KENYA FOURTH IN AFRICA AS BILLIONAIRES HIT 356

By John Wanjohi, Nairobi KENYA

Kenya has been ranked among African countries with the highest number of billionaires as of 2018.

The 2019 Africa Wealth Report placed Kenya at position four in terms of the number of individuals with a net worth of more than $10,000,000 (KSh1 billion).

Nairobi City

The report by AfrAsia Bank indicated that South Africa has the highest number of billionaires in the continent (2,169) followed by Egypt (932), Nigeria (531), Kenya (356) and Mauritius (196).

A majority of the 356 Kenyan billionaires (73 percent) are based in Nairobi, putting the Kenyan capital at position five in terms of cities with the highest number of super-rich individuals behind Johannesburg, Cape Town, Cairo, and Lagos. 

Kenyan billionaires mainly earned their fortune from manufacturing, real estate, and technology industries, according to the report.

“Kenya had a difficult 2018, which saw Kenyan wealth down by around ten percent during the year as the local stock market lost significant value.”

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his mother Mama Ngina Kenyatta at a past function

“However, if one looks over the long-term trend there is still quite positive with wealth growth of 64 percent over the past ten years,” the report stated.  

The study defines wealth as the net assets of an individual that includes all assets like property, cash, equities, and business interests less any liabilities.

The report does not name the Kenyan billionaires but past wealth reports have placed President Kenyatta’s family, retired president Daniel Arap Moi’s family and the late Cabinet minister Nicholas Biwott among the country’s wealthiest.

Others are businessmen Vimal Shah, Chris Kirubi and Manu Chandaria.

In eastern Africa region, Kenya had the highest number of billionaires followed by Ethiopia (154), Tanzania (99), Uganda (67) and Rwanda (30).