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Good morning from Billionaires.Africa.
Here is a brief on what we published yesterday.
Patrice Motsepe now leads South Africa's ANC leadership race by a wide margin, with a new poll giving him 33.1 percent favourability — equivalent to the combined scores of his two nearest rivals, Fikile Mbalula at 22 percent and Paul Mashatile at 11.4 percent. He continues to deny any political ambition, but a grassroots campaign called PM27 Savumelana is building support structures across the provinces without waiting for permission.
Meanwhile, the Iran war is reaching into the wallets of Africa's ultra-wealthy in unexpected ways: private jet operators flying to the Middle East are now charging war-risk insurance surcharges of up to $50,000 per flight. On the NGX, Airtel Africa surged 10 percent and pushed the index past 200,000 points for the first time. And Optasia founder Bassim Haidar sold R1.48 billion in shares to FirstRand just five months after the fintech's JSE listing.
Top Stories
Motsepe tops the ANC poll as South Africa's 2027 race heats up The Social Research Foundation poll gave Motsepe 33.1 percent favourability among 2,222 respondents, with a negative rating of just 22.3 percent — far below Mbalula's 37.7 percent and Mashatile's 35 percent. Among ANC voters specifically, his support reaches 47 percent.
Africa's ultra-wealthy face $50,000 jet surcharges on Middle East flights War-risk insurance surcharges of up to $50,000 per flight are now mandatory for private jet operators entering Arabian Peninsula airspace. The cost is reshaping executive aviation economics for Africa's billionaires and UHNWIs with Gulf business ties.
Markets
Airtel Africa surges 10%, pushes NGX past 200,000 points Airtel Africa climbed to N2,497 per share to top the NGX gainers chart. The All Share Index added 1,692 points to settle at 200,706 — crossing 200,000 for the first time. Market capitalisation expanded by N1.09 trillion to N128.84 trillion.
Deals & Moves
Optasia founder Bassim Haidar sells R1.48 billion stake to FirstRand Haidar sold 6 percent of Optasia at R20 per share through his associate entity Zoey Enterprises. FirstRand's stake rose from 20.1 to 26.1 percent. The AI-powered fintech operates in 38 countries, processes 34 million transactions daily, and posted 76 percent revenue growth in 2025.
This week's deep-dive report and exclusive briefing are available for Executive and Elite subscribers:
→ Deep-Dive Report: Africa's Refining Revolution
→ Exclusive Briefing: What We're Hearing — Africa's Energy Repricing in Real Time
