Zimbabwean telecoms billionaire Strive Masiyiwa now has a net worth of US $2.3 billion, according to Forbes Africa. Forbes has compiled its annual list of the richest Africans and Masiyiwa is on number 8. His net worth is up from $1.6 billion last year.
Said Forbes:
Among the few on the list who are richer than a year ago is Strive Masiyiwa of Zimbabwe, worth an estimated $2.3 billion, up from $1.6 billion last year. He’s richer due to a rise in the share price of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe and a new investment that boosted the value of his stake in fiber optic and satellite services firm Liquid Telecom.
…He owns just over 50% of the publicly-traded Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, which is one part of his larger Econet Group. Masiyiwa also owns just over half of private company Liquid Telecom, which provides fiber optic and satellite services to telecom firms across Africa.
His other assets include stakes in mobile phone networks in Burundi and Lesotho, and investments in fintech and power distribution firms in Africa. He and his wife Tsitsi founded the Higherlife Foundation, which supports orphaned and poor children in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Burundi and Lesotho.
Forbes said Masiyiwa is included on the list even though he’s based in London because of his expansive telecom holdings in Africa.
Masiyiwa shares the 8th spot with Angolan Isabel dos Santos, Egypt’s Mohamed Mansour, and the South Africans Koos Bekker and Patrice Motsepe. Number 1 on the list, the for the 8th year in a role is the Nigerian cement billionaire Aliko Dangote who is now worth $10.3 billion.