Number of billionaires in Africa jumps by 50%

The four most affluent Africans hold $57.4bn and are richer than approximately 50% of the continent’s 750m inhabitants, according to a report by the anti-poverty organisation Oxfam. The report states that Africa had no billionaires in 2000, notes News24. Today, the continent has 23 billionaires whose combined wealth has soared by 56% in just the past five years, reaching a staggering $112.6bn. Furthermore, the top 5% of Africans possess nearly $4trn in wealth, which is over twice the total wealth of the rest of the continent. The report also states that nearly half of the world’s 50 most unequal countries are in Africa. In January, Oxfam reported that billionaire wealth was growing faster than ever worldwide. Oxfam contended that government policies are biased against the poor and allow the continent’s super-rich to accumulate even more wealth. ‘Most African countries are not fully leveraging progressive taxation to effectively tax the super-rich and address inequality,’ the organisation’s report said. According to Oxfam, Africa’s tax systems are nearly three times less effective at redistributing income from the richest 1% than the global average. Imposing an additional 1% tax on the wealth and 10% on the income of the richest 1% in Africa could raise $66bn annually. The continent also loses an estimated $88.6bn annually through illicit financial flows. In its report, Oxfam named Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote as the richest man on the continent, with an estimated wealth of $23.3bn. The top four also comprise of South Africans Johann Rupert and Nicky Oppenheimer, as well as Egyptian businessman Nassef Sawiris. The NGO cautioned that inequality hinders democracy, impedes poverty reduction, and exacerbates the climate crisis in Africa. ‘Political capture’ by the wealthy undermines ‘pro-poor government policies and the effectiveness of public institutions’, the report said.