African Wealth Briefing — Fri., Aug. 7, 2026

Good morning from Billionaires.Africa.

Here's the catch-up on what we've published since Monday's brief.

The week's throughline was timing and value — who got out at the top, who's riding a rally, and who's betting big on what comes next. A diamond dynasty's exit looks more brilliant by the year; a banking fortune keeps compounding on the tape; and two of Africa's most-watched builders reached for capital to fund very different futures.

Southern Africa — the exit of the decade, and a monopoly's end. Nicky Oppenheimer sold 40% of De Beers for $5.1 billion in 2011; Anglo is now selling 85% of the whole company for about $1 billion, as lab-grown stones gut the diamond story. (Today's Investor Memo unpacks the best-timed sale in African business history.) Johann Rupert's Remgro is building the exchange that ends Eskom's 103-year monopoly, and Patrice Motsepe stood by FIFA president Gianni Infantino as a collapsed $4.2 billion World Cup deal triggered a leadership crisis. Zimbabwe's Levy family went to court over Harare's best-known shopping village, and Italy's Giachetti family was revealed to run a $439 million Botswana property empire.

West & Central Africa — a private empire, a rally, and a reinvention. Mike Adenuga still owns every share of Globacom as the network turns 23 — while MTN and Airtel listed and 9mobile changed hands twice. (Today's Deep-Dive weighs the cost of keeping it all.) Ladi Delano sold a Chinese vodka brand, announced a $1 billion venture that never came, and has now raised $250 million for Moove at a $2.1 billion valuation. (He's today's Inside Story.) Femi Otedola's First HoldCo stake crossed $1.2 billion at a record N140, even as a vehicle that bought the shares at ₦31 began selling them at ₦110. Aliko Dangote could list his refinery in South Africa after the Nigerian IPO, and separately met Canada's prime minister Mark Carney. Strive Masiyiwa's Liquid Intelligent borrowed $50 million in a $450 million refinancing; Solomon Onafowokan's Coleman spent $20 million generating its own power; Ghana's Sam Jonah took Nigeria to ICC arbitration over a $500 million Abuja land dispute; and Côte d'Ivoire's Jean Kacou Diagou pledged his foundation to build schools the state will staff.

North Africa — milling and monuments. Morocco's Chakib Alj took control of Forafric Maroc, adding the Tria and Maymouna brands to the country's largest milling group. And King Mohammed VI confirmed a ~$1 billion Western Sahara expressway will be named the Donald J. Trump Highway.

East Africa — a dividend before a takeover. Kenya's Muhoho Kenyatta collected about $6.6 million from NCBA's interim dividend, months before Nedbank completes its takeover of the bank his family has long backed.

The takeaway. Timing is the quiet variable that decides fortunes. Oppenheimer's genius was selling a story-based asset while the story still commanded a premium; Otedola's rally is the mirror image, a bet that the market has further to run; and Delano and Adenuga are wagering, in opposite ways, on how to fund what comes next. Building wealth is conspicuous. Knowing when to sell, hold, or double down is the part that rarely makes the headline — and usually makes the difference.

On the site

• Billionaire Nicky Oppenheimer sold 40% of De Beers for $5.1 billion. All of it now fetches $1 billion
• Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola's First HoldCo stake crosses $1.2 billion at record N140
• Billionaire Mike Adenuga still owns every share of telecom giant Glo after 23 years
• Nigerian entrepreneur Ladi Delano sold Chinese vodka, then built a $2.1 billion mobility company
• Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote could list his refinery in South Africa after Nigeria IPO
• Aliko Dangote met Canada's prime minister to discuss African investment in Canada
• Johann Rupert's Remgro is building the market that ends Eskom's 103-year monopoly
• A vehicle that bought First HoldCo shares at ₦31 is selling them at ₦110
• Zimbabwean billionaire Strive Masiyiwa's Liquid Intelligent borrows $50 million from EAAIF
• Nigerian billionaire Solomon Onafowokan's Coleman spent $20 million generating its own power
• Ghanaian tycoon Sam Jonah takes Nigeria to arbitration over $500 million Abuja property
• Patrice Motsepe stands by Infantino as FIFA president faces crisis over collapsed $4.2 billion deal
• Moroccan tycoon Chakib Alj has taken control of Forafric Maroc's flour and pasta brands
• Kenyan tycoon Muhoho Kenyatta pockets $6.6 million as NCBA lifts dividend by half
• Ivorian billionaire Jean Kacou Diagou's foundation to fund schools the government will run
• How the Giachetti family of Italy built a $439 million property portfolio in Botswana
• Moroccan King Mohammed VI names $1 billion Western Sahara highway after Donald Trump
• Zimbabwe's wealthy Levy family is fighting in court over Harare's best-known shopping village

Behind the paywall — for paid members

Today's premium briefings:

• Elite · Investor Memo — Sold at the Top. Nicky Oppenheimer sold De Beers for $5.1 billion in 2011; the whole company is now worth about $1 billion. The anatomy of the best-timed exit in African business — and what it teaches about selling a story-based fortune before the story breaks. In Investor Memo.
• Executive · Deep-Dive Report — No Shares for Sale. Mike Adenuga still owns 100% of Globacom at 23. What total control bought him — and what refusing outside capital cost the company as MTN and Airtel pulled away. In Deep-Dive Report.
• Insider · The Inside Story — The Third Act. Chinese vodka, a $1 billion venture that vanished, and now a $2.1 billion mobility company. Ladi Delano's reinventions — and why Moove's autonomous bet runs in an uncomfortable direction. In The Inside Story.

Recently published:

• Investor Memo: Kenya's Cooking-Gas Market — Breaking the Duopoly
• Deep-Dive Report: Oando — Profit Without Solvency
• The Inside Story: Magda Wierzycka — The Outsider

→ Executive ($25/mo): Daily newsletter + Deep-Dive Reports · → Elite ($75/mo): Everything above + Investor Memos + Wealth Intelligence + Quarterly Analyst Briefings. Subscribe

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