Strive Masiyiwa steps down 3 days after becoming Southern Africa’s richest Black billionaire

Econet Wireless Zimbabwe shares were worth ZW$139.83 (US$0.43) yesterday, giving the telecom business a ZW$363-billion ($1.12 billion) valuation.

At the current market value, his stake in Econet Wireless Zimbabwe is worth ZW$191.84 billion (US$591.2 million).

Masiyiwa surpassed South African mining tycoon Patrice Motsepe to become the richest Black billionaire in Southern Africa three days  ago, according to data retrieved from the US business magazine, Forbes.

Data tracked by Billionaires.Africa revealed that with a real-time net worth of US$3.4 billion, the tech billionaire has surpassed Motsepe, who is worth US$3.2 billion, to become Southern Africa’s richest Black billionaire.

Despite having more than 1 000 ultra-high net worth individuals, Southern Africa, which includes Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe, has just two Black billionaires.

Masiyiwa’s net worth was evaluated at US$2.7 billion at the start of this year, while Motsepe’s fortune was valued at US$3.2 billion due to his stake in African Rainbow Minerals, South Africa’s first Black-owned mining corporation.

Masiyiwa’s fortune has risen by US$700 million this year, from US$2.7 billion in January to US$3.4 billion owing to a jump in the shares of his publicly traded companies and a revaluation of his investments in Econet Global and Liquid Intelligent Technologies.

Shares in his publicly-traded Econet Wireless Zimbabwe — Zimbabwe’s largest telecommunications services provider — and Cassava Smartech Zimbabwe, now EcoCash Holdings, have climbed by more than 67 and 94%, respectively, since the start of 2022.

The market value of his interests in Econet Wireless Zimbabwe and EcoCash Holdings has risen by US$243 million and US$93 million, respectively, as a result of the price hike.

This amounts to a US$336-million gain for the Zimbabwean billionaire since the year began. –Billionaires.Africa

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