Number 1- Mohammed Al Amoudi
Ethiopia's richest man as well as the richest black person in the world Mohammed Al Amoudi is worth $10 billion.
His broad portfolio of businesses include oil, mining, agriculture, hotels, hospitals, finance, operations and maintenance.
He also owns Swedish refinery Preem and Svenska Petroleum, which made big plays in Guinea-Bissau, Nigeria and Angola in 2008.
Al Amoudi has invested more than $1 billion in Ethiopia. He controls his vast business conglomerate through two holding and operating companies, Corral Petroleum Holdings and MIDROC. He employs over 40,000 people through these companies.
Al Amoudi holds an honorary doctorate in Philosophy from Ethiopia's Addis Ababa University.
Number 2 - Nassef Sawiris
Estimated to be worth $5.9 billion, Nassef Sawiris has been a director and the CEO of OCI since its incorporation in 1998 and assumed chairmanship in 2010.
Sawiris has overseen the construction activities of Orascom since 1990. He is also director on board as well as one of the largest shareholders in Lafarge S.A., the world's leading building materials conglomerate.
In addition, he is also the director of the Dubai International Financial Exchange (Nasdaq DIFC) and of NNS Holding, a privately-owned investment group.
Sawiris holds a BA in Economics from the University of Chicago. He was born in 1961 and is an Egyptian citizen, son of Onsi and brother of Naguib, who are also on the list.
Number 3 – Nicky Oppenheimer & Family
Nicky Oppenheimer is chairman of the De Beers Group and as such chairman of De Beers sa, De Beers Consolidated Mines and De Beers Centenary AG. He is also a non-executive director of Anglo American Plc.
Educated at Harrow School and Christ Church, Oxford, Oppenheimer read Politics, Philosophy and Economics.
He joined the Anglo American Corporation in 1968 as the personal assistant to the chairman, and worked subsequently in the gold and diamond divisions of the Corporation. He spent 18 months in the London office of De Beers before returning to Johannesburg in 1975 to join the Gold Division.
He is estimated to be worth $5 billion dollars.
Number 4 - Naguib Sawiris
Naguib Sawiris heads Orascom Telecom Holding (OTH), one of the largest mobile providers in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia.
Holding a Masters in Technical Administration from the Swiss Institute of Technology he is a charismatic, flamboyant, consummate dealmaker. His wealth is an estimated $2.5 billion.
Number 5 - Onsi Sawiris
Egyptian businessman Onsi Sawiris is one of the richest men in Africa. Alongwith his family, he is estimated to be worth approximately $5 billion by Forbes magazine.
Through his Orascom Construction, a joint-venture with Swiss cement giant Holderbank, Sawairis controls 25% of the Egyptian cement market.
Sawiris expanded his telecommunications business last year by acquiring the third largest telecommunications company, Wind Hella Telecommunications, in a multibillion dollar deal, 51% of which went to Orascom Telecom.
