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Good morning from Billionaires.Africa.
Here is a brief on what we published yesterday.
Capitec has crossed the $1 billion profit threshold for the first time. Michiel Le Roux's bank — the institution he founded in 2001 as a micro-lender for unbanked South Africans — posted R19.4 billion in headline earnings for the year ended February 2026, with its client base crossing 26 million. What makes the number remarkable is not just its size but what it represents: a bank that was built to serve people the existing system ignored is now more profitable than most of the institutions that ignored them. Le Roux, who stepped down as chairman but remains the largest individual shareholder, has watched his creation grow from a single-branch experiment in Stellenbosch into the most valuable banking franchise in South Africa by market capitalization.
In eSwatini, King Mswati III marks 40 years on the throne this week — and the sovereign wealth fund that was meant to benefit the Swazi people operates as his personal family office. The Tibiyo TakaNgwane fund holds stakes across banking, sugar, telecoms, and property, but its governance structure reports directly to the king and has never published independently audited accounts. For a publication that covers African wealth, this is a case where the line between personal and sovereign fortune has never been drawn.
Top Stories
Capitec posts $1 billion profit as client base crosses 26 million for first time R19.4 billion in headline earnings. 26 million clients. The bank Michiel Le Roux built for the unbanked is now the most profitable consumer banking franchise in South Africa. The growth story is structural — driven by transaction volumes, insurance cross-selling, and a cost-to-income ratio that the legacy banks cannot match.
King Mswati III turns 40 years on the throne — and the sovereign wealth fund runs as his personal family office Tibiyo TakaNgwane holds stakes across banking, sugar, telecoms, and property in eSwatini. It reports to the king. It has never published independently audited accounts. Forty years of absolute monarchy and the fund that was meant to benefit the Swazi people remains indistinguishable from the royal household.
Global
Serena Williams signs multi-year Heineken 0.0 deal to front global padel campaign Williams is fronting a padel campaign for the non-alcoholic brand, positioning herself around everyday sport rather than elite performance. The deal reflects how her commercial value has evolved from tennis endorsements to lifestyle and wellness branding.
10 Black celebrities who built their own liquor empires From Diddy's Cîroc to Jay-Z's Armand de Brignac to Michael Jordan's Cincoro — a look at how Black celebrities have moved from endorsement deals to equity ownership in spirits, building brands that generate hundreds of millions in annual revenue.
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