Africa's Richest Kings is a ranking of Africa's wealthiest monarchs, compiled and published by the
American
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* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
business magazine, ''
Forbes
''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...
'', in March 2014. The total net worth of each individual on the list is estimated, in
United States dollars
The United States dollar ( symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the officia ...
, based on their assets and accounting for debt.
Politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
s and
dictator
A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in times ...
s whose wealth comes from their positions are excluded from this list, as the term king is deemed by the evaluators to refer to either sovereign or constituent monarchs who reign due to monarchical tradition.
As of March 2014, King
Mohammed VI of Morocco
Mohammed VI ( ar, محمد السادس; born 21 August 1963) is the King of Morocco. He belongs to the 'Alawi dynasty and acceded to the throne on 23 July 1999, upon the death of his father, King Hassan II.
Upon ascending to the throne, Moham ...
topped the list with US$2 billion, while
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
n oil magnate King
Fredrick Obateru Akinruntan
Fredrick Obateru Akinruntan is a Nigerian monarch, the traditional ruler of Ugbo Kingdom, a town in Ilaje Local Government, Ondo State, southwestern Nigeria. He is an oil magnate and founder of Obat Oil, one of Nigeria's largest and leading priva ...
, the
Olugbo of the Ugbo Kingdom, came second on the list with $300 million. He surpassed fellow Nigerian King
Olubuse II
Alayeluwa Oba Okunade Sijuwade, or Sijuade, (1 January 1930 – 28 July 2015) was the fiftieth traditional ruler or ''Ooni'' of Ife from 1980 to his death in 2015, taking the regnal name Olubuse II.
Ife is a traditional Yoruba state based in th ...
, the
Ooni of Ife
The Ooni of Ile-Ife (Ọọ̀ni of Ilè-Ifẹ̀) is the traditional ruler of Ile-Ife and the spiritual head of the Yoruba people. The Ooni dynasty existed before the reign of Oduduwa which historians have argued to have been between the 7th-9 ...
, worth at least $75 million and the
Ngwenyama
iNgwenyama (also ''Ingwenyama'') is the title of the male monarch of Eswatini. In English, the title is sometimes translated as King of Eswatini. The iNgwenyama reigns together with the Ndlovukazi, a spiritual leadership position held by the i ...
of
Eswatini
Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its no ...
, King
Mswati III
Mswati III (born Makhosetive; 19 April 1968) is the king (Swazi: Ngwenyama, Ingwenyama yemaSwati) of Eswatini and head of the Swazi royal family. He was born in Manzini in the Protectorate of Swaziland to King Sobhuza II and one of his younger wi ...
, who was himself worth at least $50 million. Rounding out the top five was the
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
ian King
Osei Tutu II
Osei Tutu II (born Nana Barima Kwaku Duah; 6 May 1950) is the 16th List of rulers of Asante, Asantehene, enstooled on 26 April 1999. ,
Asantehene
The is the title for the monarch of the historical Ashanti Empire as well as the ceremonial ruler of the Ashanti people today. The Ashanti royal house traces its line to the Oyoko (an ''Abusua'', or "clan") Abohyen Dynasty of Nana Twum and t ...
of the
Ashanti, with $10 million.
In the time since the period of evaluation, Olubuse II has died. He was succeeded as the Ooni by King
Ojaja II, a distant relative, although the personal wealth that was evaluated went to his lineal heirs in the Sijuade family.
References
{{Reflist
Lists of people by wealth
Forbes lists