(Forbes) The number of billionaires in Africa–and the size of their fortunes–continues to drop. On this year’s list, FORBES is only including African billionaires living in Africa, instead of featuring Africa’s 50 richest people. There are 21 billionaires on this year\u2019s list, worth a combined $70 billion. On the November\u00a02015 Africa Rich List, there were 23 African billionaires worth a combined $79.8 billion. That in turn was down from 28 African billionaires in 2014.<\/p>\n
Nigerian cement tycoon Aliko Dangote remains Africa\u2019s richest person for the sixth year running with a $12.1 billion fortune, despite a nearly $5 billion drop in his net worth for the second year in a row. Dangote is joined by just two other Nigerian billionaires on this year\u2019s list — telecom tycoon Mike Adenuga, who is Africa\u2019s third richest person with an estimated $5.8 billion fortune, and oil billionaire Folorunsho Alakija, who has an estimated net worth of $1.6 billion. Two Nigerians dropped off the Billionaires List this year–oil marketer\u00a0Femi Otedola, whose net worth dropped from $1.6 billion in November 2015 to just $330 million today, and sugar billionaire Abdulsamad Rabiu, whose net worth dropped below $1 billion in the wake of a weakened Nigerian currency.<\/p>\n
South Africa retains its dominance on the Africa List. While the country is tied with Egypt for the largest number of individual billionaires, South Africa\u2019s six billionaires are worth a combined $22.7 billion — $7 billion more than Egypt\u2019s six billionaires. The richest South African billionaire and the continent\u2019s second richest person\u00a0is diamond magnate Nicky Oppenheimer, who has maintained a low profile since selling his family\u2019s stake in diamond giant DeBeers to Anglo American <\/span>for $5.1 billion in cash in 2012. Luxury goods tycoon Johann Rupert and retail magnate Christoffel Wiese are tied as South Africa\u2019s second richest and Africa\u2019s fourth richest billionaires, each with a $5.5 billion fortune. Wiese\u2019s fortune has dropped $1 billion since the November 2015 Africa list, while Rupert\u2019s net worth is down $800 million.<\/p>\n Egypt\u2019s richest billionaire is Nassef Sawiris, whose $5.3 billion fortune is up $400 million since November 2015. Sawiris runs OCI, one of the world\u2019s largest nitrogen fertilizers. The country\u2019s next richest person is his brother Naguib Sawiris, who was Egypt\u2019s biggest gainer on the list. His net worth increased $700 million to $3.7 billion. In December 2016, Naguib Sawiris announced that he would be stepping down as CEO of his telecom company, Orasom Telecom Media & Technology.<\/p>\n FORBES counts only two female billionaires in Africa: Angola’s \u00a0Isabel dos Santos\u00a0\u00a0-Africa\u2019s richest woman with a $3.2 billion fortune, and Nigeria\u2019s Alakija. Dos Santos is the daughter of Angola\u2019s president, who appointed her as head of Angola\u2019s state oil firm Sonangol in June 2016. Alakija is the vice chair of Nigerian oil exploration company, Famfa Oil.<\/p>\n