FULL LIST: Meet the African billionaires who own luxury brands around the world

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Africa’s roster of billionaires is a fascinating mix of industrial titans, financiers, and cultural influencers. Yet only a handful have direct or meaningful connections to luxury brands, whether through ownership, significant stakes, or founding luxury ventures.

African billionaires such as Johann Rupert, Nassef Sawiris, Folorunsho Alakija, Patrice Motsepe and Aliko Dangote have built fortunes that intersect with global luxury brands, from high-end watches and jewellery to premium fashion and lifestyle businesses. [Getty Images]

Africa is home to a small but influential group of billionaires who own or hold stakes in luxury brands worldwide.
Johann Rupert leads the list through Richemont, owner of Cartier, Montblanc, and other iconic luxury houses.
Egypt’s Nassef Sawiris holds a major stake in Adidas, while Nigeria’s Folorunsho Alakija built a luxury fashion brand before her oil success.
Patrice Motsepe and Aliko Dangote influence luxury markets through fashion platforms, lifestyle investments, and wealth-driven prestige.

This list highlights the continent’s wealthiest figures linked to luxury goods and lifestyle brands that resonate globally or within premium markets.

1. Johann Rupert (South Africa)

Richemont’s portfolio includes iconic brands such as:

Cartier — luxury watches and jewellery
Montblanc — premium writing instruments and leather goods
Van Cleef & Arpels — high jewellery
IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Piaget, and Vacheron Constantin — renowned luxury watches

Under Rupert’s leadership, Richemont has become one of the top global players in luxury goods, placing his name firmly on the worldwide luxury map.

2. Nassef Sawiris (Egypt)

Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris doesn’t own traditional luxury fashion houses, but he holds a significant minority stake in Adidas, the German sportswear and lifestyle brand known for its premium collaborations and global cultural influence.

Adidas isn’t positioned as ultra-luxury like Cartier, but its limited releases and designer partnerships (with high-end fashion houses and celebrities worldwide) place it in the premium and aspirational segment of fashion, making Sawiris a notable figure in global lifestyle branding.

3. Folorunsho Alakija (Nigeria)

Nigeria’s Folorunsho Alakija is a billionaire whose early career did include a luxury fashion brand. Before her enormous success in oil and energy, she founded the tailoring and fashion label Supreme Stitches, which catered to elite clients and later evolved into the Rose of Sharon House of Fashion—a prestigious Nigerian luxury clothing brand.

Alakija studied fashion design in London and launched Supreme Stitches in the 1980s. Her designs attracted wealthy Nigerian clientele, including political and social elites.

While Alakija’s primary wealth now comes from oil (via Famfa Oil), her early luxury fashion house remains part of her entrepreneurial legacy.

4. Patrice Motsepe (South Africa)

Patrice Motsepe is one of South Africa’s most prominent billionaires, primarily through his mining and diversified investment empire.

Motsepe himself isn’t known for owning a luxury brand, but his family’s influence in the luxury fashion realm comes through his wife, Dr. Precious Moloi-Motsepe, a fashion entrepreneur and founder of African Fashion International (AFI).

AFI organizes high-profile fashion events, supports luxury designers, operates an e-commerce and luxury retail platform, and positions itself as a pan-African facilitator of luxury fashion.

While AFI isn’t owned directly by Motsepe as a billionaire brand owner, it is a major luxury fashion ecosystem in Africa, driven by his immediate family’s investments and leadership.

5. Aliko Dangote (Nigeria)

Aliko Dangote is Africa’s richest billionaire, built on cement, sugar, flour, and oil refinery businesses through the Dangote Group.

The Competition Authority of Kenya cleared the transaction without conditions, concluding that the deal posed no competition risks because the acquiring firm and Pollman operate in different segments of the tourism value chain.

The takeover represents a new phase in Pollman’s long history as a leading Kenyan tourism brand dating back to the 1950s and a member of the Africa Travel Group. It also reflects a growing trend towards long-term private capital backing in East Africa’s consumer-focused, experience-led industries.

6. Salwa Idrissi Akhannouch (Morocco)

Moroccan businesswoman Salwa Idrissi Akhannouch is one of Africa’s most prominent billionaires, with her wealth built largely on luxury retail and lifestyle investments. Widely regarded as a trailblazer in North Africa’s fashion and hospitality space, she has played a key role in shaping how global luxury brands operate in the region.

She is the founder and CEO of AKSAL Group, a diversified Moroccan conglomerate that holds franchises for some of the world’s most prestigious luxury names, including Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Fendi, Dior, Zara, and Galeries Lafayette in Morocco.

Through these partnerships, Idrissi Akhannouch has positioned Morocco as a major luxury shopping destination, blending international brands with local cultural aesthetics.

Beyond fashion retail, her business empire extends into luxury hotels, malls, and real estate, reinforcing her billionaire status and influence in Africa’s luxury economy. Her success has made her one of the continent’s most powerful female entrepreneurs and a symbol of Africa’s growing footprint in the global luxury market.

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