Africa: Only Two Africans Among the World's Richest 200 | Cameroonwebnews| Site d’information et d’opinions sur l’actualité du Cameroun

Nairobi — Only two Africans feature in the top 200 of the world’s richest billionaires.

The continent’s richest billionaire, Egytian Nassef Sawiris of Orascom group, is ranked 127th on the global list while the second richest, Nicky Oppenheimer of South Africa, occupies the 154th position.

Nassef is the youngest son of business magnet, Onsi Sawairis, who took over the leadership of the business empire’s flagship construction and fertilizer division in 1998. He is worth $5.9 billion.

Oppenheimer, is the chairman of the mining giant company, De Beers Group and is worth $5 billion or $0.9 billion less than Nassef.

De Beers, the world’s largest diamond producer, has experienced tough times in the recent past, however, cost cutting measures has allowed it to remain one of the largest business empires in the continent.

The latest list released by the bi-weekly magazine, Forbes, shows an overwhelming domination by Americans, Asians and Europeans business moguls at the top.

The poor representation of Africa in the list is proof of the dearth in innovation, effective policies and regulations that attract investments and allow existing businesses to grow.

In the recent past the continent has registered impressive economic growth, despite the economic downturn that affected Europe and North America. However, it will take more than impressive economic growth for more African businessmen and women to enter the billionaires’ list.

This year, Tycoon Carlos Slim Helu dislodged business magnets Bill Gates and Warren Buffet to become the world’s richest man on earth.

It is the third time in three years that the world has a new richest man.

Helu’s rise to the top, according to the magazine, was aided by surging prices on various telecom holdings, including giant mobile outfit America Movil.

The Mexican tycoon has beaten, Americans Bill Gates and Warren Buffet to become the wealthiest person on the planet on he 2010 Forbes list of the World’s Billionaires.

The magazine says Slim’s fortune has increased to an estimated $53.5 billion, up $18.5 billion in 12 months. Shares of America Movil, of which he owns a $23 billion stake, were up 35 percent in a year.

As a result, the massive fortune puts him ahead of Microsoft cofounder Bill Gates, who had held the title of world’s richest 14 of the past 15 years.

Gates, now worth $53 billion, is ranked second in the world. He is up $13 billion from a year ago as shares of Microsoft rose 50 percent in 12 months. Gates’ holdings in his personal investment vehicle Cascade also soared with the rest of the markets.

Buffett’s fortune jumped $10 billion to $47 billion on rising shares of Berkshire Hathaway. He ranks third.

The The Oracle of Omaha or the Sage of Omaha, as he is commonly referred to, invested $5 billion in Goldman Sachs and $3 billion in General Electric amid the 2008 market collapse. He also recently acquired railroad giant Burlington Northern Santa Fe for $26 billion.

Jeff Otieno | 31 October 2010|The East African (Nairobi)|