According to Forbes, Africa had 1,426 billionaires in 2013. These are mostly business people and may not take into clear account the kings, president and generals who obviously are entitled to own what pleases them. Nigerian, South Africans and Egyptians tend to do well given the size of their economies and the greater role of private enterprise.
But there are a few names among Maghreb entrepreneurs. Of the top five, one is Algerian, four are Moroccans. No Tunisian, Libyan, or Mauritanian in the list. The first stop is more or less tied by new money Issad Rebrab of Algeria at $3.2 billion, and Othman Benjelloun of Morocco at $3.1 billion. Then you have Miloud Chaabi, Aziz Akhannouch and Anas Sefrioui with respectively $2.1 billion, $1.4 billion and $1.3 billion. Although these figures may not be fully accurate given the way these billionaire report their assets, they provide an acceptable proxy on wealth.
So collectively, these five men control more than $11 billion in fortune. That more than twice or two times the GDP of another Maghreb country, Mauritania. I thought you’d be interested in some meaningful comparison.
THE BILLION CLUB OF 5: And if you know others, shoot us an email
