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Good morning from Billionaires.Africa.
Here is a brief on what we published over the weekend.
Most people had never heard of Nathan Kirsh before Sysco agreed to buy his Jetro Restaurant Depot for $29.1 billion. Now he is Africa's second richest person at $17.1 billion — richer than Johann Rupert, richer than Abdulsamad Rabiu, richer than Nicky Oppenheimer. We published the full story of how a 94-year-old Lithuanian-descended Jewish businessman from Potchefstroom lost nearly everything in a South African real estate collapse in the 1980s, left the country with a single Brooklyn grocery store, and spent 50 years building it into the largest cash-and-carry wholesale operation in the United States without giving a single interview.
Also over the weekend, Morocco's Anas Sefrioui saw Addoha post a 70 percent net profit rise, and a Zimbabwean developer unveiled the country's first 30-year mortgage project.
Top Stories
Meet Nathan Kirsh: Africa's new second richest man Born in 1932 in Potchefstroom. Built and lost a South African wholesale empire by 1986. Kept one Brooklyn store — Jetro — and turned it into 166 locations across 35 US states, $16 billion in revenue and 30 consecutive years of EBITDA growth. Forbes now puts him at $17.1 billion. The only African richer is Dangote.
North Africa
Sefrioui's Addoha posts 70% net profit rise to 516 million dirhams The Moroccan property developer's turnaround continues with tighter project selection and improved execution across Morocco and West Africa — welcome news for a billionaire whose fortune fell $300 million last year.
Southern Africa
WestProp unveils Chivhu Eco City — 5,000 hectares with Zimbabwe's first 30-year mortgages A 20,000-property development that would introduce the longest mortgage terms in Zimbabwean history, betting on a housing market that has operated almost entirely on cash for decades.
West Africa
Atiku Abubakar hires Washington lobbying firm for $1.2 million The former Nigerian vice president engaged Von Batten-Montague-York to counter government narratives and build US policy standing ahead of the 2027 election cycle.
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