Published: October 26, 2026
Forbes counts 23 billionaires in Africa in 2026. Their combined fortune is $126.7 billion. Reorder that list by age instead of wealth, and a striking fact appears. The youngest billionaire on the continent is 51 years old.
This ranking takes Forbes' 2026 Africa list, with net worths measured on March 1, 2026, and sorts its members from youngest to oldest. The ten youngest hold $63.5 billion combined, just over half of the $126.7 billion total. Their average age is 64. Six of the ten are 65 or older. Only one, Mohammed Dewji of Tanzania, is under 60.
Africa is the youngest continent on earth by population. Its billionaire class is not young at all. The gap between the two is the story of this list.
5 Key Facts
- Mohammed Dewji of Tanzania is Africa's youngest billionaire at 51, worth $2.1 billion. He is also Tanzania's only billionaire.
- Only Dewji is under 60. The second youngest billionaire, Femi Otedola of Nigeria, is 63, a full 12 years older.
- The ten youngest billionaires hold $63.5 billion combined, or 50.1 percent of the $126.7 billion held by all 23 African billionaires on Forbes' 2026 list.
- Nigeria and Egypt have three each in the top ten. No other country has more than one.
- No woman makes this list. Forbes' 2026 Africa list of 23 billionaires has no women on it at all.
The Ranking
| Rank | Billionaire | Country | Age | Net worth | Source of wealth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mohammed Dewji | Tanzania | 51 | $2.1 billion | Diversified, MeTL Group |
| 2 | Femi Otedola | Nigeria | 63 | $1.3 billion | Energy, banking stakes |
| 3 | Patrice Motsepe | South Africa | 64 | $4.3 billion | Mining, investments |
| 4 | Aziz Akhannouch | Morocco | 64 | $1.6 billion | Petroleum, gas, Akwa Group |
| 5 | Nassef Sawiris | Egypt | 65 | $9.6 billion | Construction, fertiliser |
| 6 | Strive Masiyiwa | Zimbabwe | 65 | $2.1 billion | Telecom, technology |
| 7 | Yasseen Mansour | Egypt | 65 | $1.4 billion | Mansour Group, real estate |
| 8 | Abdulsamad Rabiu | Nigeria | 66 | $11.2 billion | Cement, sugar, foods, BUA Group |
| 9 | Aliko Dangote | Nigeria | 69 | $28.5 billion | Cement, fertiliser, refining |
| 10 | Samih Sawiris | Egypt | 69 | $1.4 billion | Resorts, construction |
Stat in context: Aliko Dangote alone holds $28.5 billion, or 44.9 percent of this top ten total. He is worth more than the bottom five on this list combined, who hold $7.8 billion between them. For the wealth order rather than the age order, see the richest people in Africa in 2026. For how billionaires are spread across countries, see the African countries with the most billionaires in 2026.
1. Mohammed Dewji: 51, $2.1 billion
Dewji is the outlier on this list, and it is not close. At 51, he is 12 years younger than the next person. He is the only billionaire in East Africa on Forbes' 2026 list, and the only Tanzanian.
He took over the family business, Mohammed Enterprises Tanzania Limited, known as MeTL Group, in 1999, at the age of 24. He grew the group's revenues from about $30 million to more than $1.5 billion, building a conglomerate that now employs more than 34,800 people across textile manufacturing, flour milling, beverages, and edible oils in 10 African countries. Dewji was previously profiled on this site after his 2018 kidnapping and release.
Dewji served in Tanzania's parliament from 2005 to 2015, then left politics for business full time. He signed the Giving Pledge in 2016, promising to give at least half his fortune to good causes. He also owns Simba Sports Club, one of Tanzania's biggest football teams.
2. Femi Otedola: 63, $1.3 billion
Otedola is the second youngest billionaire in Africa, but the gap behind Dewji shows how old this class is. He is 63, and he is the least wealthy person in this top ten, at $1.3 billion.
He built his first fortune in commodities, then sold his shares in Forte Oil and moved into energy investments. In 2025, he sold a majority stake in Geregu Power, keeping a 5 percent interest. He also holds stakes in Zenith Bank and FBN Holdings, two of Nigeria's biggest banks.
Otedola ranks 22nd on Forbes' 2026 wealth list, tied with Morocco's Anas Sefrioui. On age, though, he is second. Wealth and youth rarely travel together on this list.
3. Patrice Motsepe: 64, $4.3 billion
Motsepe is South Africa's only entry in this top ten. He founded African Rainbow Minerals and became the first Black African to appear on the Forbes billionaires list, in 2008.
His interests now span mining, investment through African Rainbow Capital, a stake in Sanlam, and football. He owns Mamelodi Sundowns, South Africa's most successful club of recent years, and he has served as president of the Confederation of African Football since 2021.
Motsepe is the richest of the 64-year-olds on this list, at $4.3 billion. He is the only South African in this top ten. The other South Africans on Forbes' list, including Johann Rupert and Nicky Oppenheimer, are all older and therefore outside it.
4. Aziz Akhannouch: 64, $1.6 billion
Akhannouch is Morocco's prime minister, a post he has held since October 2021, and the chief executive of Akwa Group, the fuel and gas conglomerate his father helped found in 1932.
He was born on December 31, 1961, which makes him 64 at the time of this ranking. He turns 65 on the last day of 2026. Akwa Group's listed arms include Afriquia Gaz and Maghreb Oxygene, and the group has interests in petroleum, gas, chemicals, real estate, tourism, and media.
Before becoming prime minister, Akhannouch served as Morocco's agriculture minister from 2007 to 2021. He is the only sitting head of government in this top ten.
5. Nassef Sawiris: 65, $9.6 billion
Nassef Sawiris is the wealthiest of the 65-year-olds, and the third wealthiest person in this top ten, at $9.6 billion. He ranks fifth on Forbes' 2026 wealth list for Africa.
He runs OCI, one of the world's major nitrogen fertiliser producers, and holds interests in Orascom Construction. Outside Egypt, he teamed up with Wes Edens and Fortress to buy English football club Aston Villa, and he holds a stake in Madison Square Garden Sports, which owns the New York Knicks and the New York Rangers.
Sawiris is the youngest of the three Sawiris brothers on Forbes' list. His brothers Naguib and Samih are also on Forbes' 2026 list, at $5.6 billion and $1.4 billion. The three Sawiris brothers hold $16.6 billion combined.
6. Strive Masiyiwa: 65, $2.1 billion
Masiyiwa is Zimbabwe's only billionaire, and the only person on this list whose fortune comes mainly from technology. He founded Econet Wireless Zimbabwe in 1998, after a long fight against government opposition to a private telecom licence.
He owns about 38 percent of the listed company and about 33 percent of EcoCash, its mobile money arm. His wider interests include Liquid Intelligent Technologies, a pan-African fibre and cloud business, plus fintech and power distribution investments. He has served on Netflix's board since December 2020.
Masiyiwa's $2.1 billion ties him with Dewji on wealth, but he is 14 years older. His story is the closest thing on this list to a self-made tech fortune, built without a family conglomerate behind it.
7. Yasseen Mansour: 65, $1.4 billion
Yasseen Mansour is the youngest of three billionaire brothers who run Egypt's Mansour Group, founded by their father in 1952. The group is the exclusive distributor of General Motors vehicles and Caterpillar equipment in Egypt and several other countries.
Mansour chairs Palm Hills Developments, one of Egypt's largest real estate developers. He joined the family business in 1986 and later co-founded the investment firm that controls Palm Hills.
His brothers Mohamed and Youssef Mansour are also on Forbes' 2026 list, at $4.0 billion and $1.8 billion. The three brothers hold $7.2 billion combined. Public records give Yasseen Mansour's birth year as 1961 or 1962. This ranking places him at 65, following the January 1, 1961 date used by several biographies. If he was born in 1962, he would sit among the 64-year-olds instead. That change would not alter who makes the top ten.
8. Abdulsamad Rabiu: 66, $11.2 billion
Rabiu is the biggest mover on Forbes' 2026 list, and the only person in this top ten whose fortune jumped by more than double in a year. His wealth rose 120 percent, by $6.1 billion, to $11.2 billion, lifting him from sixth to third on the wealth ranking.
He founded BUA Group and began trading in 1988, importing iron, steel, and chemicals. He now owns 98.2 percent of BUA Cement and 95 percent of BUA Foods. BUA Cement shares jumped 135 percent in the year to March 2026, far ahead of the Nigerian stock market as a whole.
Rabiu is the second wealthiest person in this top ten, behind only Dangote. At 66, he is also the oldest person in the top ten who is not yet 69. His rise shows that even an old billionaire class can still produce a fast climber.
9. Aliko Dangote: 69, $28.5 billion
Dangote has been Africa's richest person for 15 straight years, and the gap is wide. His $28.5 billion is well ahead of the $16.1 billion of the second richest African, Johann Rupert, who is 76 and therefore outside this top ten.
Dangote Cement shares surged 69 percent in the year to March 2026, and the company doubled its profit in 2025 to a record 1.0149 trillion naira, about $725 million. His oil refinery near Lagos began refining operations in 2024, and his fertiliser plant began operations in 2022.
Dangote is the oldest person in this top ten along with Samih Sawiris, and he is also its richest by a large margin. Age and wealth point in the same direction here. The longer a fortune has had to compound, the larger it tends to be.
10. Samih Sawiris: 69, $1.4 billion
Samih Sawiris closes this top ten at 69, tied on age with Dangote but far behind him on wealth, at $1.4 billion. He founded Orascom Development Holding, which builds and runs resorts in Egypt, Montenegro, and Switzerland.
Samih Sawiris was not on the 2025 list. His return to Forbes' list in 2026 took Africa's billionaire count from 22 to 23, and pushed the combined fortune of the continent's billionaires to a record $126.7 billion.
Samih Sawiris also founded the Sawiris Foundation for Social Development, which focuses on creating lasting jobs for Egyptians. He is the third Sawiris brother on this list, after Nassef at fifth. The family's combined $16.6 billion makes the Sawiris clan the wealthiest family represented here.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the youngest billionaire in Africa?
Mohammed Dewji of Tanzania, at 51. He is worth $2.1 billion on Forbes' 2026 list, and he is Tanzania's only billionaire. He is 12 years younger than the second youngest billionaire, Femi Otedola of Nigeria, who is 63. No African billionaire is under 50.
Why is Africa's youngest billionaire 51 years old?
Most African billionaires built their fortunes over decades, often by expanding a family business or by winning a licence or concession and holding it for years. Mining, cement, fuel distribution, and telecom licences reward patience and capital, not speed. Younger African entrepreneurs dominate fintech and startups, but very few of those firms have reached billion-dollar valuations yet. That is why the continent with the world's youngest population has one of the world's oldest billionaire classes.
Are there any young women billionaires in Africa?
No. Forbes' 2026 Africa list of 23 billionaires has no women on it. The richest women in Africa are covered separately in the richest women in Africa in 2026, led by Folorunso Alakija at about $900 million. None of them clears the $1 billion line that Forbes uses for this list.
How were the ages calculated?
Net worths come from Forbes' 2026 Africa list, measured on March 1, 2026. Ages are exact ages as of October 2026, taken from published birth dates. Where two people share an age, they are ordered by their rank on Forbes' wealth list. Two cases need a note. Aziz Akhannouch was born on December 31, 1961, so he is 64 now and turns 65 on the last day of 2026. Yasseen Mansour's birth year is publicly given as 1961 or 1962, so he is 64 or 65. He is placed at 65 here. If he is 64, he would sit among the 64-year-olds, and the top ten membership would not change.
Who just missed the top ten?
Anas Sefrioui of Morocco, at 69, worth $1.3 billion. He shares the age of 69 with Dangote and Samih Sawiris, so the tie was broken by Forbes' wealth rank. Dangote ranks first, Samih Sawiris ranks 20th, and Sefrioui ranks 22nd. Sefrioui therefore takes 11th place in this age ranking, and the first place outside it.
Data Sources
- Forbes Africa Billionaires 2026, full list, net worths measured March 1, 2026 (23 billionaires, $126.7 billion combined): Telegraph Nigeria, full Forbes list.
- Age-ordered list of Forbes' 2026 billionaires, September 10, 2026, used as a cross-check on top ten membership: The Moment, youngest billionaires in Africa.
- Forbes 2026 list context, including the record $126.7 billion total and Rabiu's 120 percent gain: Ecofin Agency.
- Birth dates: Mohammed Dewji, May 8, 1975: Mohammed Dewji biography. Aziz Akhannouch, December 31, 1961: Aziz Akhannouch profile. Yasseen Mansour, 1961 or 1962: Yasseen Mansour biography.
- Related African Exponent reading: richest people in Africa in 2026; richest women in Africa in 2026; countries with the most billionaires in 2026; most profitable companies in Africa in 2026.
Methodology
Data vintage: net worths are Forbes' 2026 Africa list values, measured on March 1, 2026 and published on March 9, 2026. Forbes tracks billionaires who live in Africa or do their main business there, and it leaves out people who operate mainly outside Africa. Private businesses are valued from revenue and profit estimates and comparable listed companies.
How the age ranking was built: the 23 people on Forbes' 2026 Africa list were reordered from youngest to oldest, using exact ages as of October 2026 from published birth dates. Ties on age were broken by Forbes' wealth rank, so a richer person of the same age ranks higher. This matters at 69, where Dangote (wealth rank 1), Samih Sawiris (wealth rank 20), and Anas Sefrioui (wealth rank 22) all sit. Sefrioui therefore lands just outside the top ten.
Age notes: Aziz Akhannouch was born on December 31, 1961, so he is 64 at publication and turns 65 on December 31, 2026. Yasseen Mansour's birth year is publicly given as 1961 or 1962. He is placed at 65 in this ranking, following the January 1, 1961 date used by several biographies. If he was born in 1962, he would rank among the 64-year-olds, between Akhannouch and Nassef Sawiris. The ten people in this ranking would not change.
Computed figures: the top ten total of $63.5 billion and its 50.1 percent share of the $126.7 billion Forbes total are computed from the table values. The average age of 64.1 years is the mean of the ten ages shown. Dangote's 44.9 percent share is $28.5 billion divided by $63.5 billion. The bottom five total of $7.8 billion is the sum of the five smallest fortunes in the table. The three Mansour brothers hold $7.2 billion combined on 2026 values, and the three Sawiris brothers hold $16.6 billion combined.
Scope and limits: this ranking only covers the 23 people on Forbes' 2026 Africa list. It does not count Africans who live and do business mainly outside Africa, and it does not count people whose wealth Forbes could not verify. Net worths move with share prices and exchange rates, so the dollar figures are a March 1, 2026 snapshot, not a live reading.
