Top 10 youngest African billionaires in 2025

The billionaire class in Africa has traditionally been dominated by people over the age of 70, many of whom have built their fortunes through economic development in fields like natural resources, finance, and telecommunications for decades.

Business Insider Africa presents the top 10 youngest African billionaires in 2025.
This list is courtesy of Forbes.
Mo Dewji ranks number 1 on the list.

Despite being a continent of young people, Africa’s wealthiest individuals are usually of advanced age.

For context, 10 of Africa’s billionaires are above the age of 72, with Nathan Kirsh, the oldest, being over 90 years old.

In contrast there is only one billionaire on the continent below the age of 50.

While having old billionaires is not a phenomenon unique to Africa, the emergence of tech has ensured that younger people, some even below the age of 30, can become members of the coveted billionaire club.

As is seen with current prevalent trends, younger billionaires are more likely to emerge from sectors like technology, fintech, and entertainment rather than traditional industries such as oil and mining, which many of Africa’s high-net-worth individuals make their billions from.

Given the industries young billionaires operate in, their relevance in Africa cannot be overstated as the world becomes increasingly digital.

Their success has the potential to accelerate Africa’s economic growth.

Young African billionaires who made their fortunes in modern sectors are more incentivized to reinvest in said sectors.

This promotes a thriving startup environment and speeds job development, lowering unemployment among Africa’s enormous young population.

Nathan Kirsh, South African/Swazi billionaire businessman with investments across the world (Tropage)

Additionally, older billionaires in Africa have often depended on hierarchical, conventional business methods.

Younger billionaires, on the other hand, are more inclined to adopt more adaptable, tech-driven, and decentralized company models.

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This move might result in increased workplace efficiency, more pay, and better working conditions for employees.

Furthermore, enormous wealth typically comes with political influence, and a new generation of young billionaires has the potential to change Africa’s political dynamics.

With that said, here are the 10 youngest billionaires in Africa early in 2025, according to Forbes’ real-time billionaire index.