Who are the top 10 Richest Presidents in Africa 2019 and how do they accumulate wealth in countries where citizens can’t afford basic needs like food, shelter and healthcare?
Ironically, the poorest people in Africa live in the richest countries while you will easily find the richest people living in some of the poorest countries. Some of the richest presidents inherited their wealth from colonial spoils while others just became rich through business or corruption because their grandparents were paupers.
Consequently, here is a list of the top 10 Richest Presidents in Africa 2019 with reference to Forbes Africa, People With Money magazine and CelebrityNetWorth:
Top 10 Richest Presidents in Africa 2019
- King Mohammed VI ($5.8 billion) – Morocco
- Ali Bongo Ondimba ($1 billion) – Gabon
- Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo ($600 million) – Equatorial Guinea
- Uhuru Kenyatta ($500 million) – Kenya
- Paul Kagame ($500 million) – Rwanda
- Cyril Ramaphosa ($450 million) – South Africa
- King Mswati III ($200 million) – Swaziland
- Abdel Fattah el-Sisi ($185 million) – Egypt
- Isaias Afwerki ($100 million) – Eritrea
- Idriss Déby ($50 million) – Chad
George Ayittey: Cheetahs vs. Hippos for Africa’s future:
First, Ghanaian economist George Ayittey unleashes a torrent of controlled anger toward corrupt leaders in Africa — and calls on the Cheetah generation to take back the continent.
As you ponder on this, watch George Ayittey below to understand the mind of some African leaders and why they act the way they do with regards to corruption, accountability and democracy:
Infographic: Top 10 Richest Presidents in Africa – 2019
Mohammed VI of Morocco is the richest president in Africa with an estimated net worth of about $5.8 billion. Born on August 1963 in Rabat, Morocco, Mohammed VI has been the King of Morocco for the past 15 years. Raised in wealth, power and royalty, he had the opportunity to be educated at the most prestigious schools worldwide. After he ascended to office in July 1999 following the death of his father, King Hassan II.
His net worth is said to be $5.8 billion. According to reports, Mohammed VI’s fortune largely stems from a Moroccan company called (SNI) Societe Nationale Investissement, where he has large assets worth over $10 billion and also from gigantic companies such as Marjane Holding and SNI’s 48% shareholding in Attijariwafa – Morocco’s largest bank.
While the majority of Africans are barely getting by financially, African presidents are known to be among the wealthiest individuals in Africa and there is a general understanding that it is the office that swells up the bank accounts of African presidents and their families.
Who is Africa’s poorest president?
We all know of the world’s ‘poorest president’, Uruguay’s José Alberto “Pepe” Mujica Cordano. He served as the 40th President of Uruguay from 2010 to 2015. It is said that Africa’s poorest president is Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari who is said to have no private companies, factories and accounts in any foreign banks.
It is said that Africa’s poorest president is Nigeria’s Muhammadu Buhari who is said to have no private companies, factories and accounts in any foreign banks. Click To TweetAs at last year, these where his assets according to nigerianinfopedia.com: five houses, two mud houses, undeveloped ground area in the Southern region of the country, undeveloped land in the Northern region of the country a ranch with an orchard, cattle (270 heads), poultry, five horses and 25 sheep shares in Berger Paints, Union Bank and Skye Bank; two new vehicles.
Most of the time, upon assuming power, some African leaders start amassing wealth, often using unorthodox means. They see leadership as an opportunity to enrich themselves over the mandate to serve their people. Countries leading in corruption menace are mostly from Africa, and in most cases under the web of the presidents and people close to them.
Some are genuine business people, but the seat of presidency and its influence comes with loopholes to grow their vast businesses. In such cases, it’s prudent to include both current and former presidents when ranking them in terms of their wealth.
How do they accumulate wealth in countries where citizens can’t afford basic needs like food, shelter and healthcare?
Who are the top 10 Richest Presidents in Africa 2019 and how do they accumulate wealth in countries where citizens can’t afford basic needs like food, shelter and healthcare? Click To Tweet
Precious Wamau
Uhuru Kenyatta is at number 4 with $500 million, this list is not accurate! In Africa, Mr Magufuli’s pay is less than a tenth of that of his Cameroonian counterpart and just about a quarter that of Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta. The revelation by Tanzanian President John Magufuli that he earns only Sh400,000 a month has cast into the spotlight the salaries of heads of state across Africa and the eastern African region in particular.
Manser Thelua
Thomas Sankara, like many African presidents, came into power thanks to a coup in Burkina Faso in 1983. The coup was not organized by him but by his friend Blaise Compaoré, however it was Thomas who was elected president as a charismatic leader. And Thomas, a steadfast marxist, tried transforming Upper Volta into a communist society, the Cuban way.
For starters, the country got renamed from Upper Volta to Burkina Faso in order to get away from the colonial past, and things got going fast. Sankara was a hardcore marxist and thought that a personal example may and should inspire people.
His family and he lived for capitan’s wages (about $450), with the $2000 Presidential salary given to charity. When his story will come to an end, it will turn out that the “poorest president” only had an old Peugeot he had bought before becoming president, four bikes, three guitars and a refrigerator with a broken freezer compartment.
Sankara forbid installing air conditioning in his office as he would “feel bad towards the people who can’t afford such luxury.” The governmental motor pool, which included several Mercedes-Benz automobiles, was sold off and replaced entirely by the cheapest alternative at the time — the Renault 5. Then Sankara decreased the ministers’ salaries, forbid employing personal drivers, and forbid wearing clothes not made in Burkina Faso. On the New Year eves the ministers were expected to contribute a month’s salary worth to social funds. Sankara even laid off half of the government once and sent them to work on collective farms. The World Bank reported, to its own surprise, that Burkina Faso had no corruption by 1986.
Harry Truman was the worlds poorest president, with a net worth considerably less than $1 million. Research by the Business Daily revealed that only nine African heads of state earn more than Sh1 million a month. Bottom of the list is Sierra Leone’s Ernest Koroma who pockets an equivalent of Sh103,300 a month. According to the office of the president of Sierra Leone, Mr Koroma took a voluntary 50 per cent pay cut in 2015 to help fund the fight against Ebola in the country. Other African states whose presidents earn less than Sh200,000 a month include Guinea, Cape Verde, Tunisia and Senegal.
We choose to be rich or poor every day. Do something each day that will add value to your life or to the lives of others, no matter how small it may be.The Spanish say, “poco a poco se valejos” which means “little by little one goes a long way”
Fee Atieno
When I grow up I want to be a president – in Africa of course!
The saddest thing I think is the countries that pay so much money, what for?
The president is meant to be the greatest servant. Granted they shouldn’t live in squalor, but this money is also part of the reason why there is so much dictatorship in Africa. Who wants to give up such a fat paycheck? And with money plus power, what stops them from monopolizing industries, taking whatever the hell they want?
Sometimes living in Africa feels so sad, you look at most of the leaders and you just feel sorry.
Maybe its high time we started voting for people Njoroge of CBK, after all we have nothing to lose but our hard earned money through taxes and other unfortunate things like bribes…
Daisy Mwikali
Over half of the nations in Africa are considered to be the poorest countries in the world. Although Africa is perceived as a poor continent, most of our influential leaders are worth millions of dollars. According to Forbes 2018 ranking of the world’s billionaires, Nigerian business magnate Aliko Dangote with a net worth of $13.8 billion is the world’s richest black person.
Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni is the highest earning East African head of state with a monthly salary of Sh1.5 million, followed closely by our very own Uhuru Kenyatta with a monthly pay of Sh 1.4 million. Rwanda’s Paul Kagame comes a distant third, earning half of what his Kenyan counterpart gets. Uhuru Kenyatta earns Sh1.4 million while his deputy William Ruto is entitled to between Sh1 million and Sh1.4 million per month. It means that even Kenya’s deputy president is better paid than most African presidents who do not receive even a million shillings monthly.
Cameroonian president Paul Biya tops the list of the highest paid heads of state in Africa with a monthly salary of Sh5.3 million. Mr Biya has been in office for three and a half decades. Mr Biya’s salary is close to that of top corporate executives in Kenya such as the Kenya Commercial Bank Group’s CEO Joshua Oigara who revealed two yeas ago that he earns Sh4.9 million monthly in salary and allowances. However, even then Cameroonian president’s salary is just about half that of Safaricom’s CEO Bob Collymore who in 2015 revealed that he was earning an average of Sh9 million monthly.