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Is it an affront to society that billionaires exist in the first place and is it wrong for the rest of us, “mere” mortals to glorify their “achievements” with rich lists? What does being a billionaire mean? Is it a character flaw to engage in endless acquisition of wealth? Will society benefit more if such wealth is shared out more equitably?

As was once quoted by Paul Getty “Money is like horse manure; spread it around and it brings up the roses. Pile it in a heap and it stinks like shit.”

Africa’s peerless billionaires are thin on the ground – 11 in total if the criteria used for definition of “African” are limited to those born on the continent and have a minimum net worth of at least $1 billion.

This year’s Forbes Magazine listed all 1,011 billionaires in the world that made the cut. The Africa rich list, compiled by us, is dominated by Egypt and South Africa. 4 members of the Sawiris family, Samih, Naguib, Nassef and Onsi Sawiris all represent Egypt. Femi Otedola dropped out of the list this year leaving Aliko Dangote as the sole Nigerian and West African representative. The Oppenheimer family led by Nick Oppenheimer and 3 other South Africans, Patrice Motsepe, Patrick Shoo-Siong and Johann Rupert represent Southern Africa. Mohamed Al Almoudi an Ethiopian, the richest on the list, completes the list.

Some of their wealth is inherited as it is in the case of the Oppenheimers whose family own De Beers. Johann Rupert and his family own Richemont, a luxury goods firm, that includes the Cartier label. Others have built their wealth in a generation. Patrice Motsepe, who was born in a township in Soweto and Aliko Dangote have built theirs’ in a little over 25 years.

To put Africa’s rich list in perspective, it is imperative to note that the world’s richest individual is Carlos Slim Helu, who owns a 7% stake in the New York Times Company, with an estimated fortune of $50.3 billion. South Asia’s Mukesh Ambani represents India with a networth of $29 billion, South East Asia’s richest is Li Ka-Shing with a net worth of $26.5 billion and the owner of LVMH, a French luxury goods company, Bernard Arnault,the richest in Europe, has a net worth of $27.5 billion. Africa’s richest individual is Mohamed Al Almoudi with a networth of $10 billion. Africa accounts for only 11 out of the 1,011 billionaires on Forbes 2010 Rich List.

In general, there are socio-economic, environmental and historical political reasons, including but not limited to the legacy of colonialism that can be attributed to why Africa’s representatives are relatively few.

Bill Gates, until recently the richest man on earth, through his charity, The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, gives $800 million dollars a year away, in part to be used in eradicating malaria. Amongst Africa’s billionaires, Mo Ibrahim has contributed significantly by setting up the “Mo Ibrahim Prize for Achievement in African Leadership” worth about $5 million a year, awarded to the best African political leader. Mo Ibrahim is an ardent advocate of rebranding Africa. He was recently quoted as saying “All we hear about Africa in the west is Darfur, Zimbabwe, Congo, Somalia, as if that is all there is. Yet there are 53 countries in Africa, and many of them are doing well”

No other African billionaire has made as much of an impact on socio-political issues as Mo Ibrahim.

Glorification of the uber-rich is not new. As Adam Smith, the eminent economist, once put it in 1759: “This disposition to admire, and almost to worship, the rich and powerful, and to despise, or, at least neglect persons of poor and mean conditions, though necessary both to establish and to maintain the distinction of ranks and the order of society, is, at the same time, the great and most universal cause of the corruption of our moral sentiments.”(Theory of Moral Sentiments 1759)

Aliko Dangote’s purchase of two oil refineries under Nigeria’s former President Olusegon Obasanjo was cancelled as due process was not adhered to. The world’s richest man (Forbes Magazine 2010), Carlos Slim Helu is reputed to have made the bulk of his wealth, from close political associations, that led to the Mexico government’s sale of a state telecoms entity – Telmex – to him. Telmex is seen by some as a quasi monopoly.

For every Bill Gates and Mo Ibrahim, there are thousands of super rich individuals plundering the earth’s resources, using their political “connections” and power to control government policy and state institutions. The repository secret world of “hiding” wealth in tax free havens and intricate offshore accounts are usually only accessible and exclusive to the very rich.

In defense of the super rich, will most self righteous people not take on the same behavioral characteristics of the super rich if they had the chance to accumulate as much wealth? Are non-billionaires any more selfless than the very rich?

If wealth were distributed more “equitably” perhaps through fairer progressive taxation, will politicians not squander these on senseless wars and enriching themselves?

Human nature is such that there will always be a standard deviation in wealth acquisition which is, to some extent desired, to keep a capitalist system intact. The extent to which super wealthy individuals, either through their ownership of essential industries such as banking, telecommunication and oil affects economies across the world, especially in resource poor regions cannot be overstated. Can society, therefore, afford to celebrate their wealth blindly without noting or questioning how such wealth is either accumulated or used as leverage?

Below is the full list of Africa’s current billionaires as at 2010.

The list details  name, home country, age, industry, education and net worth.

Mohamed Almoud

Age: 60

Nationality: Ethiopian (Resides in Saudi Arabia)

Industry: Oil/Gas

Education: N/A

Net Worth: $10 Billion

 

Nassef Sawiris

Age: 48

Nationality: Egyptian

Industry: Construction

Education: Bachelor of Arts degree, University of Chicago

Net Worth: $5.9 billion

Nick Oppenheimer

Age: 64

Nationality: South African

Industry: Diamonds

Education: Master of Arts degree

Net Worth: $5.0 billion

Patrick Shoon-Siong

Age: 58

Nationality: South African Born American

Industry: Generic Drugs

Education: U of Witwatersrand, Bachelor of Arts / Science; U of Witwatersrand, Medical Doctor

Net Worth: $5.0 billion

Onsi Sawaris

Age: 79

Nationality: Egyptian

Industry: Construction

Education: Bachelor of Arts/Science

Net Worth:$1.7

Naguib Sawiris

Age: 55

Nationality: Egyptian

Industry:Telecoms

Education: Master of Science degree

Net Worth: $2.5

Johann Rupert

Age: 59

Nationality: South Africa

Industry: Luxury Goods

Education: Bachelor of Arts degree, University of Stellenbosh

Net Worth: $2.3 billion

Patrice Motsepe

Age: 48

Nationality: South African

Industry: Metals and Minerals

Education: Qualified Lawyer

Net Worth: $2.3 billion

Aliko Dangote

Age: 52

Nationality: Nigerian

Industry: Manufacturing

Education: N/A

Net Worth: $2.1 billion

Mohamed Ibrahim

Age:64

Nationality: Sudanese

Industry: Telecoms

Education: Bachelor and Master of Science and Electrical Engineer

Net Worth: $2 billion

Name: Samih Sawiris

Age:53

Nationality: Egyptian

Industry: Hotel

Education:N/A

Net Worth:$1.5

PS: Do not hesitate to share your thoughts in the comment section below. However, as a billionaire once said, he is precisely a billionaire because he wasted no time commenting on online forums. You have been warned

Photocourtesy: Forbes.com

Nii Thompson