Within this vast economy are high-net-worth individuals whose entrepreneurial zeal and long-term success have made headlines for decades.
These elderly billionaires have navigated economic downturns, political upheaval, and shifting market landscapes, putting their resilience to the test. However, their capacity to adapt, innovate, and overcome adversity has been critical to their sustained success.
AMBusiness highlights the ten oldest billionaires in Africa at the start of 2024.
According to Forbes’s real-time billionaire ranking, Othman Benjelloun is the continent’s oldest billionaire in Africa. At 91 years old, he holds the 2050th position among the oldest billionaires globally.
Christoffel Wiese, the second-oldest on the continent, is 82 years old and ranks 2301th globally. He is a South African businessman and his source of wealth is consumer retail.
Third on the list is Issad Rebrab, an 80 year-old Algerian billionaire businessman, CEO of the Cevital industrial group, the largest private company in Algeria, active in steel, food, agribusiness and electronics.
Next, Youssef Mansour is the chairman of family-owned conglomerate Mansour Group, which was founded by his father Loutfy (d. 1976) in 1952. Mansour Group is the exclusive distributor of GM vehicles and Caterpillar equipment in Egypt and several other countries. He is 79 years old.
The fifth oldest billionaire is Nicholas F. Oppenheimer. A South African billionaire businessman who was formerly the chairman of De Beers diamond mining company and of its subsidiary, the Diamond Trading Company, and former deputy chairman of Anglo American. He is 78 years old.
The sixth oldest billionaire, Mohamed Mansour, is an Egyptian billionaire, businessman and former politician. He is the chairman of Mansour Group, a US$6 billion conglomerate. He is 75 years of age.
Michiel Le Roux is the next on the list and is a 74 year-old South African billionaire. He founded Capitec Bank in South Africa which is listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange.
Johann Rupert, 72, is also a South African billionaire businessman, who is the eldest son of business tycoon Anton Rupert and his wife Huberte. He is the chairman of the Swiss-based luxury-goods company Richemont and the South Africa-based company Remgro
Koos Bekker is a South African billionaire businessman, and the chairman of media group Naspers. The company operates in 130 countries and is listed on the London Stock Exchange and Johannesburg Stock Exchange. It has the largest market capitalization of any media company outside the US, China and India. He is 71 years old.
The last but not the least is 70 year-old Mike Adenuga who built his fortune in telecommunications and oil production.
His mobile phone network, Globacom, is the second-largest operator in Nigeria, with more than 60 million subscribers.
His oil exploration outfit, Conoil Producing, operates 6 oil blocks in the Niger Delta. He also owns 74% of publicly traded gasoline firm Conoil and just under 6% of publicly traded Nigerian bank Sterling Financial Holding.
The figures below represent the net worth of the entrants as of the 22nd of January 2024.
Below are the 10 oldest African billionaires at the start of 2024:
Rank Name Age Networth Country Industry
1. Othman Benjelloun 91 $1.4 Billion Morocco Banking and Insurance
2. Christoffel Wiese 82 $1.2 Billion South Africa Retail
3. Issad Rebrab 80 $2.5 Billion Algeria Food
4. Youssef Mansour 79 $1.3 Billion Egypt Diversified
5. Nicky Oppenheimer 78 $9.4 Billion South Africa Diamonds
6. Mohamed Mansour 75 $3.3 Billion Egypt Diversified
7. Michiel Le Roux 74 $1.2 Billion South Africa Banking
8. Johann Rupert 72 $10.2 Billion South Africa Luxury goods
9. Koos Bekker 71 $2.6 Billion South Africa Media and Investments
10. Mike Adenuga 70 $7.0 Billion Nigeria Telecom and Oil
