Nathan Kirsh closes in on $20 billion, tightening his grip on second place among Africa's richest

Nathan Kirsh is closer than he has ever been to a $20 billion fortune. The Eswatini-born billionaire has extended a remarkable 2026 run that has lifted the 94-year-old to second place among Africa's wealthiest people, trailing only Aliko Dangote.

Kirsh's net worth has climbed steadily since the start of the year, building on the windfall from the sale of his United States food-distribution empire. In March, Sysco agreed to acquire his Jetro Restaurant Depot business in a deal valued at about $29.1 billion including debt, the largest acquisition in Sysco's history and one of the biggest food-distribution transactions ever completed in the country. That single deal added roughly $10 billion to Kirsh's fortune, vaulting him past luxury-goods magnate Johann Rupert and BUA Group founder Abdulsamad Rabiu to become Africa's second-richest person.

What began as a roughly $17 billion fortune in the immediate aftermath of the Sysco deal has continued to swell, carrying Kirsh to the doorstep of $20 billion. The steady appreciation shows how decisively one cross-border transaction has reshaped the upper reaches of the continent's wealth rankings in a matter of months.

Kirsh's rise is unusual for both its timing and its quiet origins. Born in the small kingdom of Eswatini, the former Swaziland, he built his first business in southern African retail and wholesale before expanding abroad. He survived an early collapse that wiped out much of his wealth and rebuilt from a single cash-and-carry store. Over the following decades he assembled a sprawling international portfolio spanning food distribution, property and finance, operating in near-total obscurity even as his net worth swelled into the billions.

His best-known asset, Jetro Restaurant Depot, grew into a multibillion-dollar wholesaler by supplying independent restaurants and small businesses that larger distributors often overlooked. That low-profile model ultimately delivered one of the biggest paydays of his seven-decade career. At 94, Kirsh now finds himself adding billions to his fortune in the final chapter of a working life that began with modest capital and a corn mill.

Kirsh's surge has redrawn the order among Africa's billionaires. Rupert and Rabiu, who had each held the runner-up spot at various points, now trail the Eswatini tycoon. Dangote, whose own fortune has powered toward $40 billion on the strength of his refinery and cement empire, remains comfortably ahead at the top.

To the rest of the continent's rich list, the lesson is clear. A single deal can still rewrite the order and push a near-centenarian within touching distance of a milestone few African fortunes have reached.