Kenyan businessman James Mwangi gains $9.9 million in less than two months as Equity shares rebound

A double-digit surge in the shares of Equity Group Holdings, Kenya’s largest financial services group, has resulted in a multimillion-dollar increase in its valuation and millions of dollars in gains for shareholders, including Group Managing Director and CEO James Mwangi.

According to Billionaires.Africa data, Mwangi, who has played an integral role in the growth of the top performing lender, has seen the market value of his shareholding rise by Ksh1.18 billion ($9.9 million) in the past 44 days, owing to a sharp rebound in Equity Group’s shares on the Nairobi Securities Exchange.

Recently, Mwangi led the financial services provider in signing a memorandum of understanding with the East African Community to accelerate regional growth and economic resilience through a $6-billion regional economic stimulus plan.

The agreement comes nearly four months after Equity Group launched a $6-billion private sector-focused stimulus package to accelerate East and Central Africa’s economic recovery and resilience.

Equity Group’s shares on the local bourse have dropped from Ksh39 ($0.327) to Ksh48.25 ($0.405) at the time of writing this report, representing a 23.7-percent gain for shareholders since June 24, exactly 44 days ago.

As a result of the double-digit decline in the bank’s shares, the market value of Mwangi’s 3.38-percent stake in Equity Group has grown by Ksh1.18 billion ($9.9 million) to Ksh6.17 billion ($51.71 million) at the time of writing, up from Ksh4.98 billion ($41.8 million) on June 24.

The increase in the market value of his stake reduced the year-to-date decrease in the valuation of his equity interest to less than $5 million, down from $14.7 million in the first seven months of the year.