Africa’s wealth disparity has reached unprecedented levels, with just four billionaires now holding more wealth than 750 million people combined – half the continent’s population.
According to a report from Oxfam entitled Africa’s Inequality Crisis and the Rise of the Super-Rich, released on Thusday, Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote, South Africans Johann Rupert and Nicky Oppenheimer and Egyptian businessman Nassef Sawiris control a combined $57.4 billion (€49.07bn).
This staggering concentration of wealth highlights the deepening inequality across the continent, the report warns.
Number of African-born millionaires to skyrocket over next decade: report
From what I’ve heard (although I have no real sources) a lot of the rich Africans are similarly wealthy to many of the rich Americans. Its mostly owners of resource extraction sites and refineries, similar to oil barons and mining companies in American history, but with even less regulations. That said, you don’t really hear about them as much because the local governments aren’t strong enough to challenge them (or even collect accurate information on them) and they’re less interested in flaunting their wealth to the poor.