth $9 billion on Bloomberg but missing from the Forbes 2026 billionaires list and here is why
Mohammed Al-Amoudi is worth $9.12 billion on Bloomberg but does not appear on the Forbes 2026 billionaires list. Here is why.
How Djiboutian tycoon Abdourahman Boreh helped Dubai build a port empire in the Horn of Africa, then became its most inconvenient witness
Abdourahman Boreh brokered DP World's entry into Djibouti, collected fees from both sides, then fled into exile as the whole deal unravelled.
Dahabshiil founder Abdirashid Duale pledges $150,000 as drought deepens in northern Somalia
Dahabshiil pledged $150,000 for drought relief in northern Somalia, with founder Abdirashid Duale urging faster action as shortages spread.
Ethiopia’s richest man Mohammed Al-Amoudi brings Carrefour into Ethiopia
Ethiopia’s richest man, Mohammed Al-Amoudi, brings Carrefour to 13 Midroc stores, marking the retailer’s first physical presence in Ethiopia.
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Mahamadou Bonkoungou left school with a baccalaureate and built a $3 billion West African empire
Mahamadou Bonkoungou left Dédougou with a baccalaureate and no capital, traded gold and cassettes across West Africa, then built EBOMAF into a $3 billion infrastructure empire.
Ramachandran Ottapathu arrived in Botswana with BWP200 and built a $40 million retail empire
Ramachandran Ottapathu arrived in Botswana from a small Kerala town with BWP200 and no connections, then built Choppies into southern Africa's largest grocery chain outside South Africa.
Angolan billionaire Agostinho Kapaia's Opaia Group eyes expansion into Mozambique and DR Congo
Angolan billionaire Agostinho Kapaia's Opaia Group plans to expand its industrial activities into Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of Congo, two new markets.
Fortune 500 reaches a record 11 Black CEOs worth $432 billion including Ghana-born Fannie Mae chief Peter Akwaboah
The Fortune 500 has reached a record 11 Black CEOs overseeing companies worth $432 billion in combined revenue, with Ghana-born Peter Akwaboah among them.
African Wealth Briefing — Thurs., June 25, 2026
Cletus Ibeto built a $3.8 billion empire before he ever earned a school certificate. And Kenya finally answers the Chivayo airport question.
High Court clears the way to distribute Simeon Nyachae's estate
A Kenyan court has dismissed a challenge by Simeon Nyachae's son, clearing the way to distribute the late politician's sprawling estate and business empire
Koos Bekker has spent $334m to take over a Somerset town and residents are demanding a boycott
South African billionaire Koos Bekker has spent $334m buying up a Somerset town's businesses and properties, triggering a boycott campaign against his empire.
Gulaam Abdoola built a $115 million property empire from Gaborone to Dar es Salaam and Dubai
Gulaam Abdoola built Turnstar Holdings from nothing into a $115 million property group spanning Botswana, Tanzania and Dubai, making him one of southern Africa's most quietly formidable real estate tycoons.
Chandra Chauhan turned a $4.87 million company into an $800 million retail giant in Botswana
Chandra Chauhan arrived at a struggling Botswana retailer worth $4.87 million in 2002 and built it into an $800 million southern African retail powerhouse spanning four countries.
Cletus Ibeto built a $3.8 billion empire before earning his school certificate
Cletus Ibeto built a $3.8 billion empire spanning cement, petrochemicals and auto parts in Nigeria before earning his school certificate at age 48.
Inside Zimbabwean mogul Wicknell Chivayo's R160m Clifton home — Black Coffee's new neighbor
Zimbabwean businessman Wicknell Chivayo has dropped $8.7m on a SAOTA-designed Clifton mansion, his most striking real estate move yet.
Kenya signs $1.2 billion JKIA deal with China Road and Bridge; government says Chivayo firm did not bid
Chirchir stated that no Chivayo-linked company bid for the JKIA contract, naming China Road and Bridge Corporation as the signatory.
The Inside Story: The Invisible Billionaire
He is worth roughly $9 billion on Bloomberg and absent from Forbes entirely. Inside the private empire of Mohammed Al-Amoudi — and why a collapsed Moroccan refinery just pulled him back into view.
Deep-Dive Report: Ahmed El Sewedy — Wiring a Region
The Elsewedy Electric chief is turning Egypt’s cable champion into a pan-regional infrastructure and manufacturing force — from power lines to electric cars. Inside the empire, the expansion, and an honest read of the number.
Wealth Intelligence: Abdul Samad Rabiu — The Fastest Climb
BUA’s cement-and-food champion nearly doubled his fortune in 2026 to become Africa’s second-richest — and just handed his son the next chapter. A full read of the holdings, the surge, and the succession.
Family Bank founder Titus Muya and associates pocket $36.6 million paper gain as Kenyan lender surges 44% on NSE debut
Family Bank founder Titus Muya and his associates pocketed a $36.6 million paper gain as the Kenyan lender surged 44% on its NSE debut Tuesday.
