President Kenyatta ranked fourth in list of richest Kenyans

A newly released report has ranked President Uhuru Kenyatta as the fourth-richest Kenyan with a net worth of Ksh.60 billion ($530 million).Kenyatta was placed behind industrialists Sameer Naushad Merali, Bhimji Depar Shah and Jaswinder Singh Bedi.With a net worth of Ksh.89.6 billion ($790 million), Sameer Naushad Merali is the heir to the late businessman Naushad Merali, and his investment interests include telecommunications, manufacturing, agriculture, banking and real estate.Bhimji Depar Shah is the founder of Bidco Group of Companies with a fortune worth Ksh.85 billion ($750 million), while Jaswinder Singh Bedi, a textile manufacturer, came in third with a Ksh.77.1 billion ($680 million) fortune.The report quoted on Business Daily was released on Monday by British charity organization Oxfam International, which said the data was up to date as of November 30, 2021.
It was based on data from Wealth-X, an international organisation that monitors records of the world’s richest individuals.
President Kenyatta’s wealth was attributed to business ventures across banking, milk processing, transport, media, hospitality and land, among others, although the report noted a likelihood of the figure being connected to the larger Kenyatta family.
Mahendra Rambhai Patel, whose family owns Ramco Group, was ranked fifth with a Ksh.48.7 billion ($430 million) fortune.
The report also projected 19 dollar billionaires in Africa, none of which is from Kenya.
Nigerian Aliko Dangote is still Africa’s richest individual at Ksh.1.5 trillion ($13.5 billion) drawn from businesses across cement manufacturing, sugar and salt milling, mining, logistics and energy.
Egyptian construction mogul Nassef Sawiris, who has also invested in fertiliser, sportswear and cement sectors is second at $8.2 billion, while South Africa’s Nicky Oppenheimer came third at $7.9 billion.
His fortune was attributed to the 2012 sale of his family’s stake in the De Beers diamond mining company.