News / National
Strive Masiyiwa is one of Africa's 55 billionaires
07 Oct 2013 at 16:55hrs | Views
Strive Masiyiwa, Zimbabwe's richest man and foremost telecommunications tycoon is one of Africa's 55 billionaires with a combined fortune of $143.88 billion. The average net worth of the members of this exclusive club is $2.6 billion. The oldest billionaires are Kenyan industrialist, Manu Chandaria, and Egyptian property tycoon, Mohammed Al-Fayed, both aged 84. The youngest billionaires are Mohammed Dewji of Tanzania and Igho Sanomi, a Nigerian oil trader. They are both 38 years old.
Strive Masiyiwa (52) is reported to have an estimated net worth of over $1.4 billion.
Africa is home to far more billionaires than previously thought, as a decade-long period of intense economic growth fills the pockets of local businessman, according to the most comprehensive survey of wealth in the continent.
Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt lead the pack with the highest number of billionaires at 20, nine and eight respectively. Algeria, Angola, Zimbabwe and Swaziland only have one billionaire each. In all, there are 10 African countries represented on the list.
Three women made it into the rankings. The richest of them is Folorunsho Alakija, a Nigerian fashion designer and oil tycoon worth some $7.3 billion by our estimates. Isabel Dos Santos, an Angolan investor and the daughter of Angolan President, Eduardo Dos Santos, together with Mama Ngina Kenyatta, the widow of Kenya's first President, also made the cut.
Africa's richest people derived their fortunes pursuing a variety of business endeavours including financial services, mining, construction, energy and retail.
The Ventures magazine African billionaire roll, published on Monday, lists 55 people with fortunes of more than $1bn, up from previous estimates of 16-25 billionaires. Most of the super-rich live in Nigeria and South Africa.
The new lists puts Africa at par with Latin America, which Forbes magazine said this year was home to 51 super-rich. Asia is home to 399 billionaires. The lists published by Forbes, which has been compiling lists of the most wealthy for years, and Ventures magazines are not directly comparable, however.
The richest person in Africa is Aliko Dangote, a Nigerian businessman involved in cement, food, oil and other sectors with an estimated personal fortune of more than $20bn. Allan Gray, the publicity-shy South African financier, is the second richest, with assets worth at least $8.5bn. Mike Adenuga, a Nigerian involved in the oil and telecoms industries, has an estimated fortune of $8bn, according to Ventures.
Strive Masiyiwa's name illustrates his uncanny drive for success. As the founder of Econet and the publisher of The Daily News, Strive is, in no small terms, a telecoms giant. This is the story of Zimbabwe's first billionaire.
Strive was born in 1961 and reaped the rewards during the late '90s and early 2000s when the cellular phone market shot into space. His mother was an entrepreneur in her own right and saved enough money to send Strive to be educated in the United Kingdom, where he studied electrical engineering at the University of Wales. But Africa, and business, called out to him.
Strive founded cellphone company Econet in 1993, but it wasn't until 1998 that the cellular provider went online and quickly became Zimbabwe's cellular service of choice. The Zimbabwean government had been strictly opposed to anything that Strive was involved in because of his long history of legal battles with them - it took him five years of fighting in court to get rid of the monopoly-controlled telecommunications industry in Zimbabwe. Within a few years, Econet had bought Mascom, a cellular giant in Botswana that enjoys nearly 80 percent of the market share, had service centres in Kenya and Burundi, and was operating in the United Kingdom as Econet Satellite Services.
Econet wasn't Mr Masiyiwa's only business concern, though. Until 2003, Strive was the publisher of The Daily News, the only independent newspaper left in Zimbabwe. He's business portfolio includes financial services, renewable energy supply, beverage bottling, hospitality and insurance, not to mention Econet Wireless, which provides telecommunication services in 15 countries around the world, including the United States, Europe and Asia.
While the business magnate has a net worth of some $1.4 billion, he hasn't forgotten about the small people that matter. He sits on the co-ordinating committee of the Social Dimensions Fund, an organisation that is concerned with reducing poverty in Zimbabwe and giving its people a chance for a better future. He is also a trustee of the Capernaum Trust, which provides funding and welfare for over 26 000 children.
A businessman and a heart don't always go together, but Africa and it's children can be thankful for people like Strive, who lead, inspire and care all at the same time.
Strive Masiyiwa (52) is reported to have an estimated net worth of over $1.4 billion.
Africa is home to far more billionaires than previously thought, as a decade-long period of intense economic growth fills the pockets of local businessman, according to the most comprehensive survey of wealth in the continent.
Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt lead the pack with the highest number of billionaires at 20, nine and eight respectively. Algeria, Angola, Zimbabwe and Swaziland only have one billionaire each. In all, there are 10 African countries represented on the list.
Three women made it into the rankings. The richest of them is Folorunsho Alakija, a Nigerian fashion designer and oil tycoon worth some $7.3 billion by our estimates. Isabel Dos Santos, an Angolan investor and the daughter of Angolan President, Eduardo Dos Santos, together with Mama Ngina Kenyatta, the widow of Kenya's first President, also made the cut.
Africa's richest people derived their fortunes pursuing a variety of business endeavours including financial services, mining, construction, energy and retail.
The Ventures magazine African billionaire roll, published on Monday, lists 55 people with fortunes of more than $1bn, up from previous estimates of 16-25 billionaires. Most of the super-rich live in Nigeria and South Africa.
The new lists puts Africa at par with Latin America, which Forbes magazine said this year was home to 51 super-rich. Asia is home to 399 billionaires. The lists published by Forbes, which has been compiling lists of the most wealthy for years, and Ventures magazines are not directly comparable, however.
The richest person in Africa is Aliko Dangote, a Nigerian businessman involved in cement, food, oil and other sectors with an estimated personal fortune of more than $20bn. Allan Gray, the publicity-shy South African financier, is the second richest, with assets worth at least $8.5bn. Mike Adenuga, a Nigerian involved in the oil and telecoms industries, has an estimated fortune of $8bn, according to Ventures.
Strive Masiyiwa's name illustrates his uncanny drive for success. As the founder of Econet and the publisher of The Daily News, Strive is, in no small terms, a telecoms giant. This is the story of Zimbabwe's first billionaire.
Strive was born in 1961 and reaped the rewards during the late '90s and early 2000s when the cellular phone market shot into space. His mother was an entrepreneur in her own right and saved enough money to send Strive to be educated in the United Kingdom, where he studied electrical engineering at the University of Wales. But Africa, and business, called out to him.
Strive founded cellphone company Econet in 1993, but it wasn't until 1998 that the cellular provider went online and quickly became Zimbabwe's cellular service of choice. The Zimbabwean government had been strictly opposed to anything that Strive was involved in because of his long history of legal battles with them - it took him five years of fighting in court to get rid of the monopoly-controlled telecommunications industry in Zimbabwe. Within a few years, Econet had bought Mascom, a cellular giant in Botswana that enjoys nearly 80 percent of the market share, had service centres in Kenya and Burundi, and was operating in the United Kingdom as Econet Satellite Services.
Econet wasn't Mr Masiyiwa's only business concern, though. Until 2003, Strive was the publisher of The Daily News, the only independent newspaper left in Zimbabwe. He's business portfolio includes financial services, renewable energy supply, beverage bottling, hospitality and insurance, not to mention Econet Wireless, which provides telecommunication services in 15 countries around the world, including the United States, Europe and Asia.
While the business magnate has a net worth of some $1.4 billion, he hasn't forgotten about the small people that matter. He sits on the co-ordinating committee of the Social Dimensions Fund, an organisation that is concerned with reducing poverty in Zimbabwe and giving its people a chance for a better future. He is also a trustee of the Capernaum Trust, which provides funding and welfare for over 26 000 children.
A businessman and a heart don't always go together, but Africa and it's children can be thankful for people like Strive, who lead, inspire and care all at the same time.
Source - FT,Ventures magazine
