Top 5 Richest Presidents in Africa [Forbes List]

Have you ever wondered who the richest presidents in Africa are? In Africa, the richest people are not just businessmen. Politicians and presidents also make up the list of high-net-worth individuals on the continent.

Corruption has certainly played a great part in this, with many African Presidents enriching themselves with public funds.

In this article, we look at some of the richest presidents on the African Continent.

President Paul Kagame – Estimated Net Worth $500 Million

Paul Kagame is the President of Rwanda and one of the richest heads of state in Africa. He was born on the 23rd of October 1957, in Tambwe, Ruanda-Urundi.

He is Rwanda’s fourth president, having entered office in 2000 when the former President, Pasteur Bizimungu resigned.

President Kagame was a soldier in the armed forces before entering into governance and politics. He was essential in stopping Rwandan Genocides in 1994.

He was the pioneer of the Rwandan Patriotic Front that attacked Rwanda, stopping the killing of Hutus by Tutsis.

As a politician, he was formerly a vice president, and also occupied many other numerous positions before he became President.

Fortunately, Rwanda’s economy has improved significantly since he came into power. Paul Kagame earns $85,000 as his annual salary as the President.

In 2012, Financial Times published a report alleging that Paul Kagame and his family controlled a vast majority of the Rwandan economy through a holding company named “Crystal Ventures.”

He is also one of the few African Heads of the state that owns a private jet. One which he bought for a whopping sum of $50 million.

President Uhuru Kenyatta – Estimated Net Worth of $500 million

President Kenyatta is the current President of the Republic of Kenya, as well as one of the richest presidents on the African continent.

 

He’s the son of the former President and served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Gatundu South between 2002 and 2013. he also served as the Deputy Prime Minister under his Father Jomo Kenyatta.

Kenyatta, who was a priest before becoming a president, owes much of his wealth to the over 500,000 acres of fertile land he owns in Kenya.

Additionally, President Uhuru owns shares in Kenyan Media outfits, banks, and hotels among other institutions.

She’s also the owner of Brookside Dairy, the largest dairy farm in Kenya.

All of this, in addition to other investments, put the estimated net worth of President Kenyatta at $500 million.

Officially, President Kenyatta earns a take-home salary of $132,000 per annum.

Although it was announced that he took a pay cut and now earns one of the lowest salaries, He is still one of the richest presidents in Africa.

President Teodoro Obiang Mbasogo – Estimated Net Worth $600 Million

Born on the 5th of June 1954, President Teodoro is the President of Equatorial Guinea, an office that he got after a military coup in 1979, where he ousted his uncle from office.

 

It is believed that the President’s considerable wealth comes from exploiting the petroleum resources in his country.

President Teodoro is estimated to be worth at least $600 million. Sources report that the President’s son followed in his Father’s footsteps.

He was living in a $35 million home in Malibu, as well as owning 3 luxury Bugatti Verona cars with each costing $1.7 million.

President Teodoro has had several issues to deal with but is one of the richest presidents on the continent.

President Ali Bongo Ondimba – Estimated Net Worth $2 Billion

Ali Bongo Ondimba is Gabon’s current President. He has been in office since October of 2009.

His annual presidential salary is estimated to be $65,000 apart from other allowances that accrued to his office as the head of state.

Gabon is Africa’s fifth-largest oil producer, making the nation’s economy mainly oil-dependent.

While a large number of Gabon’s population live in poverty, the President was reported by Daily Mail to have bought a house  worth $129 million in Paris.

President’s net worth is estimated at $2 billion, which makes him one of Africa’s wealthiest presidents.

He is the second richest President on the continent and has been in power for a relatively long time.

King Mohammed VI (Net Worth $2.5 Billion) – Richest President in Africa 2022

King Mohammed VI, who is the President of Morocco, as well as its monarch, is Africa’s richest President.

According to Forbes, He is worth about $2.5 Billion. King Mohammed was preceded by his father, Hassan II, who was the reigning monarch.

Mohammed was born in Rabat, Morocco’s capital, in  August 1963.  he has been in control of the North African country for a long time.

Incidentally, Mohammed is Africa’s most educated President, having bagged various degrees from Prestigious institutions worldwide.

He completed his primary and secondary educations at the Royal College and was awarded his Baccalaureate in 1991. He also studied law at the University of Agdal.

1993 King Mohammed got his Ph.D. in law with a distinction from the University of Nice in France.

He had held various high-ranking positions, including time in the military before he entered into politics and later ascended to the throne.

In 2015, Mohammed VI was ranked by Forbes as the leading bank and businessman in the world.

This President is involved in everything from oil exploration to real estate, agriculture banking, and many other investments.

All of these investments are estimated to run into billions of dollars. The King is also Henneken leading distributor in Africa.

It has been claimed that he receives $480,000 per annum as salary in his position as the President of Morocco.

Conclusion on the Richest Presidents in Africa 2022

So, there it is, a list of some of the richest presidents in Africa. As you can see, they are worth a staggering amount of money.

Quite saddening, however, is the fact that for most of these countries, the wealth of their presidents were gotten via corrupt management of the nation’s resources, and a bulk of the wealth remaining out of the reach of the masses.

So, which President and country do you think should be on this list?

Let us know in the comment box below.