When it comes to the wealth of the political class in the Africa continent, their riches are often considered ill-
10. Robert Mugabe (Former and Late, Zimbabwe) $10million
The late Robert Mugabe was a former revolutionary and Zimbabwean politician best known for his struggles against the British when Zimbabwe was known as Rhodesia. From a very young age, he was greatly inspired by Marxist and nationalist views and soon, became the publicity secretary of the National Democratic Party or the ‘NDP.’
Once he established a strong political foothold, he founded the socialist-nationalist movement, ‘ZANU’ which resolved to drive the British out of their homeland. Despite being detained by Rhodesian authorities for his radical activities, Mugabe remained calm and took an oath to deliver his people from the talons of foreign brutality, soon after their independence. According to the BBC, Mugabe died with $10m (£7.7m) cash in the bank but he didn’t leave a will behind. There had always been rumours about Mr Mugabe’s wealth, including him owning a Scottish castle and a $1m property in Asia. But there was no mention of these in a letter by his daughter, Bona Chikowore, to the high court, after his death.
9. The late Idris Deby Itno (Chad) $50M
He was the president of Chad from 1990 until his death at the hands of militant forces when commanding troops on the front in 2021. Idris Déby had an estimated net worth of $50 million. Born Idris Déby Itno in 1952 in Fada, Chad. In 1976, he moved to France where he earned his professional pilot certificate. Deby became commander-in-chief of the army in 1982. Towards the end of August 2006, he made international news after calling for his nation to have 60 percent stake in its output after receiving crumbs from foreign companies running the industry. According to Forbes 2006 list, Chad ranked at the top of the world’s most corrupt nations.
8. King Mswati III (Swaziland) over $100m
Mswati III was the 15th richest royal in the world according to Forbes Magazine in 2012 of his (200 million) fortune. The king has often received criticism of his lavishly spending. In the 2014 budget, Parliament allocated $61 million for the Kings annual household budget. His luxury car collection includes a $500, 000 Daimler Chrysler flagships Maybach 62.
7. Paul Biya (Cameroon) over $200 million
Following the death of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Biya is currently the longest ruling Non-Royal head of state in the world. Biya has a reportedly huge personal fortune around $200 million. With his wealth mostly based in Europe, he owns several mansions there as reported. He is currently the longest ruling Non-Royal head of state in the world. He has rigged the term limit laws twice to make sure he stays in power.
The Cameroonian president is said to be the richest man in Cameroon. In 2009, the Catholic Committee against Hunger and Development (CCHD) denounced Paul Biya as being among the list of leaders with ill-gotten wealth.
According to a French online newspaper, Rue 89, Paul Biya’s vacation was over the top more expensive than that of the American President. He gets criticism widely for having rented a villa for 30,000 euros per day in August 2009. Cameroon is one of the poorest countries in the world (with $2,257 GDP per capita as of 2011) with 48% of its population living below the poverty line.
6. Jacob Zuma (Former, South Africa) $215 million
Born in Skandia South Africa in 1942, South African politician and former President of South Africa Jacob Zuma has an estimated net worth of $215 million. He was also the highest-paid African president with annual wages of $270,000. His wealth has been brought into question since his departure from the presidency. Zuma is currently facing a string of corruption related charges.
Zuma was elected as president back in 2009 and won last year re-election. He’s also the president of his political party, the African National Congress, a position he has occupied for nearly eight years now. From 1999 till 2005, he served as the Deputy President of South Africa.
In his early years, Zuma became a member of the African National Congress, which was then prohibited by the nation’s government. He was arrested and convicted of conspiring to oust the government and was sent to serve behind bars on Robben Island for a decade, with Nelson Mandela being 1 of his fellow inmates.
Zuma covertly re-founded the ANC following his release from jail. As president, Zuma has backed leftist economic policies. Zuma political legacy gets undermining with controversies. He was once charged and after that acquitted of rape in 2005, and four years later, the National Prosecuting Authority decided to drop charges against him for corrupting and racketeering. Those allegations resulted from the conviction of his financial advisor on charges of fraud and corruption.
5. Paul Kagame (Rwanda) $500 million
Paul Kagame is a Rwandan politician who has an estimated net worth of $500 million. Paul Kagame was born in Tambwe, Ruanda-Urundi in October 1957. He is the current President of Rwanda since 2000. Kagame assumed office in March 2000 when Pasteur Bizimungu resigned.
Kagame’s family fled to Uganda when he was two years old. He fought for Yoweri Museveni’s rebel army and became a senior Ugandan army officer. Paul joined the Rwandan Patriotic Front and took control after leader Fred Rwigyema passed away. Kagame’s military victory helped end genocide taking place in Rwanda.
He served as Vice President and Minister of Defense and Rwanda’s de facto leader from 1994 to 2000. During this time he supported two controversial wars in Zaire. Kagame won an election in 2003, and a new constitution was adopted. Elected to his second term in 2010, Paul is married to Jeannette Nyiramongi and has four children. In 2011 an eight-year initiative to train medical professionals was launched for $151.8 million.
In 2012, the FinancialTimes released a report that asserted Paul Kagame and his family members allegedly control the majority of the Rwandan economy through a holding company called Crystal Ventures. FT.com also claimed that the Crystal Ventures owns assets that have a book value of $500 million, including a $50 million Bombardier Global Express private jet.
4. Uhuru Kenyatta (Kenya) $510 million
Much of his wealth is associated with his family, which is one of the richest in Kenya. Through his family, he owns at least 500,000 acres of prime land spread across the country. The land was acquired by his father in the 1960s and 1970s when the British colonial government and the World Bank funded a settlement transfer fund scheme that enabled government officials and wealthy Kenyans to acquire land from the British at very low prices. Kenyan politician, Uhuru Kenyatta has a net worth of $500 million according to FORBES. He is former Kenya’s Deputy Prime Minister and the son of Kenya’s first president, Jomo Kenyatta, and heir to some of the largest land holdings in Kenya.
Uhuru and his family also own Brookside Dairies, Kenya’s largest dairy company, as well as stakes in popular television station K24 and a commercial bank in Nairobi, among other interests.
3. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo (Equatorial Guinea) $600million
Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo is the President of Equatorial Guinea. He was born on 6 June 1942 in Acoacán, Spanish Guinea (now Equatorial Guinea). He came to power in August 1979 by ousting his uncle Francisco Macias Nguema in a military coup.
He has overseen the emergence of the nation as a significant oil producer, beginning in the 1990s. This President and his family arguably own the economy; his personal fortune exceeds $600 million, according to Forbes Magazine. In October 2011, the United States government seized $70 million assets of his son, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue.
Though Equatorial Guinea is one of the Africa’s richest nation with $23,370 (GDP per capita) and a small population of just 736,296, the majority of the population lives under the poverty line. At $600m, President Teodoro sits 3rd in richest presidents in Africa list
2. King Mohammed VI (Morocco) $2.5 Billion
With a current net worth of $2.5 billion, Mohammed VI is perhaps best recognized as the King of Morocco. He ascended to the throne when his father, King Hassan II, died in 1999.
King Mohammed VI was born as Sidi Mohammed on August 21, 1963, in Rabat, Morocco. When he was born, he immediately was appointed as the Heir Apparent and Crown Prince.
After getting enthroned, he immediately addressed the nation via television. Among his advocacies include finding solutions to corruption and poverty, creating more jobs for the Moroccans, as well as improving the human right’s record of his country. According to Forbes, the palace spends around $960 thousand per day.
In 2009, the Forbes magazine valued the King’s net worth at $2.5 billion. In fact, the Moroccan royal family is believed to possess one of the world’s largest fortunes. Today, Mohammed VI is the leading landowner and agricultural producers in his country.
1.Jose Eduardo Dos Santos (Former, Angola) $20 billion
Jose Eduardo dos Santos was born on 28 August 1942 in Sambizanga, Luanda, Angola. He was the President since 21 September 1979; he was Africa’s second longest serving president. The former president was also the President of Angola’s ruling party, People’s Movement for the Liberation of Angola. According to Cabinda.net, his personal wealth may have exceeded more than $20 billion. Around 70 percent of Angolans live on less than two dollars a day. Much of this wealth has since been repossessed by the government, in a move that has seen his daughter fall from the top spot of Africa’s richest woman.
Takeaway: The late Daniel Moi
Most people will wonder how much Kenya’s second president Daniel Arap Moi was worth. It is estimated that of all his publicly known wealth, the late former president Moi was worth over Ksh. 400 billion.