Nigerian oil tycoon Austin Avuru co-founded Seplat and now grows tomatoes in Ogun State
Austin Avuru co-founded Seplat and retired as CEO in 2020. His family holding company now runs greenhouse farms in Ogun State growing tomatoes.
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Kenyan tycoon Wilfred Murungi's Mastermind Tobacco collapsed five years after his death
Wilfred Murungi founded Mastermind Tobacco in 1987 and built Kenya's second-largest cigarette maker. Its assets went under the hammer in 2025.
Gambian telecoms tycoon Muhammed Jah is the subject of a new children's book
Fye Network and Q Group will publish a children's book about Muhammed Jah, who began with $16,000 and built The Gambia's largest conglomerate.
South African tycoon Zunaid Moti has built a school named after Botswana's president
Zunaid Moti's African Hero unveiled the Duma Boko School and Clinic in Gaborone, months after Botswana's finance ministry rejected his proposal.
South African coal tycoon Sipho Nkosi left Exxaro and now funds films and video games
Sipho Nkosi built Exxaro into a major coal producer, retired in 2016 and now chairs Talent10, which has backed IoT, films, gaming and insurance.
South African billionaire Douw Steyn left an insurance group, a hotel and a private city
Douw Steyn bought a bankrupt insurer in 1984 and built Budget Holdings Limited, Steyn City and the Saxon Hotel before his death in February 2025.
Kylian Mbappé's Growing Business Empire: Everything he's a Part Of
Kylian Mbappé owns a football club, a stake in a €5.5 billion insurer and holdings across sailing, fantasy football and media.
Lululemon's billionaire founder Chip Wilson is divorcing with no prenuptial agreement
Chip Wilson and Shannon Wilson filed for divorce in April with no prenuptial agreement, leaving his $6.1 billion fortune to be divided.
Angola is selling $261 million of bank shares seized from jailed tycoon Carlos Sao Vicente
Angola's markets regulator has approved the sale of a 34% stake in Standard Bank de Angola, seized from jailed tycoon Carlos Sao Vicente.
Idrissa Nassa's Coris Bank posts $74 million H1 profit as bad loan charges jumped 48%
Coris Bank International Burkina Faso lifted half-year net income 23.5% to $74 million while its cost of risk rose 48% to a seven-year high.
Billionaire Michael Jordan's lost Ferrari could fetch $1.3 million at auction
A 1997 Ferrari 550 Maranello owned by Michael Jordan and missing for two decades is heading to auction with an estimate of up to $1.3 million.
Billionaire Aliko Dangote gains $3.3 million as refinery IPO nears
Aliko Dangote added $3.3 million to his fortune as investors reacted to the upcoming IPO of his $20 billion refinery, which opens September 14.
Nigerian-born billionaire Bassim Haidar has given Farage's Reform UK another £192,000
Bassim Haidar, born in Nigeria to Lebanese parents, gave Reform UK £192,000 between April and June, taking his disclosed total past £547,000.
Dangote refinery IPO priced at N525 a share, valuing it at $47 billion
Nigeria's SEC approved the Dangote refinery IPO at 525 naira a share. The 4.1 billion share offer opens Sept. 14 and could raise $1.55 billion.
Billionaires Bezos and Gates join $188 million round for AI drug discovery firm
Family offices made 52 direct investments in August and about a fifth went to biotech. Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates both backed LifeMine Therapeutics, which uses AI to search fungal genomes for new drugs.
African Wealth Briefing — Fri., Sept. 4, 2026
Nigeria rejoins FTSE's frontier index on September 21, handing ten of its giants — Dangote Cement, First HoldCo, MTN — a wave of global passive capital, while BUA, UBA and Seplat are left out. And Aliko Dangote said his refinery's $5 billion IPO, set to be Africa's largest, opens within twelve days.