The future of money and the way we see money is changing drastically. Wealth forecasters and futurists look into the crystal ball for Africa.



The past two decades have generated $160 trillion in ‘paper wealth’, according to McKinsey’s 2023 Wealth Report. However, growth has been sluggish and there has been rising inequalities. According to the report, Africa’s long-term economic growth has been slow. The continent is home to the world’s youngest and fastest-growing population, but its economic performance has not been in tandem. Although this may seem bleak, reports indicate that Africa could add $1.4 trillion to its economy, almost doubling the value added by services today, were it to match the productivity growth of Asia’s strongest services.



In looking at wealth holistically, mapping out the trends for 2024 tells us that currently, the continent holds investable wealth worth about $2.4 trillion, and according to the recently-published Africa Wealth Report 2023 by Henley &amp; Partners in collaboration with New World Wealth, the population of millionaires is expected to increase by 42% over the next 10 years. Speaking to experts in wealth management and advisory services as well as a futurist, there is some optimism in looking at trends that go beyond just the number. 



1. More Millennials, More Gen Zs, and More Women. Probably the biggest and most significant gear shift, but not new, will be with these different groups of individuals. According to RBC Wealth Management, globally, in 2015, women held 30% of all wealth controlled by individuals or families, and about 44% had grown their wealth independently as entrepreneurs. UBS’s Women’s Wealth 2030 tells a story of how women’s wealth has seen unprecedented growth over the last decade. Women now control 32% of the world’s wealth. This will rise at a compound annual growth rate of 5.7% to $97 trillion by 2024.



“In my opinion, perhaps the fastest-growing cohort of millionaires in the next several years is going to be women,” says Delphine Govender, owner and Chief Investment Officer at Perpetua Investment Managers.



According to Govender, after centuries of being structurally excluded and marginalized in the broader spectrum of wealth- creating activities, there is an exponential rise in economically- empowered women. This can be attributed to several factors but is centered on the tremendous global focus on gender parity in all aspects of society as norms are finally starting to shift. 



“This is being supported by directly targeted policy initiatives to promote gender equality. More specific factors include a material increase in women entrepreneurs and the increasing support of women-led enterprises. The entire focus of gender lens investing (a fast-growing area) seeks to specifically allocate capital to women- led businesses, whose value chain and products also benefit women,” Govender tells FORBES AFRICA. Andrew Möller, CEO at Citadel Investment Services, adds: “We are also finding what appeals quite strongly to women is they place a much higher value on trust, and building relationships, a opposed to let&#8217;s say their male counterparts who would chase more of the metric of return to performance.”



Furthermore, Govender is seeing more adolescent girls being mentored from a school-going age about their career paths and this is starting to light a fire at a young age about the potential these younger girls have as they contemplate adulthood.



This is something both Möller and global futurist Jack Uldrich agree on with the rise of wealth millennials.



“We will absolutely see the growth,” Uldrich says. “Just the sheer amount of wealth that will be first transferred to them as my parents’ generation dies off, as my generation dies off. And we bequeath it to younger people. But they are also rapidly ascending leadership positions, and in many places across the globe, many of these companies still do need people to do their jobs. I think we&#8217;ll see the millennials increase their wealth, and then they will get into leadership positions. But I would say they think about money and wealth differently than we did.”



“Millennials are much more cost- sensitive than a lot of your other guys,” Möller adds. “They are obviously much more digitally driven. Millennials have a much higher requirement for transparency. In terms of the structures, and interestingly enough, on the transfer of wealth, millennials are much more open to switching advisors.”



2.More Entrepreneurship. Notably, there are 52 African-born billionaires globally, and only 23 (44%) still live on African soil. Henley &amp; Partners have noted that this is a significant concern as many billionaires are entrepreneurs and company founders who therefore can create significant employment in their host countries. “Entrepreneurs typically make the best clients,” Möller chuckles. “Why? Because entrepreneurs know what they know. And they&#8217;ve gone and they&#8217;ve made the wealth but in a very specific area. I am happy to say that the future wealth is definitely entrepreneurs and I do think that a lot of wealth management firms will be sourcing their acquisition strategies from them. Entrepreneurs certainly have the biggest growth potential.”



Many reports show that a crucial part of this would be to create more relevant educational curricula, train employees to build the skills and knowledge Africa needs, link talent with job opportunities, and empower entrepreneurs to enhance the continent’s workforce and produce next-generation leaders.



“Indeed, African talent could become the continent’s largest export—and given shifts we are seeing in how work gets done, this talent may not need to leave the continent to fulfill this demand,” the Henley &amp; Partners report reads.



3.  More Investments = More Very-High-Net-Worth Individuals  (VHNWIs) + Ultra-High-Net-Worth Individuals (UHNWIs). As Africa is rich in human and natural resources, individuals are finding different opportunities in a multitude of sectors. As the years go on, Africa’s growth will increase, due to aspects such as the internet, smartphones, and even renewable energy, says Uldrich.



“I think we&#8217;re going to see, and we already are seeing with the number of satellites that are put in, more satellites that are being delivered; high-speed internet access everywhere in the globe and all across Africa. Most people, not everyone, already have smartphones and I think with the advances



in renewable energy [wealth], it’s going to get better because those three are going to lead to increased economic growth, which in turn will in fact manifest itself in wealth as we currently define it. So I would tell you I&#8217;m absolutely bullish on the long-term prospects for Africa.”



According to StatsSA, as of 2022, approximately 138,000 HNWIs lived in Africa, each with $1 million or more net assets, excluding government funds. Statista further added that the total private wealth in Africa amounted to $2.4 trillion in 2022.



The amount was accumulated by over 140,000 individuals, including millionaires, centimillionaires, and billionaires. Compared to 2021, the continent counted 2,000 more millionaires.



Möller says reports predict that in the next decade, the number of African millionaires is going to probably increase by 42% and that will be a number of approximately 195,000 ultra-high-net-worth participants.



“That&#8217;s what the forecasts are saying but when you put that overlay of what&#8217;s been happening in the global environment on top of this, the numbers forecast could be slightly different,” Möller adds.



“And by this, I mean, in 2021, there was a rapid growth of ultra-high-net-worth individuals in the world. That was on the back of unprecedented growth stimulus, there was a very low- interest rate environment, there was high liquidity at the time, and there were significant stock market gains that happened in the economic environment. “Whilst we certainly believe that is going to be a growth, we&#8217;re not quite sure that it&#8217;s going to be the growth of their 42%.” “Perhaps the most pressing aspect affecting Africans and South Africans is the quantum of their wealth that is invested offshore vs onshore,” Govender adds.



“This continues to be a significant source of debate. As liquidity in domestic public markets dries up, many local investors are starting to question the extent of their home bias.”



4.  AI May Redefine Wealth. Artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly been finding a place in the world of work, so it should come as no surprise that it has found itself in the world of wealth.



Möller believes that the uptake of AI will actually be beneficial when it comes to wealth, particularly for wealth managers and their clients.



“As AI is starting to develop, this thing of digitization is gathering more momentum,” Möller says.



“It might sound perverse but I think digitization is going to make businesses more client-centric and the link between digitization and AI and client centricity is very simply going to open up the advisor&#8217;s diaries allowing them to simply focus on what they should be always doing and that is building relationships. It&#8217;s going to de-clutter.”



However, Uldrich believes that the world&#8217;s leading experts working on artificial intelligence are being a bit disingenuous in stating that it is going to transform the nature of work.



According to the forecaster, long-term, this may be true but short- to mid-term, there&#8217;s going to be a lot of displacement. This is why Uldrich believes that the way one defines wealth should likely change.



“Even in the age of AI,” Uldrich adds, “humans still have agency and we have to create our desired future… Most futurists I think are optimistic about the future, and they speak of an abundant future. But to tie back to wealth, I think what&#8217;s going to happen is for the most part, most people in the world will have all of their material needs met, but that will create a new problem.



“It will be sort of a spiritual vacuum. My point is I don&#8217;t think that we will define wealth simply in terms of dollars and material possessions, people will have those things and then they will say, ‘oh, what really matters?’. And I think we will see a major shift in how we define wealth.”



5. More Creatives. It doesn’t matter how much AI can do, the one sub-set of entrepreneurs, employees, brands, and businesses that will be safe, will be in the creative economy. “We&#8217;re going to see almost a new renaissance in [creativity],” Uldrich says. “Because artificial intelligence is really good at mimicking the human mind or intelligence, what it cannot do is imagine. It can give you the impression it is creating, but it&#8217;s not. All it&#8217;s doing is taking existing pieces and rearranging them and I would say that is a component of creativity and imagination. But we think with our heart, with our body, and that’s what AI can’t yet do.” 



Govender believes the creative economy is contributing meaningfully to growth in the number of millionaires and to some extent this is underpinning why we should expect more female millionaires. “Whether in fields of design, the arts, or entertainment, we are seeing the pursuit of a far more balanced economy as well as a greater value being broadly attached to the creative economy,” she says. “Social media has resulted in an entirely new slew of careers in terms of influencers and content creators – which is channeling income into the hands of many self-made individuals who no longer have to rely on corporates being their employers.



“While traditional careers such as medicine and law will continue to exist, the ascent of an increased number of well-rewarded careers within the creative domains means we now have many more industries and professions capable of producing wealthy individuals.”

Millennial man investing stock market analysis during trading cryptocurrency on laptop

What Wealth Will Look Like In 2024 (And The Years To Come)…

Despite the economic outlook in the region, the high-net-worth segment has been growing over the last decade, reaching a crescendo with the recent entrance of new foreign private banks and wealth management services into the regional market. FORBES AFRICA takes a look at these movements on how the wealthy and ultra-rich in East Africa are changing the way they manage their assets.&nbsp;



BY MARIE SHABAYA



OVER THE LAST decade, five East African nations have seen a net-positive growth in total wealth, according to figures from New World Wealth. Leading the pack are Rwanda (60%), Ethiopia (52%) and Uganda (50%). Delving deeper into this picture, Kenya, a growing economic hub for the region, has the highest per capita wealth in East Africa, and ranks eighth on the continent, at $1,700.



This makes a strong case for the new financial services now available to high-networth individuals (HNWIs) in the region. In fact, East Africa is now a growing market for wealth management services and experts. This is echoed by the changing trends in how this segment has been holding their wealth.



Traditionally, investment options for the wealthy and ultra-rich were concentrated predominantly in land, real estate (property and buildings) as well as cash. Over the last few years, there has been a marked shift with this capital being held in sovereign bonds or fixed income securities.



Why the shift? Charles Mwaniki, a business journalist who has been covering the regional financial markets for over a decade, notes that what we’re seeing now is the result of movements from the past decade, whose effects are now being compounded.



“The big shift I’ve seen is the move towards the professional management of wealth. 



Previously a lot of [wealthy] people were having to manage their own wealth in private family offices or as private individuals but over the last seven years, we were coming out of a period of plenty, between 2004 and 2015, when there was ample opportunity to make money,” he says.



The overall economic climate during this time was one of a financial boom, allowing for the expansion of the HNWI segment in the region 



“It was a two-fold thing. One, it introduced a lot of new money into the economy and a lot of people got wealthy or got money that was investible within that period. Secondly, the people who already had money were making it more easily. It was easy to multiply wealth. So, you didn’t need much help to make money; there were opportunities everywhere…in trade, in the stock market, in bonds. But, from around 2014-15, it suddenly became a lot more difficult to make money here.”



What followed was an extended period of decline in both the stock market and the banking sector. Beginning in 2016, banks restricted their lending to the private sector due to a legislative cap on commercial lending rates.



“Trade also became more difficult. People started realizing [that they] needed help to unlock opportunities, to see where the money is and that is where they increasingly turned to professionals, especially those who had made new money in the decade before. Suddenly, there were no opportunities in the stock market, they didn’t know how to invest offshore, they didn’t know how to play the property sector so they turned to professionals,” posits Mwaniki.



This has seen a rise in dedicated wealth management units in some of the more established banks and lenders in the region, with new entrants joining the market as recently as this year. Stanbic Bank Kenya, formerly known as CfC Stanbic, is one of the larger service providers in the region, providing a private bank offering to both individuals and corporate clients with at least $1 million in investible assets. New entrant, Old Mutual, from South Africa, opened its doors to highnet-worth clients with at least KES 10 million ($83,130) in investible assets in July this year while I&amp;M Capital, a fund manager, launched in mid-2021 and famously raised $5.8 million in its first six months, indicating the growing demand for such services in the region.



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“ PUTTING IT SIMPLY, MOVING CAPITAL OUTSIDE OF AFRICA CAN OFTEN MEAN DIRECT ACCESS TO CHEAPER DEBT FINANCING AND A GREATER ARRAY OF PERSONAL AND FINANCIAL SERVICES TO INVEST BACK INTO THE REGION OR CONTINENT. ” – JON DE JAGER, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF C|T GROUP UK
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A majority of wealth in the region is family-led and organized by kin either in business structures or by ownership. This allows for wealth management efforts to be compounded over the generations, a model which has worked well in other markets. Tsitsi Mutendi, who consults for private family offices in the region draws a line between the services offered by the new private banks and the niche services required for those over a certain wealth threshold. 



“A family office is particularly created for ultra high-net-worth individuals and families. It makes sense to open a single family office, dedicated to one family and the management of its wealth and investments. It’s usually families that are worth a $100 million or more that can afford a single family office. Where you start off with your ‘Mom &amp; Pops’ store growing to bigger business, you can still have an accountant managing finances or a private bank managing income. When it gets to $100 million and above, in terms of net worth, a dedicated office has a better overview of what the asset holding looks like, what the available wealth in terms of finances looks like and what investments are being made. Family offices tend to hire investment managers as investments at this level tend to be larger.&#8221;



According to this year’s Africa Wealth Report, Nairobi is one of Africa’s wealthiest cities, anchoring the region with $48 billion in total private wealth with an estimated 5,400 HNWIs. Those over the $100 million net worth bracket, however, only number 12 with a healthy crop of multi-millionaires (net worth of over $10 million) at 260 individuals. Mombasa, Kenya’s coastal second city, plays host to 800 HNWIs with a combined wealth of $7 billion. Dar-es-Salaam, the Tanzanian capital and home to Africa’s preeminent billionaire, Mo Dewji, has the region’s second-largest HNWI community with 1,300 individuals holding a total of $24 billion in private wealth. The Ugandan capital, Kampala, which has seen marked growth in total wealth over the last decade is home to 900 HNWIs worth a cumulative $16 billion.



Many of these developments are being led by family wealth either through burgeoning businesses or the expansion of pre-existing wealth. Mutendi contends that this may be due to new perspectives on wealth building.



“We have a melting pot of different family businesses and different drivers to wealth [that is] being built. The movement of the world as well as the different generations and how [they] perceive wealth, manage wealth and [their] history within the wealth pocket [is a contributor]. The nouveau riche is usually centered on one demographic but it is one that is coming into wealth after many years of being disadvantaged with financial status. With funds moving out of the continent, you have different push and pull factors.”



These factors are the back-end of much of the wealth growth that we’re observing in the region.



According to the 2022 Africa Wealth Report, investment migration is fast becoming a popular option for the continent’s affluent families. In fact, it’s a proven wealth management and legacy planning tool with 19 of the G20 countries already implementing policies that encourage inward investment in exchange for citizenship or residence rights. Henley &amp; Partners, a London-based investment migration consultancy who authored the report, noted that they saw an 18% rise in inquiries about these programs from African clients in 2021.



Jon de Jager, Managing Director of C|T Group UK, an advisory firm working with African HNWIs, explains that the movement of capital goes beyond wealth migration and has been a prominent trend.



“There has been a trend of East Africa capital being consolidated outside of the continent although, equally, there has been significantly more wealth generated within the region. Jurisdictions outside Africa have historically been a more attractive base from which 



HNWIs can invest internationally across developed economy capital markets. Putting it simply, moving capital outside of Africa can often mean direct access to cheaper debt financing and a greater array of personal and financial services to invest back into the region or continent,” he says.



However, access to these foreign financial markets isn’t always guaranteed for African investors. Enhanced due diligence checks, Know-Your-Customer (KYC) standards among other regulations often bar HNWIs from the continent from transitioning to some of these offshore locations. Whilst this has happened in the past, now it is more difficult to achieve due to regulatory requirements.



“There is often a fundamental lack of understanding of the East African region, and of Africa as a whole. HNWIs originating from the continent of Africa are often classified in the same bucket and lazy assumptions can be made as to their source of wealth or political connections, for example. We have worked very hard the last few years in establishing a credible and detailed fact pattern for individuals looking to move their capital into different markets. It is often assumed that documents are lacking for the region to meet enhanced KYC requirements, but that is not the case. What many African HNWIs need is an opportunity to explain, transparently, the facts behind their background and business history,” notes de Jager.



Scrutiny aside, HNWI capital from the region is still finding its way to more stable settings, offshore.



“Dubai in particular has recently become a popular destination on a global basis, not just from Africa. This has partly been for protection; while Kenya has no doubt become a major economic hub, and I believe will gain further momentum as such, there has been some political instability that can trigger capital flight.



Another market that we see movement to is Singapore. It is perceived by many as a stable and fast-growing economy in Asia and we are seeing this trend not just from businesses in East Africa. Singapore does offer tax advantages to offshore non-resident companies and as a result is becoming the gateway to Asia’s banking and investment markets,” notes de Jager.



However, capital flight is not the only trend we’re seeing within this segment. A movement towards reinvestment in the region, and continent, may be due to a rise in locally-based wealth management services and offerings. While growth of this market has been slow, it does signal hope for HWNIs looking to consolidate their wealth within African economies.



“There is still domination from foreign entities or agents and representatives of larger institutions that have come to the continent that are encouraging family businesses or offices to invest offshore. At the same time, our wealth advisory industry is growing at a snail’s pace. Our institutions are opening up more to setting up family office offerings and private wealth offerings over and above private banking.



It’s the right start, over the past five years there has been a move towards more customised offerings and collaborations with institutions that can offer their clientele prestige banking that goes over and above what is available on the continent,” explains Tsitsi Mutendi who has been working in various African wealth markets.



Jon de Jager, agrees, noting that while offshore markets offer a buffer from prevailing instabilities in African economies, HNWIs from the region are seeking to return their capital to their home jurisdictions as long as conditions permit.



“There is an appetite as well as a continual desire to reinvest in Kenya, East Africa and generally across the continent. Especially now, due to the global demand of natural resources, we have seen a significant drive to reinvest in Africa. At the same time, it is noteworthy that six African start-ups were listed among the World Economic Forum’s Technology Pioneers of 2022. Just as we have seen with M-Pesa, these start-ups are solution-driven and are leading the way in solving issues such cyber security, climate change and food security. In this context, I am positive that this will attract investment in Africa.”



What is important for the region’s wealthy demographic is choice. Given the myriad push and pull factors at play on the continent from economic to political instability, HNWIs often seek options that safeguard their hardwon multigenerational wealth or new avenues that enable them to build newly acquired money.



This is true for all investors, African or otherwise, so flight to economic safe havens is a natural strategy for this segment.



“It is natural for a successful entrepreneur to expand their horizons on an international stage by adding other geographies to their investments, in or outside of Africa, just as it is for a HNWI from Europe, for example, to invest in Africa. Establishing a presence outside of the continent for this purpose is necessary and efficient. Restrictive policy interventions are unlikely to facilitate growth within the region while persistent allegations of corruption or kleptocratic behaviours will always put off investors. Social factors, like high rates of crime, also come into play; issues like this simply add to reasons to move elsewhere in search of returns. Innovation is certainly attractive in terms of investing in Africa, but these must be supported by good governance and strong rule of law in establishing a stable environment in which to operate,” insists de Jager.



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“ THE NOUVEAU RICHE IS USUALLY CENTERED ON ONE DEMOGRAPHIC BUT IT IS ONE THAT IS COMING INTO WEALTH AFTER MANY YEARS OF BEING DISADVANTAGED WITH FINANCIAL STATUS. WITH FUNDS MOVING OUT OF THE CONTINENT, YOU HAVE DIFFERENT PUSH AND PULL FACTORS. ” &#8211; TSITSI MUTENDI
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Already, estimates indicate that wealth on the African continent is set to increase by 38% in the coming decade and this may be due to factors already at work within the continent’s markets. A key point, to capture this growth for the long-term, is ensuring that younger generations are equipped to take over the management of wealth sooner rather than later. According to Mutendi, at the family office or business level, this means having strong family governance structures that are flexible enough to incorporate the incoming generation, and their ideas, as they build.



“Africa’s got so much potential, there is still a vast amount of wealth that is coming from the continent and is going outside of the continent. So, there is so much possibility for families building wealth. They just have to continue cultivating innovation, especially the next generation…they are the ones that will build on the wealth that is currently being created,” she says. This is particularly important for East African families, says Mwaniki who has picked up on new patterns through his observation of the regional financial markets, noting that the younger generations are the ones leading the charge in new investment trends. “These are fairly young, wealthy people. Some of [their wealth] has been here but has been held by their parents. Once they inherit land they dispose of it because they don’t see themselves managing a farm, for example. So they invest in NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), cryptocurrencies or bonds. They are looking for options that will generate regular and high returns. Land you can hold but if you don’t have another source of income, it’s an idle asset. They are turning more and more to incomebearing instruments,” he says. When all is said and done, wealth creation remains a positive development across the continent. Kenya, the regional leader in continental rankings, is one of the ‘Big 5’ markets that account for more than half of total wealth in Africa.



The steady growth of HNWIs here will undoubtedly signal expansion in neighboring jurisdictions, encouraging more robust regulations and stable economic environments for their capital; wealth migration, notwithstanding, remains a mitigating factor.

Counting the Somaliland shilling

What East Africa’s Tide Of WEALTH Looks Like

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The New Tycoons Ready For The Next Normal

Topline:&nbsp;As New York City’s coronavirus cases exploded in recent weeks, residents fleeing to second homes have come under intense scrutiny and push-back, prompting officials in multiple states to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20200328/ri-tightens-restrictions-after-2-virus-deaths" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">create highway checkpoints</a>&nbsp;screening for New Yorkers and a<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/travel-in-the-us.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;national travel advisory for the entire Tri-state area</a>, highlighting the dramatic roles class and wealth will play in the pandemic.&nbsp;



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>With over 56,000 coronavirus cases in New York, privileged New Yorkers with secondary homes are fleeing the City with massive effect on vacation home communities: the population of Southampton has gone from <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.marketwatch.com/story/welcome-to-the-shore-now-go-home-new-yorkers-fleeing-to-surrounding-areas-get-blasted-by-locals-2020-03-25" target="_blank">60,000 a few weeks ago to 100,000</a> and rental prices in Hudson Valley rocketed from <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/03/20/panicked-wealthy-fleeing-the-coronavirus-drive-up-rental-prices-in-the-hamptons-and-hudson-valley.html" target="_blank">$4,000 to $18,000 per month</a>—posing a threat to small-town hospitals that are ill-equipped to handle caring for high numbers of coronavirus patients.</li><li>In wealthy New England island communities like Nantucket, Martha’s Vineyard and Block Island that are heavy with secondary homes and short on hospital infrastructure, officials are going so far as to cancel <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.blockislandtimes.com/article/town-rolls-welcome-mat/57046" target="_blank">all hotel, Airbnb and VRBO reservations</a> while stationing <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.masslive.com/coronavirus/2020/03/coronavirus-on-nantucket-marthas-vineyard-massachusetts-state-police-add-more-troopers-to-islands.html" target="_blank">state troopers</a> and the <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/27/us/rhode-island-tracking-down-new-yorkers/index.html" target="_blank">National Guard</a> to maintain flow on islands and, in the case of Rhode Island, instating 14 day mandatory quarantine on all people traveling to stay in the state from New York, New Jersey or Connecticut.</li><li>As outrage has grown at the privileged fleeing the city while middle and working classes remain confined in New York City apartments, there’s been social media clapback at ostentatious displays of wealth in isolation: Geffen Records and Dreamworks Billionaire David Geffen ultimately deleted his Instagram of his $570 million megayacht captioned: “Sunset last night..isolated in the Grenadines avoiding the virus. I’m hoping everybody is staying safe” after it sparked <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2020/03/28/long-live-david-geffen-yachtmaster---and-new-king-of-tone-deaf-instagram-posts/#728d19456fd1">outrage on social media</a>.</li></ul>



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Thanks, David Geffen, for your thoughts. <a href="https://t.co/5XTRhGX5OP">pic.twitter.com/5XTRhGX5OP</a>&mdash; southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) <a href="https://twitter.com/nycsouthpaw/status/1243886478729633792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 28, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>New York City’s poorer boroughs are <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/doh/downloads/pdf/imm/covid-19-data-map.pdf" target="_blank">hit hardest</a> by coronavirus: Brooklyn and Queens, where median income is  $56,015 and $64,987, respectively, remain the epicenter of COVID-19, compared to Manhattan with average income of <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/newyorkcountymanhattanboroughnewyork,bronxcountybronxboroughnewyork,queenscountyqueensboroughnewyork,kingscountybrooklynboroughnewyork,richmondcountystatenislandboroughnewyork,newyorkcitynewyork/HSG010218" target="_blank">$82,459</a>, which has been less permeated by the virus and is home to many of <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://ny.curbed.com/2017/6/27/15881706/nyc-richest-neighborhoods-manhattan-brooklyn" target="_blank">Manhattan’s wealthiest enclaves</a>—and those most likely to have residents with second homes elsewhere.</li></ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list"><li>On Saturday, President Trump said he was considering quarantining parts of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, then, backed down and issued<a href="https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/travel-in-the-us.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">&nbsp;a domestic travel advisory for the tristate area</a>&nbsp;that discourages residents of these states from non-essential domestic travel after “very intensive discussions” at the White House on Saturday night, said Dr. Anthony Fauci&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/29/politics/fauci-trump-quarantine-white-house-discussions/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">on CNN today</a>: “The better way to do this would be an advisory as opposed to a very strict quarantine, and the President agreed.”</li><li>“Due to our very limited health care infrastructure, please do not visit us now,” reads&nbsp;<a href="https://www.mprnews.org/story/2020/03/24/cook-county-to-secondhome-owners-stay-away-for-now" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">a travel advisory</a>&nbsp;from Lake Superior’s Cook County in Michigan, exemplifying vacation towns’ plea to travelers and second home owners across the country to stay away.&nbsp;</li></ul>



Background: Coronavirus cases in the United States have skyrocketed to 124,000, with deaths doubling from 1,000 to 2,046 in <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/29/health/us-coronavirus-wrap-sunday/index.html" target="_blank">two days</a>. Since those with COVID-19 can be asymptomatic for days, their presence in remote communities may be deadly, as they can spread the virus and wreak havoc on rural hospitals. The clash between wealthy and poor, also creates <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/28/us/coronavirus-rhode-island-checkpoint.html" target="_blank">state-versus-state hostility</a>, as federal support is limited and essential to states overcoming coronavirus.



&#8211; <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexandrasternlicht/">Alexandra Sternlicht</a>, Forbes Staff, Under 30

gettyimages-1178055824-170667a

As Wealthy Depart For Second Homes, Class Tensions Come To Surface In Coronavirus Crisis

Ask nearly any leading banker or financial executive to go on the record about blockchain, and you are liable to hear crickets. After all, it’s an industry built on trust and stability and crypto’s recent legacy of volatility and even fraud has tainted the topic.



It’s ironic because, behind the scenes, few industries are eagerly working on blockchain projects as feverishly as financial services firms are. Bank of America, for example, has filed nearly 60 blockchain patents. Yet it refused to speak to Forbes about its dive into distributed ledger tech. JPMorgan’s CEO Dimon famously threatened to fire any employee caught trading bitcoin. Today it is developing its own digital token.



The world&#8217;s largest, most centralized and most powerful institutions are now embracing the technology designed to unseat them because they realize that at its, core blockchain is just lines of code that simplify accounting and record keeping. For hundreds of years, bankers have exhibited mastery in ledger keeping and they have no intention of giving that up.



Our inaugural Blockchain 50 list is dominated by financial firms. From BNP Paribas and Citigroup to Nasdaq to Mastercard and Visa, the biggest names in global money are making strides in blockchain testing and adoption. 



They&#8217;re using the technology to speed up settlement times and interbank payments, simplify processes that still rely on paper and fax machines, and improve security measures with the goal of both saving time and money now and creating new ways to make a profit in the future.



Fidelity, which now has 100 employees devoted to digital assets, has launched a digital asset custody service for institutional investors and is already building a trading platform for purchasing crypto. PNC bank is using Ripple’s blockchain software to process international payments. 



Santander is already collecting revenue from One Pay FX, a blockchain-based foreign exchange service that is also built on Ripple technology. Dutch banking giant ING’s dedicated blockchain team that has launched 8 pilots since 2016, and alongside Credit Suisse completed the first legally enforceable securities swap on a blockchain last year.



Even banks that didn&#8217;t make our list, like the Royal Bank of Canada and Bank of America, are testing the waters. RBC has conducted 8 live pilots, and Bank of America has filed the most blockchain patents of any company in the industry.



Notably, these early first forays into the blockchain space have fostered something unexpected among these major competitors: collaboration, especially through industry efforts like Hyperledger and the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance. “I remember how different people from different institutions tried to start talking about the common work in this moment,” says BBVA’s Carlos Kuchkovsky, CTO of new digital business, of the early days of those groups. “That’s how we want to collaborate now, to create common new rails.”



Citibank has partnered with Barclays to launch a blockchain app store. ING and BNP Paribas are just two of several big banks that partnered to create komgo, a blockchain trade commodity network, and UBS has partnered with BNY Mellon, Deutsche Bank, and Santander to create a way to exchange digital cash.



Of course, these banks know that there is a long road ahead when it comes to integrating blockchain into their daily processes. Blockchain is not a catch-all solution, and there are sure to be new hurdles ahead, but some banks say they are already reaping the rewards. “You already have tangible benefits but this still is not the end state,” says ING’s program director of distributed ledger technology Mariana Gomez de la Villa of a recent ING pilot. “The ecosystem is growing.”



-Sarah Hansen; Forbes Staff

Aerial View of the Network of the Office Building

Controlling The Ledger: The World’s Largest Financial Firms Embrace Blockchain

The IMF says the global economy is likely to expand 3.7% in 2018. What is your personal investment philosophy? 
A 3.7% growth rate for the world economy is quite thought-provoking when considering that some emerging markets, such as South Africa, are not expected to grow by much more than 2% in 2018. The foundation of my personal investment philosophy is the elimination of debt, starting with the most expensive debt.
Is it mainly cash, stocks or mutual funds where there is growth? Any other preferred financial instruments? 
The organization that I work for restricts me from directly investing in shares, due to independence requirements, and so I generally do not invest in shares. The asset I find attractive is property, followed by unit trusts. Interest rates are currently low, and have been so for some time as a result of the pressure that the global economy has been under, and so I do not consider cash to be an attractive asset class.
What about real estate, art, jewelry, wines, watches…? Do you see them as worthwhile investments too? 
I strongly believe that real estate should form part of any wealth creation and preservation strategy. I have never invested in art, jewelry or wines (as an asset), and so cannot speak with any authority on these type of investments. Over time, and with the exception of the odd property bubble, real estate has proven itself to be able to generate inflation beating returns for relatively low risk. However, one should always be cautious of property bubbles and unrealistic expectations.
How do you balance your portfolio between liquid and fixed assets to build wealth? 
We are fortunate enough to live in a country that still makes it possible to hold a good balance of both, and where fixed investments can be liquidated with relative ease. This is not always guaranteed in other parts of the world. When one is still young, I believe a portfolio should always be weighted towards fixed assets, with the liquidity being prioritized as and when one gets nearer to retirement.
Is investment about getting rich or increasing savings? What are your own long-term goals? 
The first goal of investment should be to secure financial independence and the ability to sustain one&#8217;s lifestyle long after retirement. This does not necessarily translate into being wealthy. After all, wealth is a relative term. With people living longer and longer, the ultimate long-term goal is to have enough to live on after retirement without having to make significant changes to one&#8217;s lifestyle.
What returns do you target from your investments and how do you monitor it? 
As a minimum, one should target for one&#8217;s investments to outstrip inflation and to cover any investment and financing costs associated with that investment. I enlist the services of a broker to monitor performance. 
 
What do think the seven habits of successful investors must be? 
Perhaps not seven in total, but a good mentor once told me the following: 
1. Try and pay off your debt in the shortest possible time. 
2. Do not be greedy. 
3. Do not follow the herd. 
4. Invest for the long-term, and do not be fazed by short-term volatility. 
5. Life is not only about money.
Was there any one time when you thought your plans didn’t work, especially in a volatile market? 
All asset classes come with some exposure and risk. Very few people in the world can claim not to have been impacted in some way or another by the 2008 global financial crisis.
With longevity increasing and global billionaires investing in prolonging life, how best can one be retirement-ready? 
Retirement-readiness is a big problem in society today, and it is an accepted fact that people generally do not save enough for retirement. There is unfortunately no silver bullet to this. The simple fact is that one gets retirement-ready through exercising discipline in saving, and to start saving for retirement at the youngest possible age. Of course, one is always in control of one&#8217;s lifestyle.

Me & My Money: Dion Shango

When he talks, people listen; when he moves money, markets react and when he invests, many follow.  He is Christo Wiese, Africa’s third richest man after Aliko Dangote and Nicky Oppenheimer &amp; family, according to FORBES’ list of Africa’s 50 richest, and the creator of Africa’s largest retail store. He is ever busy as he adds to his $6.5 billion fortune, but his last investment raised a few eyebrows.
As we meet, Wiese is dressed in black pants and a black sweater; you may mistake him for an ordinary bloke on the street in Cape Town, South Africa. But, there is nothing ordinary about this man when it comes to business. His creation, Shoprite, earns revenue of $9.9 billion a year, at a time when retail is struggling. Steinhoff, the parent company of Wiese’s retail company PEP, brings in $11.8 billion. Combined, they net almost $2 billion in annual profits, operate more than 9,000 stores in 30 countries and employ over 200,000 people. He made his fortune from smart investments that earned him billions. So, why is he looking to venture into Africa’s glittering, but struggling, diamond industry?
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The family businesses, Cream Magenta 140 Proprietary Ltd. and Metcap 14 Proprietary Ltd., bought close to 50 million shares (23.54% each) in diamond company Trans Hex. This adds up to a dominant stake of just over 47%.
This isn’t entirely new territory for the risk taker. Wiese was in diamond mining in the late 1990s through an investment in Ocean Diamond Mining Holdings (ODM). He sold ODM to Namibian-based diamond miner Namco.
“I used to be in the diamond industry 40 years ago and the opportunity arose to acquire a controlling stake in Trans Hex which is one of the junior diamond mining companies and one I think has potential,” says Wiese.
The cold fact is South Africa’s once thriving diamond industry is suffering atrophy. It has no more than 200 diamond beneficiators remaining from a historical peak of about 4,500 and a decline in investment, according to Mining Weekly.
“Rough-diamond prices are too high for manufacturers, who cannot profitably polish goods at such levels. Polished-diamond prices have declined, in turn, reducing demand for diamonds from South African mines, as well as throughout the world,” it says, quoting World Federation of Diamond Bourses president Ernie Blom.
Trans Hex has not been immune. Their 2016 results suffered heavily from a sharp decline in rough diamond prices.
“The diamond market was severely impacted by excess stocks in the polishing industry and a resultant decline in demand for rough diamond. Average prices received for rough thus decline by 23.5% year-on-year. As a result, the Lower Orange River operations, which are earning the end of their reserves, moved into loss overall,” says Bernard van Rooyen, Trans Hex Chairman in the company financials.
Piet Viljoen, Alternate Director at Trans Hex, says its share price has come under pressure but the business has tried to ride the storm.
“The problem creates value in a very lumpy way. It earns a lot of money one year and then makes big losses the next year… so its share price doesn’t seem to go anywhere ever, that’s why it creates the impression that the business is under pressure,” he says.
Viljoen says it helps to have shareholders like Wiese who have vision.
“The shareholder reference can act as a provider of capital when the business needs it, do acquisitions or to fund projects.”
Trans Hex Group incurred a disappointing loss of R100.8 million ($7.3 million) and Viljoen has called it “a difficult year” but Wiese is optimistic.
“It is going well, except the exchange rate is not in favor of diamond exports because the rand is stagnant. With the diamond industry, you are not running a shop where you always know what your sales are going to be,” says Wiese.
Wiese is known for taking risks and smart investments. More than 60% of his wealth is in Shoprite and Steinhoff, while another 30% or so comes from his shares of investment company, Brait. His stock in Tradehold, a real estate firm, accounts for much of the remaining 10%. He has made investments in the United Kingdom (UK) such as clothing retailer New Look and gym chain Virgin Active. He says there is no secret behind the success.
“In this company, we have always had a philosophy, in terms of which we run our group of companies. These are the five pillars as we call it; faith, positive thinking, enthusiasm, compassion and hard work. Hard work is probably important but you’ve got to be a positive person and able to put teams together and motivate them. I am not a person running the business, I play a different role. The good business leaders like Whitey Basson and Markus Jooste are people who can put teams together, motivate them and steer them in the right direction,” he says.
There have been several enormous setbacks like the currency upset in 1985 when the rand lost about 50% of its value in less than a year, Brexit, which badly affected the share price, and great disappointments in people. It is wealth that hasn’t come easy.
“Oh yes, plenty [of bad investments]. I can’t even remember the worst one but there are many adventurous investments that just didn’t work out. I am heavily invested in wine farming and that’s not a very big lucrative business but it gives other pleasures such as the beauty of it…”
“A man’s true wealth is the good he does in the world,” goes the proverb. According to Wiese, success is more than how much money you have, it is about whether you can look at yourself in the mirror and say maybe it’s very small but my contribution made life or the world a slightly better place. Following this mantra, he is helping the poor gain title deeds to their homes. He is a sponsor of the Free Market Foundation, which is working with First National Bank to give people land tenure, and gave more than 100 title deeds to residents of Ngwathe, a municipality in South Africa’s Free State province.
“The Free Market Foundation looked at South Africa and found that there are between seven and 11 million households where the occupants own the structure on the land by they do not own the land, so they launched an initiative cooperating with the local, provincial governments to give people title to their homes. My family decided to get involved in that to make financial contributions in order to help people to acquire the title deeds to their homes,” he says.
“It is an enormously important thing for people to have a sense of ownership. People that are used to owning things do not realize how much it adds to a person’s dignity if he can say ‘this is my home. It may be a modest little home, but it’s my home and I can leave it to my children and be assured they have a roof over their heads.’”
Wiese says positivity rules his life.
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“If you are positive about life, you ignore the unfair criticism. A lot of the criticism is totally justified but you don’t focus on either the nice things people say to you or about you too much or equally you don’t concern yourself too much about the bad things people say…”
“I don’t remember anything bad people say. I always say to entrepreneurs, ‘if you start rising above the average, you become a target’. People say, ‘but that guy is not cleverer than I am, why does he make a success and I’m so clever and I don’t make the same financial successes?’ You have to know you will have people tear you down; it’s part of the game,” says Wiese.
We leave him preparing to jet off to the UK for meetings. Some may not understand his decision to dive back into diamonds, but Wiese seems to see money where others don’t.  Maybe the smart investor should take a look at the diamond business.

The Billionaire Diving Into The Depths Of The Diamond Business

In the heart of Lagos, the Rose of Sharon Glorious Ministry International is home to an intimate congregation who meet every Tuesday for fellowship and prayer. They are dedicated to a common purpose, to serve God, a vision which has remained intact since its founder, Folorunsho Alakija, made a pact with God decades ago.
“I don’t think I could have got this far if I had not entered into a covenant with God. It was 25 years since I gave my life to Christ. I entered into an agreement that if he would bless me I would serve him all the days of my life,” says Alakija.
The ministry is one of many ways Alakija is keeping her promise to God. Another is through her work with the Rose of Sharon Foundation, a not-for-profit providing care, financial support and scholarships for widows and orphans. In return, God has kept his side of the bargain.
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Alakija is worth a staggering $1.73 billion according to Forbes, making her the fourth richest person in Nigeria and second richest woman in Africa behind Isabel dos Santos. She is the Vice Chair of Nigerian oil exploration company, Famfa Oil, which shares a joint partnership agreement with international giants Chevron and Petrobras. With a 60% stake of block OML 127 of the Agbami field, one of Nigeria’s largest deepwater discoveries, Famfa Oil produces approximately 250,000 barrels of crude per day, according to Alakija. Having just turned 65 in July, Alakija has a lot to be thankful for. She is blessed with a dedicated husband, four sons and grandchildren. Alakija’s feet are firmly on the ground but her journey to becoming one of Forbes’ 100 most powerful women in the world began with an encounter 36,000 feet above sea level.
“I met a friend of mine on a flight on my way to England and she asked me if I could help her partners to be able to lift crude oil from Nigeria. So I called around and set up an appointment with the petroleum minister but he discouraged me. He said are these people willing to invest in Nigeria because the government did not want to encourage more foreigners to come and lift its crude. I asked my friend who said they didn’t want to invest in Nigeria and that was the end of that,” says Alakija.
With that, the new oil opportunity came to an end. But her dogged determination transformed this negative conclusion into one of the most renowned success stories to come from Africa. This tenacity began at an early age.
“I come from a Muslim background and it was a polygamous lifestyle. My father had eight wives and 52 children. All the wives had to cooperate with each other. To them that was how life was, they cooperated with one another, they quarrelled and made up again, most of us were living under one roof in private bedrooms, I think about four floors of a building, in the heart of Lagos Island,” says Alakija.
Born into a family of traders, Alakija cut her teeth in the textiles trade while still a child.
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“My siblings and I used to help my mum in the store and that is where we learned a lot about textiles, textures, colors, patterns and merchandizing. That is where I learned all the practical steps that I later on applied to my fashion business.”
The fashion business came after her stint in the corporate banking world. After qualifying as a secretary in Britain, a place where she also went to school from the age of seven to eleven, Alakija worked as an executive secretary with the bank, Sijuade Enterprises, in Lagos for a year and a half before joining the International Merchant Bank of Nigeria.
“I joined them as a secretary and I was there for about 12 years. I was promoted to other departments of the bank, including heading the corporate affairs department. From there I moved into proper banking, working in the treasury department. I loved it because I was trading with the bank’s money to make money for the bank. Later on, the bank was expanding and they started putting extra cogs between the wheels to ensure that people did not get promoted too fast to get to top positions within the bank. So I asked myself, ‘how long will it take me to get from a treasury officer to a general manager?’” says Alakija.
She quit her job and decided to study fashion design. She enrolled in the American College in London as well as the Central School of Fashion where she obtained a distinction. Immediately after that, Supreme Stitches was born and Alakija became renowned for her haute couture range, which was worn by women around the world.
Alakija says divine intervention persuaded her to rename her fashion business.
“I rebranded to Rose of Sharon House of Fashion because God gave me a revelation that I needed to change the name. It was a revelation initially given through a pastor but I decided I was not going to change it until I heard from God myself. I had a dream a year after the prophecy was given and I saw the new name on the body of my van in the dream and I changed it overnight,” says Alakija.
Then came her foray into printing. Alakija established the Rose of Sharon Prints and Promotions, as well as Digital Reality Prints.
“I wanted a new challenge; I was getting bored of the fashion business… the [printing] business did well for the first couple of years before it got into trouble,” she says.
The Lagos State government clamped down on the printing business because billboards were clogging up the skyline. Sales for her fledgling business plummeted.
“At some point when I went abroad, I saw some printing machines and realized that those were the similar kind of machines I had been shown in [a] dream but those were for offset. I went into the wrong type of printing out of disobedience and ignorance. I misunderstood and I was excited with the large format machines so I didn’t do too much homework into trying to find out more about the pictures that I saw in my dream. So I eventually got into the offset printing five years ago. And it’s been a success. We started out with 30 people and now we have about 100 employees,” says Alakija.
There was a smooth transition from the fashion business into mass-produced t-shirts. Demand for monograms, screen-printing and picture transfers on t-shirts increased. The company set up four departments, including a souvenirs department where they imported souvenirs and gift items from China. Ever the entrepreneur, Alakija was still on the lookout for the next big thing.
Alakija’s encounter with her friend on the flight to England was fortuitous. After her friend decided not to invest in the Nigerian oil industry, Alakija decided to make use of her new contact, Maryam Babaginda. Maryam was the wife of Ibrahim Babaginda, the former president of Nigeria under military rule. As a customer of Supreme Stitches, Maryam was able to secure another appointment for Alakija with the petroleum minister, Jubril Aminu.
“I went back and told the petroleum minister that I would like to render other services, like catering for the oil industry. He said there were already so many caterers on board, various ships on the high seas, and as a result, there were no opportunities available.”
Although disappointed, Alakija did not give up. She decided to do some more homework. After consultations with a close relative who worked for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), she was advised to offer transportation services for the petroleum industry. It took a long time to get another meeting with Aminu.
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“I finally got another opportunity and I wrote an official letter saying I would like to offer transportation services to the oil sector. The minister’s feedback was he didn’t think it was a good idea because the government would soon be doing away with the trucks that were being used to transport crude oil and replace them with a lot more pipelines instead. So I said ‘what am I going to ask for now?’”
“He said ‘why don’t you think of exploration?’. He said the government wants to put the resources of its land in the hands of its nationals, because it feels that it is about time that Nigerians begin to exploit its own resources rather than let multinationals continue to take away our wealth. I had given up at this point. I thought he was being sarcastic and he didn’t want to help all along,” she says.
Alakija cried all night. It felt as if a major door had been closed. After seeking consolation from her husband, Alakija went on to inform Maryam of the outcome of the meeting.
“I told her that it was bad news and that the petroleum minister wants to give me a heart attack. I went back to do a lot more homework and consulted with a friend of my husband who was already in the oil business. At the end of the research, I decided to not give up and officially apply for an opportunity to get an oil block,” says Alakija.
Before submitting her letter, Alakija had already found her technical partners and it was now a waiting game. To her surprise, the oil minister was replaced and Alakija had to restart the whole process again. She kept pushing. Everything seemed to be going according to plan when the second oil minister was also replaced.
“At this stage I still wasn’t ready to give up. The third minister finally wrote me a letter to tell me my application was receiving attention after two years. I got the letter and I cried my eyes out in frustration again at the snail’s pace progress the application was making,” says Alakija.
Swaying from one military coup to another, the Nigerian political climate was volatile during the 1990s. While on holiday in the Philippines, news broke about yet another change in the Nigerian regime. Alakija’s oil application was still being reviewed.
“I raced back to Nigeria to find that the current administration had already done the oil block allocations before they left power and my license was waiting for me. It took three years of not taking no for an answer and going back each time the door was shut in my face,” says Alakija.
She finally had her oil block, but the battle was far from over.
“When I was making the application I listed several blocks. I didn’t want to take a chance on someone else taking my block. So I applied for several blocks and the one I was allocated was the one nobody wanted because it was deep offshore and nobody was exploring deep offshore because it was too expensive to explore and there was no technology around to explore that initial depth of 5,000 feet at that time,” says Alakija.
At first, it seemed Alakija had drawn the short straw. She did not have the technology, expertise and money to start the process of exploration. Alakija, with support from her husband, had to use their life savings to secure the license or face losing it after the government threatened to terminate the agreement if full payment was not made. It took Alakija an additional three years to find new partners after her initial partners pulled out. After years of knocking on countless doors, their persistence paid off.
“Texaco was already in Nigeria and looking to expand their business. They went to the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), who told them that Famfa Oil was looking for technical partners. So they linked us up. The license we had was not worth more than the paper it was written on until they came in,” says Alakija.
Five years later, Chevron bought Texaco, including the partnership with Famfa Oil.
After receiving a signature bonus, out of which Alakija was able to pay the balance of the license to the government, Alakija started working with her new partners. Chevron set up an office four months after signing the partnership contract, with Alakija holding on to 60% of the shareholding of the oil block and Chevron taking 40%. Chevron later sold an 8% stake to Petrobras in exchange for their deep offshore technical expertise.
“You can find oil, but if what you have spent is more than the quantity of oil available within the block to make your money back in multiples, then it was not worth carrying on and you cut your losses. You could even have a dry hole after spending millions to explore. So when we found oil in commercial quantities, they said they had to announce it to their shareholders and it has been a battle ever since.”
The announcement of the major find in Alakija’s oil block by Chevron attracted the attention of the Nigerian government who had initially assumed that the oil block was one of the worst due to its location. The government snatched an initial 40% stake from Alakija, followed by another 10% stake, leaving her with a meagre 10% stake.
“We felt like it was unfair. We had taken the sole risk and invested everything we had in the business. It had become a family business. We spent six years as a family to ensure this worked out and now that it was bearing fruit, they just stepped in and took away everything we had struggled and worked extremely hard for. I said to myself, ‘Folorunsho Alakija does not give up, my husband does not give up and my children do not give up.’”
Most of her advisers believed it would be impossible to win a legal battle against the government, which, at the time, was notorious for its corruption. Alakija ignored their advice and took the government to court. For her, the case was simple, Nigeria has a constitution and nobody, including the government, is above that constitution. After 12 years of intense legal battle, the courts returned the 60% shareholding back to the family.
“It was bittersweet. There were a lot of sleepless nights and battles. Suddenly we became the plague, friends stopped picking up our calls and people were asking why we could not be content with 10 percent. My husband was a rock, to myself and the family, during that time and I could not have done it without him,” says Alakija.
Dolapo Oni, Head of Energy Research at Ecobank, praises Alakija’s courage.
“Alakija has run a very successful business in Famfa Oil. She was one of the first women in the oil business and her battle with the federal government shows a great deal of tenacity. After they took away her block, she successfully won it back. She was also one of the first women to partner with a joint venture partner, Chevron, which has been very successful,” he says.
Oni, however, feels the oil company needs to branch out.
“I think they are risk averse. Having been as successful as they are, they do not want to explore other opportunities. I personally feel like you have to increase your reserve base, you have to explore other assets and Famfa has traditionally not diversified their holdings in other fields, which I believe could be very profitable for the business as well.”
For now, Alakija seems content. She met her husband, Modupe, a year after she returned to Nigeria from England and they have been married for over 40 years. These days, Alakija spends her time as a proud grandmother and an author, having penned several books, including her autobiography Growing With The Hand That Gives The Rose, The University of Marriage and The Cry of Widows and Orphans.
As Alakija stands amid the melodic songs of praise in her Tuesday fellowship, she is at peace. Interfere with her business, however, and it’s war.

DK6Q3350r-copy

A Head For Business And  Fists For A Fight

There are 163,000 of them, and many of them have been in this magazine. They are prepared to pay $3.5 million for a place to sleep.
That’s the number of dollar millionaires in Africa, according to a report by New World Wealth; a Johannesburg research company.
According to the report, Johannesburg has 46,800 millionaires. About 600 of those have over $30 million. Egypt is next with 20,200 millionaires; Nigeria with 15,400 and Kenya 8,500.
African high net worth individual numbers have increased by 145% in the past 14 years compared to the worldwide growth rate of 73% over the same period. Angola is the top performing African country with growth of just over 480%, according to the study.
With rising numbers of millionaires in Africa, what do they do with their money?
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Property is popular.
While Johannesburg is home to most wealthy South Africans, Cape Town is not far behind. The most expensive spots for prime property in Africa are the V&amp;A Marina, Clifton and Bantry Bay in Cape Town.
According to the Western Cape Managing Director of Pam Golding Properties, Laurie Wener, South Africa’s wealthy buy Cape Town trophy properties on the famous Atlantic Seaboard or in Bishopscourt for no less than $1.4 million.
“The wealthy also invest in smaller apartments in different areas, sometimes off plan, for relatively good rental returns and medium to long-term capital growth. They buy properties off plan speculatively for short-term growth by the time they take transfer and commercial investors generally look for higher returns and often buy in partnerships or syndicates and to hold long term,” she says.
The ambitions of the rich also reach 143 meters above the Sandton skyline. Here in the clouds over the Michelangelo Towers, a penthouse is on sale for $3.5 million. That’s a record.
Rupert Finnemore of Pam Golding Properties, in Hyde Park, says that the previous highest price in Sandton City shopping centre is $3.1 million.
The striking Diamond Walk at Sandton City dazzles with a brilliant new clutch of the world’s most wanted brands such as Prada, Dolce &amp; Gabbana, Giorgio Armani, Burberry, Ermenegildo Zegna, Billionaire Italian Couture, Jimmy Choo, Tod’s and Arque Champagne Crescent.
“Sandton City’s new Diamond Walk adds yet another luxurious dimension to the ultimate shopping variety and experience on the continent,” says Alex Phakathi, Stanlib Fund Manager for the Liberty Property Portfolio.
The Diamond Walk was built on the high demand from the wealthy as the African luxury sector generated an estimated $8 billion in revenue in 2014; with $2.8 billion coming out of South Africa.
Collectables such as art, wine and classic automobiles are increasingly popular and accounted for $5.3 billion of the total assets of African high net worth individuals at the end of 2014, according to New World Wealth.
The company estimates $32 million was generated in South African sales of watches alone in 2014; up from $23 million in 2013.
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“A few years ago, wealthy South Africans had to order these watches through relevant retailers overseas or travel to places such as Bond Street in London to buy them. Now, most of these brands can be purchased over the counter from South African stores,” says wealth analyst Andrew Amoils of New World Wealth.
The rich also spend their time and money relaxing at sea. Amoils says the South African yacht industry generates about $150 million per year.
According to the study, Angola and South Africa are the top spots for yachting in sub-Saharan Africa. Morocco and Egypt are the top spots in North Africa. The yacht owners are mostly male, between the ages of 40 to 50, with average earnings of over $300,000 per year.
Mauritians are the wealthiest in Africa with $21,470 in wealth per person while people in the Democratic Republic of Congo are the poorest with $230 per person, according to Amoils.
“If you look at the asset allocation of the average South African millionaire, about 30% of their assets are in business interests, 25 % in equities, about 20% in property and then rest will be in cash, fixed income instruments, bonds and alternative investments like collectables like art,” says Amoils.
The ambitions of Africa’s elite are high.

The Rich At Play

Half of the 10 richest South African women either inherited their wealth from their fathers or built businesses together with their husbands. A few are standalone entrepreneurs, while some are renowned corporate executives.
<h3>Wendy Ackerman, $300 Million</h3>
<h3>Source: Retail</h3>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-30774 alignleft" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Shot-01-CF234920-225x300.jpg" alt="" width="225" height="300" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Shot-01-CF234920-225x300.jpg 225w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Shot-01-CF234920-300x400.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Shot-01-CF234920-600x800.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Shot-01-CF234920.jpg 750w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 225px) 100vw, 225px" />Wendy Ackerman’s husband, Raymond, founded Pick ‘n’ Pay, one of South Africa’s most dominant retail empires. She and her husband control the Ackerman Family Trust, the vehicle through which they own more than 40% of the retail giant. She has also served as a Non-Executive Director of the company since 2010. Pick ‘n’ Pay has outlets across Southern Africa and Australia.
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<h3>Wendy Appelbaum, $200 Million</h3>
<h3>Source: Insurance</h3>
Wendy Appelbaum is the daughter of revered South African multi-millionaire insurance mogul Donald Gordon who co-founded Liberty Investors, an insurance and real estate company. She worked at Liberty before divesting her significant shareholding in the company. She used the proceeds to pursue other interests, most notably, DeMorgenzon, a wine estate in Stellenbosch. The philanthropist has donated millions of dollars to causes in education and health in South Africa.
<h3>Irene Charnley, $150 Million</h3>
<h3>Source: Telecoms</h3>
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Charnley burst into the limelight as a trade unionist when she was a negotiator for the National Union of Mineworkers in South Africa. She subsequently left union politics and joined MTN as an Executive Director where she was instrumental in negotiating for a GSM license in Nigeria, MTN’s most profitable market. She earned hefty stock options which translated into more than R2 billion ($71 million) as far back as in 2006. She divested her shareholding in MTN and founded Smile Telecoms, an internet services provider active in West and East Africa. Smile Telecoms recently closed a $365 million funding round from international investors to expand its broadband network.
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<h3>Elisabeth Bradley, $100 million</h3>
<h3>Source: Investments</h3>
Elisabeth Bradley is the chairperson of Wesco Investments, an investment holding firm and Toyota South Africa, a company that has the lucrative distributorship of Toyota in South Africa. Her father, businessman Albert Wessels, had the foresight in 1961 to acquire the distribution rights of the automaker in South Africa. It has paid off handsomely for Bradley. In 2008, she sold off 25% of Toyota South Africa to Toyota Motor Corp of Japan for more than $300 million.
<h3>Judy Dlamini, $100 Million</h3>
<h3>Source: Aspen Pharmacare</h3>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-30777" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Judy-Dlamini-300x177.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="177" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Judy-Dlamini-300x177.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Judy-Dlamini-600x353.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Judy-Dlamini-768x452.jpg 768w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Judy-Dlamini-1024x603.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Judy-Dlamini.jpg 1023w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Dlamini, a medical doctor by profession, is the leading shareholder in Imithi Investments (Pty) Limited, a black economic empowerment vehicle that owns more than 4% of Aspen Pharmacare, Africa’s largest pharmaceuticals company. She is also the chairperson of a black women-owned and managed company with operations and investments in health, facilities management, tourism, fashion retail and retail property.
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<h3>Sharon Wapnick, $80 Million</h3>
<h3>Source: Investments</h3>
Sharon’s father, Alec Wapnick, founded Octodec Investments and Premium Properties, both Real Estate Investment Trust companies. In 2014, both companies merged to become Octodec. Sharon is one of the largest shareholders in the company. She also serves as a partner at TWB Attorneys, a commercial law firm in Johannesburg.
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<h3>Pam Golding, $60 Million</h3>
<h3>Source: Real Estate</h3>
Pamela Golding is the founder of the Pam Golding Property Group, a real estate brokerage which she started in 1976 with one sales assistant and no capital. Five decades later, Pam Golding is one of the largest real estate agencies in Africa, closing more than $1 billion in deals in 2015 and employing a workforce of more than 3,000 professionals. Golding is the chairperson of the company while her son Andrew is CEO.
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<h3>Vanessa Gounden, $45 Million</h3>
<h3>Source: Diversified</h3>
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Gounden serves as the CEO of the Holgoun Group, a conglomerate she co-founded with her husband, Sivandran Gounden, in 2005. Holgoun started out in the clean energy business, but after it flopped, she and her husband set out to buy platinum prospecting rights and developed platinum mining assets through which they made their first fortune. The company now has an asset base of $250 million and interests in mining, healthcare financial services, property, media and security among other sectors. Gounden is now attempting to make her mark in high fashion. In 2011 she launched her own fashion label named Vanessa Gounden, a luxury womenswear brand that has a pop-up shop on Beauchamp Place near Harrods in London.
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<h3>Bridgette Radebe, $25 Million</h3>
<h3>Source: Mining</h3>
Radebe is one of the few females to have thrived in South Africa’s male-dominated mining industry. Mmakau mining, a Johannesburg-based junior mining company she founded, has lucrative mining assets in coal, gold, uranium and platinum. Radebe started out in the 1990s managing shafts for larger mining firms on a contract basis. She is elder sister to South Africa’s first black billionaire Patrice Motsepe.
<h3>Yolanda Cuba, $10 Million</h3>
<h3>Source: Diversified</h3>
Yolanda Cuba currently serves as Executive Director for strategy and business support for South Africa Breweries Limited, but in her former life, she was the CEO of Mvelaphanda Group, an investment company with interests in mining and natural resources. Mvelaphanda was previously listed on the Johannesburg Securities Exchange, during which time Cuba was awarded stock options worth around $10 million.

South Africa’s 10 Wealthiest Women In Business

Rich Africans may make their money in Africa, but enjoy spending it in London. After all, London has it all. Nobody is going to be imprisoned because their face no longer fits. The legal system is fair and what’s yours remains yours. Best of all, London has a world-class financial system, which is quite happy to take an African’s wealth and grow it for them. Even with a first-world tax system, London boasts 45 billionaires, making it the world’s fourth richest city.
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<h4>Education</h4>
For successful Africans, nothing is more important than educating their children for future success. Britain is rather good at this, and school is where you make friends and contacts for life. It defines your social status. A recent Tatler article on wealthy Nigerians highlighted Florence Otedola, the 20-year-old King’s School-educated daughter of Femi Otedola, one of Nigeria’s richest men. Boarding fees for King’s in 2014-15 are $55,700, and according to Tatler, Nigerians spend $500 million every year at British universities and schools such as Benenden, Wycombe Abbey, Cheltenham Ladies’ College, Eton, Harrow and Bradfield.
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<h4>Concierge service</h4>
Rich people employ a concierge business to open doors in London, and rich Africans are no exception. Veronica Voronina is CEO and Founder of her own concierge business, The Anonymous, which has a number of wealthy African clients. The idea is to allow the superrich to plug into a network of excellence.
“Our database is our best asset. We source the best of everything – doctors, lawyers, property agents, party planners, nannies, restaurants, hotels, even the best diamonds,”
says Vorinina.
It’s all about price and quality.
“Rich people didn’t get rich by wasting money.”
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<h4>Houses</h4>
Many wealthy Africans have business interests in London. So, even if they are only there for a few weeks a year, Africans like to buy. The preferred areas are Knightsbridge, Belgravia, St John’s Wood, and Kensington and Chelsea. The most controversial development is One Hyde Park in Knightsbridge, described as the most expensive residential development on earth. One apartment reputedly sold for $230 million. Several billionaire Africans have bought there, but few live there; it is an investment not a home. Upper-class Londoners, priced out of their natural habitat by international interlopers, are said to be increasingly unhappy.
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<h4>Hotels</h4>
Africans fly around the world in pursuit of business deals and the hotel they choose to stay in often defines their social status. The most prestigious hotels to namedrop are the grand old London hotels, The Lanesborough, The Dorchester and Claridges. The Royal Suite at Claridges will set you back around $82,000 per week. And of course the Mandarin Oriental in Knightsbridge is the quintessential business hotel chain. Younger entrepreneurs may prefer boutique hotels like Andre Balazs’ Chiltern Firehouse hotel. All reek of exclusivity.
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Shopping
Wealthy Africans love to shop. Their favorite stores in London are Harvey Nichols, Harrods and Selfridges. It’s a well-oiled world of shopping by appointment, private openings, personal shoppers and trips to private shopping departments, as well as limousines and drivers to carry the shopping home. The shopping company Premier Tax Free reports that Nigerians account for 46.3% of total African sales in London and the fastest-growing region for international sales in Britain this year has been Africa, whose spend has grown by 45% year on year.
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<h4>Experiences</h4>
The Beatles sang money can’t buy you love. But according to concierge company, The Anonymous, money can buy pretty much everything else. One client, convinced the world was coming to an end, decided to splash out. Alongside gas masks and copious quantities of food, they wanted the best, no expense spared, holiday ever. A private jet was hired for a three-week trip around the United States. Helicopters flew the family over the Grand Canyon and New York. The client splashed $25,000 on the illusionist Criss Angel and then went to Universal Studios in Florida on a VIP pass. Hopefully the holiday offset any disappointment that the world still exists.
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<h4>Private jets</h4>
For mere mortals, travel is conducted by commercial plane and train. For the uber-wealthy transport is done by private jet. And if you don’t own one, you charter one. Charter companies like Little Blue will fly you to Paris for the weekend for around $20,000. Nigerians don’t just use private jets to carry themselves; they take their lifestyle with them.
“If someone wants basic food &#8211; milk, bread, cheese, yogurt – I’ll go somewhere, like Whole Foods, and pick up the employer on the way to Farnborough (a small airport on the outskirts of London), load it on the plane and send it off,” says Ansema Fagapona, who works with rich families.
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<h4>Superyachts</h4>
Yachting is as much about the exclusive lifestyle as it is about owning a boat. With it comes access to a world beyond the reach of mere mortals. For those who can afford it, glittering European destinations like Monaco, Cannes and the azure seas of Sardinia beckon, and few luxury experiences are better than being on a yacht.
To order a new superyacht at one shipyard, tycoons need to put their names on a five-year waiting list. A weekly charter of the stunning 65-metre superyacht, Imagine, at $710,000 per week may be the preferred option.
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<h4>Celebrations</h4>
What is better than going to an Akon concert with friends to celebrate your 16th birthday? How about a private Akon gig? Did I mention that the 15 friends were all flown to a private island near Dubai, transported in limousines and given Michelin-star catering? Wealthy Africans certainly know how to party. And if you would like to treat your wife on your wedding anniversary, why not hire the renowned Cipriani’s Italian restaurant in Mayfair for a night. You and your beloved can be the only diners on the night, with Beverly Knight on vocals  to add a special touch of romance. Ahhh.
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<h4>Polo</h4>
Polo is famously the sport of kings and was introduced to Lagos in the 1930s through the Lagos Polo Club. Today, in Britain, you will find oil and gas supremo Kola Karim playing polo with Prince William and Prince Harry at Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s private estate, and at Cowdray Park, the best polo ground in the country. The Veuve Clicquot Gold Cup is the most prestigious competition and Nigeria’s Prince Albert Esiri has competed several times. A team of four players, each with a dozen or more top polo horses, would need millions of dollars to play a sing

How Africans Splash Their Cash

When former Ugandan president, Idi Amin, gave Asians a 90-day ultimatum to get out of the country in August 1972, he sparked a desperate fight for life for more than 60,000 people.
Some, who feared Amin’s brutality, had nowhere to run. Their bodies were found in the waters of the Nile.
Hitherto happy families fretted as they sought survival. Among them was a Ugandan Indian retailer’s family that took flight leaving behind, in the midst of panic and confusion, a 16-year-old son.
This vulnerable teenager was Sudhir Ruparelia.
More than 40 years on from this tearful parting, Sudhir is ranked by FORBES as the 24th wealthiest person in Africa with an estimated net worth of $1.1 billion. His is a remarkable story of hard work and endurance.
In an interview at his plush office chambers, in the heart of Kampala, Sudhir recalls how staying behind didn’t bother him when his family fled to Britain.
“It was an awful moment for the Asian community. You couldn’t predict what was to happen to you the next day. But I convinced my parents to leave me behind on the promise that I would join them later,” he says.
Sudhir’s Ugandan-born parents had established a shop and gas station in the middle of Queen Elizabeth National Park in western Uganda. They ran it for years.
The bravery and tenacity that that helped Sudhir survive and prosper amid chaos can be traced back to his childhood.
Sudhir studied in schools that were far away from the wildlife park where his parents ran their business. This meant he traveled long distances alone.
He cadged lifts on trucks ferrying traders. The trucks would leave the bush loaded with fish and salt and return packed with merchandise. Although the East African railway service was booming at that time, Sudhir says it was only for the rich.
At school, there was no communication with his parents until the holidays.
This forged a hard edge to Sudhir. All he wanted from his departing family was money to survive. His wish was granted.
For six weeks, Sudhir ran riot with his friends.
“We had a lot of money to party and drink. The security personnel occasionally stopped us but we always sweet-talked them into releasing us,” he says.
His moment of truth came when intelligence men arrested one of his friends. They wanted to extort money.
“Once he was released, we all decided to leave since the city was also getting desolate. There were just about 100 Asians left,” says Sudhir.
There was nothing left, but to flee.
Sudhir landed alone in London and didn’t even know where to find his parents. Together with other exiles, he was checked into a refugee camp. On the second day, he set out to find friends in Finchley Central. He found eight of them living in a two-roomed house. He never returned to the camp.
After five weeks in London, Sudhir found his family, but only to tell them that he wasn’t content with his refugee status and that he was moving on. He headed to Birmingham and Manchester where there were jobs that could promise permanency.
Sudhir tried to get work at Ford Motor Company but was thwarted by a union closed shop. He moved to Ilford, in northeast London, where he found a job with a company that made test tubes for laboratories. He handled red-hot wax in making centimeter markings on test tubes.
“This was the most sickening job in the entire factory. I barely had any protection and the heat was unbearable. No wonder I worked for only five months and moved back to Finchley Central,” says Sudhir.
Next, he tried to join the Royal Air Force (RAF). He passed the tests and was on the verge of signing for five years.
The problem was he was a minor and needed the consent of his parents. His mother declined. Her idea of the military had been tainted by the cruelty she had witnessed by the Ugandan army. Sudhir’s father differed but the mother held sway.
The RAF offered education. Sudhir hoped for academic success, but it was not to be.
Next, came a string of lowly jobs leading to a supermarket where he worked hard and bought a car. He used it as a cab at the weekends for extra cash. At the same time, he enrolled at a college for A-level studies, majoring in economics and accounts. He completed his studies and worked for a number of companies.
His wife, Jyotsna, with whom he worked at the supermarket, advised him to concentrate on one business. When they got married, Sudhir ventured into real estate in London. He bought properties, renovated them and sold for a profit.
Through this time, Sudhir had an uncle who had stayed behind in Uganda. He kept the link with home.
In February 1985, Sudhir returned to Uganda, aged 29, with $25,000 he earned through real estate deals in London. Due to unrest, Uganda was hit by foreign exchange shortages that caused the decline of the Ugandan shilling (Ush) to a low in 1985 of Ush600 to $1.
Sudhir says he kept a low profile for over a year to allow him time to study and understand the ruined economy.
In December 1986, Sudhir opened a wholesale store, in Kampala’s central business district, dealing in imported beer, salt and wine. The civil war left the breweries of Uganda in ruins.
This made it lucrative to import beer, with household goods, from Kenya. Sudhir positioned himself as a channel between importers and retailers. He became a trusted business partner to the importers, who supplied him the items on credit and claimed payments after a couple of days, to accelerate returns. He ran the system effectively and set up the first solid distribution structure in Kampala.
“While in London, the strongest trait I learnt was being disciplined. I ensured that the suppliers’ money was always readily available as agreed,” he says.
After just three months, he became the number one dealer in imported beer in Kampala.
Armed with a sound supply chain, Sudhir wasted no time in elevating himself to importer. This required piles of foreign exchange. So, he started a currency exchange service, which was another untapped market in Uganda.
Though the sector operated informally, the demand was overwhelming. Sudhir earned $10,000 in profit every day. He invested part of this money in prime properties in Kampala.
In 1990, the government moved in with a policy to regulate forex businesses, which had mushroomed. Sudhir’s Crane Forex bureau became the first to be licensed in the country. This catapulted him beyond his wildest dreams. In just six months, Sudhir says, he was making more money than the commercial banks.
He itched to grow his financial services empire and in 1995 created Crane Bank with $1 million.
Part of his frustration, was the way commercial banks operated as if they were doing everyone a favor. The charges were high and the choice limited. Sudhir’s came up with a motto for his new bank: Serving To Grow And Growing To Serve.
He lowered bank charges, extended banking hours; becoming the first to operate to 5PM and on Saturdays. He also cut red tape.
Today, Crane Bank is worth $120 million in capital and has 38 branches across the country. The country’s second largest commercial bank was voted Bank of the Year Uganda in 2009 and also won the Banker Of The Year award in 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 by the Financial Times in London—where Sudhir’s working life began.
In 2011, the bank posted a 32.3% increment in profit, before tax, rising to Ush90.23 billion ($37 million) from Ush68.19 billion ($28 million) in 2010.
“We are currently about 35 million people in Uganda. Only three and a half million live in Kampala. The rest of the population is in the countryside. That has guided our philosophy of opening more branches up country,” says Sudhir.
His plan is to open 10 branches a year for the next three to four years, with the hope of expanding into Rwanda in March this year, followed by South Sudan.
In his office, Sudhir’s wide collection of awards is impressive. He has won almost of the top investment awards in Uganda, including the Presidential Export Award for 2002, 2006, 2005 and 2009. He also received an honorary Doctorate of Law in Business from the Uganda Pentecostal University for his investments in the Ugandan economy.
A family man, with two daughters and a son, Sudhir’s investments are run under the umbrella of Ruparelia Group of Companies, which also holds high value assets in the property development and management, insurance, education, media and hotel sectors.
Through his floriculture company, Rosebud Ltd, Sudhir has been exporting 13 million roses to Europe a month earning him a profit of $5 million per year. Production is set to increase once he acquires a planned 200 additional hectares. He will effectively produce one and a half million stems a day, creating 7,000 jobs and projected returns worth $95 to 100 million per year.
It hasn’t been all rosy at Uganda’s largest flower exporting farm though. The firm was cited in alleged environmental degradation. The National Association of Professional Environmentalists have accused Rosebud of polluting the Lutembe wetland, on the shores of Lake Victoria, with pesticide and fertilizer effluents, according to FORBES.
However, the National Environment Management Authority, a semi-autonomous institution and principal agency in Uganda charged with the responsibility of coordinating, monitoring, regulating and supervising environmental management in the country, says it has found no fault with Rosebud.
“We licensed Rosebud in 2004 with well stipulated guidelines to follow in safeguarding the environment. We have been monitoring their operations and have no queries save for the wrong perception of some members of the public,” says the authority’s executive director, Tom Okia Okurut.
Sudhir, who is hesitant to delve deeper into the matter because it is before a court, says his plans have the blessing of the environmental regulator.
Last year, residents tried to block the road leading to the farm in protesting the expansion plans. Through his lawyers, Sudhir sought a court injunction to have the development continue.
The Ugandan parliamentary committee on natural resources also instituted investigations into the matter but the speaker halted the proceedings citing sub judice. The real estate business is simpler.
Through his estate holding company, Meera Investments—named after his first daughter—Sudhir owns at least 300 residential and commercial properties in Uganda, from Crane Chambers in the central business district, to scores of apartment blocks, shopping centers, office buildings and tracts of valuable land. He estimates his rent is around $600 million a year from his real estate.
His five-star Speke Resort and Conference Centre, situated on 75 acres, by the shores of Lake Victoria near Kampala, played host to the 2007 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, which drew 59 leaders. Built for the Commonwealth meeting, the resort has 780 rooms, 10 conference rooms, a 1,000-seat ballroom and nine meeting rooms that can accommodate groups ranging from 10 to 300 people. It also has Uganda’s only Olympic size swimming pool, an equestrian center and a host of bars and restaurants.
The plush hotel, worth around $165 million, caught the eye of the late Libyan president, Muammar Gaddafi, who tried to buy it for $120 million. Sudhir turned him down.
His other assets include Speke Hotel, Kabira Country Club and Speke apartments, all high-end facilities in prime zones of Kampala and worth millions of dollars.
Sudhir also bought Victoria University from Edulink Holdings Ltd to add to his educational institutions portfolio already comprising of Kampala International School Uganda (KISU) and Kampala Parents’ School. The institutions are worth more than $40 million.
Asked what guides his investment, Sudhir says it is instinctive risk taking rather than feasibility studies.
“In Africa, feasibility studies are a waste of time. It’s about ability to see opportunity and take it up. If you did feasibility studies for a country like Uganda, you would never do anything,” he says.
Sudhir, the man who drove a cab for pennies and turned down Gaddafi, can never be accused of shrinking from a challenge.

The Man Who Earns  $600 Million A Year In Rent

The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) 20 Share Index closed last year at an enviable 19.2%, settling at 4,927 points. Similarly, investors’ wealth rose from Ksh1.27 trillion ($14.7 billion) to Ksh1.92 trillion ($22.2 billion)—an equivalent of 51.2%. With government debt and real estate yielding an average of 8.2% and 6% respectively, equities easily became the top performing asset class.
Therefore, with an average inflation of 5.7% throughout last year, it means equities gave the best return in real terms. Persistent foreign investor interest, falling interest rates and general favorable economic conditions are some of the main factors that supported the rally. Notwithstanding the heightened political tension early in the year and the almost 100% rise in overall inflation, the market proved to be more robust than expected.
The top five counters, Centum Investment Company, British American Investments, CFC Insurance, Pan Africa Insurance and Safaricom, all doubled in price within the 12-month period on the back of stellar returns. Laggards of the year included Mumias, Kenol Kobil and Scangroup, which all lost more than 25% of their value due to difficult operating environments and negative sentiment. Safaricom became the first NSE-listed company to rise to a capitalization of Ksh400 billion ($4.6 billion) when its share price went past the Ksh10 mark for the first time.
Foreign investors piled into big caps like East African Breweries, Bamburi Cement, Equity Bank and KCB Bank, as appetite for African equities improved. The Capital Markets Authority (CMA) now indicates that foreigners account for 22.4% of investors’ holdings, up from a low of 7.9% in 2008, according to its third quarter Statistical Bulletin 2013. This group now averages 50% on investors’ monthly participation in the market. Net cash inflows from this investor category for the nine months ending last September amounted to Ksh22.6 billion ($262 million), almost matching the total sum for the full year in 2012, which stood at Ksh21.7 billion ($251 million).
NSE saw its total listings go up to 61 following the listing of Home Afrika, a real estate developer which joined the market by way of introduction. The firm floated 405 million shares on the NSE’s Growth Enterprise Market Segment. There were no delistings during the year. CMC Holdings remained suspended, pending the resolution of corporate governance issues and a take-over bid by the Al–Futtaim Group. Access Kenya and Rea Vipingo were also suspended from active trading following take-over notices.
This year the market is poised to keep up with the trend of the overall economy, in effect setting the stage for the continuation. The former major resistance at the 5,000 level may soon turn into a support area, especially if first quarter numbers are solid. The country is projected to grow by 6.2% this year according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), an improvement from 5.9% in 2013 and 4.6% the year earlier. However, IMF’s managing director, Christine Lagarde, warned that the gradual tapering of the United States monetary stimulus program in coming months could temper equity returns and massive outflows could ensue as a result.
Nevertheless, one of the sectors expected to do well is the energy sector owing to the confirmation of higher amounts of recoverable oil, over and above the 300 million barrels so far reported; a scenario likely to spur additional capital expenditure into the country. In this regard, Transcentury is best placed to attract investor attention as it is the only listed stock closely involved in oil and gas exploration. Civicon, one of its important subsidiaries, was recently awarded a lucrative contract involving the building of supporting infrastructure around oil exploration blocks in northern Kenya.
Other sectors anticipated to deliver good returns include the banking and consumer sectors according to risk and research firm Stratlink Africa. It argues the two sectors will experience robust growth, fueled by increasing demand for financial services and technology, especially in the mobile banking arena. In this regard, Kenya Airways, Cooperative Bank, NIC Bank and Barclays Kenya provide a potential hunting ground. However, the firm cautioned that there is risk to this outlook, stemming from the uncertainty surrounding the International Criminal Court cases against the president and his deputy.
Nonetheless, the market multiple stands at 16, meaning there are opportunities to be found. I therefore would like to wish all the bargain hunters out there all the best investing in 2014.

NSE’S AMAZING  BULL RUN

Kola Karim wants to build bridges in Nigeria and the whole of Africa. This is best appreciated when meeting him in person. African in style and looks, he speaks with a posh British accent and has the sophistication of someone who has been part of the business elites of London and Lagos for a long time.
A die-hard afro-optimist, the Harvard graduate sees himself as a mediator between two very different cultures with two very different ways of doing business. He also wants to put Africa on the map as the world’s most promising investment destination of the next decade.
At 41, Karim is one of the wealthiest and most influential entrepreneurs in Nigeria and on the continent. His conglomerate Shoreline Group, which employs more than 5,000 people in seven countries, has interests in all essential industries, from electricity to oil and gas, construction, engineering, commodities trading, logistics and agro-allied products.
He got there through hard work, focus and persistence. Karim, the son of a policeman and an entrepreneurial mother who ran a small commodity trading firm, spent the first years of his childhood in Nigeria. After his father’s death, he moved with his siblings to England at the age of 14, where he studied management, finance and later obtained an MBA.
From there, Karim slowly worked his way to the top. His first job was as a trainee manager at one of Britain’s largest insurance companies, Guardian Royal Exchange Assurance.
“That’s where I cut my teeth, in financial services. It gave me a critical understanding of how business works,” he says.
Two years later, he joined the prestigious investment firm HK Beaumont &amp; Associates as senior manager responsible for pension and investment funds.
Another couple of years later, his entrepreneurial spirit kicked in. The place where he saw the most opportunities was Africa. He returned to Nigeria in 1993 to start Koda Trading with his mother, specializing in the import and export of bulk feed stock, raw materials, heavy-duty machinery and equipment.
“My focus has always been Africa. My mother taught us to always remember who we are and where we come from. Today, I am building businesses right across the continent. We’ve got businesses in Nigeria, Ghana, Angola, Kenya, Uganda… and I want to continue growing,” he says.
When Karim talks about his career today, he makes it sound like an easy ride. But the truth is that his entry into entrepreneurship was rather rocky. He and his mother struggled to access finance to kickstart Koda Trading and were forced to put up their family home as security.
“We were mortgaged up to the neck to the banks. I was under a lot of pressure. If I hadn’t succeeded, my whole family would have gone bust. Because of the pressure, I started to panic. I remember I couldn’t sleep because of the responsibility I carried,” he recalls.
It took him nine months to gain back his confidence at which point he made a deliberate decision to view every negative in the narrative of the African story as an opportunity. His luck started to change, and two years later, Karim turned his first profit.
His ticket to success was Nigeria’s persistent shortfall of electricity. Following his new motto of turning negatives into positives, Karim became an independent, private electricity producer, offering corporates a full range of services, from grid-connected to off-grid power generation, plant management, repair and optimization, power lines, substations and various high and low voltage services.
“Energy security is one of the most important drivers of Africa’s economic growth. It has therefore one of the largest growth potentials for the continent,” he explains.
Power shortages remain a major stumbling block for businesses and households all over sub-Saharan Africa, where only a quarter of residents have access to electricity.
As the Nigerian government struggles to meet rapidly growing energy demands, private companies have a chance to offer complimentary services. That is where Shoreline Power comes in.
Taking on a job that is traditionally the role of government, Karim is keenly aware that a smooth interplay between the private and public sectors is important. While business can take over the slog work, entrepreneurs rely on government to create an enabling regulatory environment.
“Bureaucracy can throw a spanner in the works and hold back growth. We need more transparency, rule of law, open and functional processes to attract investment.”
At the same time, he is keenly aware that the private sector needs to play its part by creating best practices based on international business standards. Eradicating corruption should be on top of this list, says Karim, who was chosen as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2008 for his excellent management skills and his transparency in conducting business. That is crucial in a nation like Nigeria, which has long been considered one of the world’s most corrupt states, with billions in oil revenue pocketed and misused during the past decade.
Despite his excitement about the possibilities of public-private partnerships, Karim has over the years become wary of relying too much on government contracts. He learned from his past experiences.
His main lesson came several years ago, when he chased a range of major government contracts, which were eventually awarded to a Chinese competitor. It was a serious setback for Shoreline from which the company took a long time to recover.
“It was a huge letdown, mentally and financially. This is where African governments need to think because they could drive successful entrepreneurs out of the continent. While my revenues stay in the country, a Chinese or Indian company can just pack their bags and go [if things don’t work out]. So who deserves the bigger support? Africa, at this point, has the opportunity to strive. But we need government to support us,” he says.
It was at this point that Karim decided to never again put all of his eggs into one basket. He began to diversify, branching out into food, construction, oil and gas services, exploration, logistics and production.
“I built my business by investing in anything that contributes to the lives of ordinary Africans. All you got to look for in entrepreneurship is the simple stuff,” he suggests.
It doesn’t need rocket science to understand that a continent with a billion people and some of the world’s fastest growing economies offers tremendous opportunity.
“Africa is reaching a position where it can negotiate. And the world is ready to listen,” says Karim.
He is, however, keenly aware that Africa will never come out of its economic doldrums until it creates a generation of entrepreneurs that will create sustainable businesses willing to reinvest in Africa.
Karim is taking the lead from one of his mentors, Africa’s richest man, cement magnate Aliko Dangote, whose net worth FORBES estimates at $20.8 billion.
“I have learnt a lot from Dangote. He has been like a brother to me. He is dogged and determined, and he doesn’t let anyone push him around,” he says.
The business acumen Karim has shown in recent years has not gone unnoticed by Nigeria’s entrepreneurial elite.
“Kola Karim is one of Nigeria’s emerging entrepreneurs who has already made his mark on the national scene with the remarkable growth recorded by his various interests. He is a versatile and astute businessman, a role model,” lauds Dangote.
One of Karim’s secrets is to keep business in the family. He is running Shoreline as a tight-knit family firm, which he believes is part of the group’s success. Apart from his mother, four of his five siblings work for the conglomerate. “As a family business, you always have people in management who have the interests of the business at heart, because you’re in the same boat. Together, we grew the company from a small firm into a global business,” he says.
His focus as founder and group managing director is Shoreline’s overall strategy and vision. But he also has the reputation of being a brilliant salesman, which, combined with his endless optimism about Africa, has over the years helped him strike major deals with powerful financial backers and multi-nationals.
Karim says he learned to sell himself during his time at Harvard Business School when he realized that communication is one of the most important tools for the success of any business.
“As a Nigerian entrepreneur, you have to be your own best salesman. We have to be relentless, determined and persistent because we come from a disadvantaged position. We have lots of things that speak against us: threats of kidnapping, Boko Haram, corruption. We have to fight prejudice and negative perceptions,” he says.
“If you want to convince global corporations to invest, they have to believe that you are trustworthy and reliable. The first thing you have to do is make known that you are not a conman, not a fraudster, not a drug dealer.”
This approach clearly worked for him. Karim single-handedly turned his national company into an international conglomerate through strategic acquisitions and partnerships.
“I don’t believe in reinventing the wheel. My business model is to look at existing, successful international brands that want to enter my region. The best technology belongs to the big corporates, so we partner with them and that way create positives for us,” he explains.
He has struck partnerships with industry giants like electronic equipment manufacturer Siemens, power and automation technology developer ABB, oil and gas technology and project management provider Schlumberger, engineering and construction group Costain, tyre manufacturer Michelin and communications giant Motorola.
His very first acquisition was that of Swiss multinational ABB. According to Karim, it happened by coincidence. He was chatting to the man seated next to him on a plane. When the aircraft touched down, they exchanged business cards. Only then did Karim realize he had been talking to a senior manager at ABB.
When he learnt that ABB was considering pulling out of Nigeria, Karim saw his chance. He suggested they sell their Nigerian operations to Shoreline.
“To my shock and horror, he looked at me and said ‘let me discuss it’. Three weeks later, he invited me to Switzerland to make a proposal. I was stunned,” Karim explains.
The deal with ABB gave him a taste for what was possible. He realized it could be replicated with other multinationals in other business sectors.
Karim purchased controlling shares of the West African operations of British group Costain, followed by the acquisition of a cache of oilfields in the conflict-scarred Niger Delta in a joint venture with Heritage Oil for $850 million, in November 2012.
With the deal, Karim secured himself a portly share of Nigeria’s oil production, which is the largest in Africa. It also brought him a step closer to his goal of becoming a significant upstream oil operator in his home country.
The father of three children, who live with his wife in England, spends much time jetting back and forth between Lagos and London. Although he could easily afford it, he doesn’t own a private jet. He prefers flying commercial airlines, since they are better for networking.
“I do have access to one or two private jets to travel with, but to me it’s boring because you travel on your own. A commercial plane, in contrast, is a good place to meet interesting people,” he says.
With that much on the go, it’s surprising that Karim has a private life at all. Every now and then, he escapes from the humdrum of loud and chaotic Lagos to one of the megacity’s lakes, where he likes to race speedboats.
His other hobby is the exclusive game of polo. With a handicap that nears professionalism, Karim is one of Nigeria’s most ardent and popular players. He is a member of Nigeria’s prestigious Lagos Polo Club on Ikoyi Island, the city’s most upmarket neighborhood.
A true fanatic, Karim, who started playing polo in his early twenties, bought his own team, the Shoreline Polo club.
“I play a lot of polo in Nigeria, Ghana, South Africa and England. My brother, my son and I play a lot of tournaments. Polo is one of the sports that demand the highest mental aptitude. You ride a horse while at the same time holding a stick and hitting a ball,” he says.
One comes to fully understand Karim’s love for polo when realizing that it is mirrored by his fashion sense. Classic with a modern twist, he is a fan of fashion guru Ralph Lauren’s famous Polo flagship brand—so much so that over the years he has become friends with the celebrated designer.
In May, Karim threw a glamorous charity event at London’s Ralph Lauren store on the expensive New Bond Street in aid of The Pure Soul Learning Foundation that supports people with autism—one of his many philanthropic initiatives.
It was a move with a somewhat ulterior motive however. Karim plans to invest in the fashion industry next.
“I want to boost African brands, from fashion to design and furniture to market Africa’s image. I want to re-brand Africa.”

The Polo Playing Entrepreneur  Who Calls Dangote Brother

The wealthiest women in the US have gotten even richer over the past year. Buoyed by a strong stock market and rising real estate prices, the combined net worth of the ten richest women on The Forbes 400 is $156.6 billion, up from $124.2 billion last year.
Altogether there are 48 women on this year’s Forbes 400 list of richest Americans, up from 45 last year. Newcomers include Elaine Marshall, who inherited a stake in private conglomerate Koch Industries from her late husband, and Anne Gittinger, granddaughter of the co-founder of Nordstrom  department stores.
Another new woman is a longtime Forbes 400 member: James Pritzker, a former lieutenant colonel in the army and an heir to the extended Chicago Pritzker family fortune, announced in August that she will now be known as Jennifer Pritzker. That makes her the first transgender billionaire. Pritzker runs the Pritzker Military Library in Chicago.
<div id="attachment_5799" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-5799" class="size-medium wp-image-5799" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/006-Lauren-Powell-Jobs-300x200.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" />Lauren Powell Jobs</div>
The wealthiest woman in America, Christy Walton, is also the world’s richest woman, with a net worth Forbes pegs at $35.4 billion. Walton inherited a stake in retailer Wal-Mart and a chunk of stock in solar firm First Solar FSLR -1.23% when her husband, John Walton, died in a plane crash in 2005.
Walton ranks 6th on The Forbes 400 list. She leads a very private life in Jackson, Wyoming but in August had a rare bit of publicity when was given an award by the Imagen Foundation for producing the film Bless Me, Ultima, based on the book by Rudolfo Anaya, who is considered the father of Chicano literature. Walton, aged 59, has faced a number of difficulties in her life in addition to her husband’s death. Her son – her only child – battled cancer when he was just three years old and she fought a case of pneumonia that nearly killed her, according to the Imagen Foundation.
America’s second-richest woman is Alice Walton, sister-in-law of Christy Walton and daughter of Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton. Forbes puts her net worth at $33.5 billion, a fortune mostly comprised of stock she inherited in Wal-Mart and her art collection. She ranks 8th on The Forbes 400. Alice Walton opened the Crystal Springs Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas in 2011, and it has proved to be a popular attraction, already clocking 1 million visitors.
<div id="attachment_5801" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-5801" class="size-medium wp-image-5801" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/004-Abigain-Johnson-300x229.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="229" />Abigain Johnson</div>
Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs, ranks 35th on The Forbes 400. She is the richest woman in Silicon Valley and is the 6th richest woman on the list, with a net worth of $11.7 billion.
Women still make up a minority of The Forbes 400 richest – just 12% of this elite group. Most of the women inherited their fortunes; only seven of the 45 started their own businesses or co-founded them with their husbands.
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Tag: Wealth

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