NSE’s women billionaires who are among richest women in Kenya

Richest Woman in Kenya: This list looks at some of the richest women from the investment category, especially women who have made billions from investing on the NSE.

Richest Woman in Kenya: Lawyer Jane Wanjiru Michuki

She tops the list of NSE female billionaires who are also among the richest women in Kenya. Last year, she increased her portfolio by Sh1.2 billion, climbing ahead of businesswoman Jane Wangui, who gained Sh768.9 million. Ms Michuki’s 9.5 per cent stake in financial services firm Britam is now valued at Sh5.4 billion.

Ms Michuki, who owns the stake through an investment vehicle Equity Holdings where she has a 44.4 per cent stake, has not traded any of her 179.8 million shares in Britam since the company went public in July 2011.

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The remaining 55.6 per cent stake in Equity Holdings is owned by billionaire businessman Peter Munga, who also owns large chunks of Britam’s stock through multiple accounts. Ms Michuki is a managing partner at Kimani & Michuki Advocates, a city law firm that advised Equity Bank ahead of its listing in August 2006.

When Britam first listed at the NSE, Ms Michuki’s stake was valued at Sh1.6 billion but a recent price rally has significantly increased her wealth. This means the lawyer’s paper wealth has nearly tripled in three years, making her one of Kenya’s wealthiest women.

Ms Michuki also bought a minority stake in Equity Bank in 2004 having acquired shares worth Sh10 million in a private placement that netted a total of Sh725.1 million, but it is unclear whether she still retains an interest in the lender.

Richest Woman in Kenya: Jane Wangui

She is second in the list of NSE paper billionaires who are also among the richest women in Kenya with Sh3.7 billion worth of shares held in Equity Bank and Britam. Her 1.62 per cent stake in the bank is now worth Sh3 billion, buoyed by a 23 per cent share price rally in the past six months. The businesswoman also holds a 1.5 per cent interest in Britam through the investment vehicle Filimbi Limited she owns on a 50:50 basis with Mr Munga.

Regulatory filings show that Filimbi sold or transferred 31.5 million Britam shares between March and May 2013, indicating that the co-investors may have earned Sh260 million based on the firm’s share price at the time.

Richest Woman in Kenya: Leah Wanjiku Muguku

She’s a kin of the late business magnate Nelson Muguku, closes the exclusive list of the stock market’s women billionaires who are also among the richest women in Kenya, having gained Sh306.9 million in the same period. Ms Muguku, who is listed as the representative of the late Muguku’s estate, holds a 0.9 per cent stake in Equity Bank worth Sh1.6 billion — a residual stake that remained after the family sold shares worth billions of shillings following the death of the entrepreneur five years ago.

Richest Woman in Kenya: Amarjeet Patel

A drop in Carbacid’s share price at the NSE last year knocked off its top woman shareholder Amarjeet Patel from the billionaires’ league, shrinking her wealth to about Sh800 million. Little is known of Mrs Patel whose Carbacid stake was worth Sh1.2 billion by early 2014 shrunk to Sh802 million in the last quarter of the year 2014, representing a 37 per cent drop.

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