Christopher John Kirubi (20 August 1941 – 14 June 2021), born in Murang'a county, was a Kenyan businessman, entrepreneur, and industrialist. He was a director at

Centum Investment Company Centum Investment Company Plc, commonly known as Centum is a public East African investment company. It operates as an affiliate of the Kenyan government-owned Industrial and Commercial Development Corporation (ICDC). Overview Centum is a pu ...

, a business conglomerate, of which he was the largest individual shareholder. According to the 2011 Forbes annual rankings of Africa's richest people in Kenya, Kirubi was ranked the second richest man in

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and 31st richest in

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

with a net worth of $301 million in the 2011 Forbes inaugural ranking of Africa's 40 richest people. He ranked behind only the Kenyatta family, who were ranked richest in Kenya in 2011 with a net worth of $500 million. However, in 2012,

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 r ...

dropped Kirubi from the list of Africa's 40 richest. He chaired: (1)

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Kenya Limited, (2) Haco Industries Kenya Limited, (3) Kiruna International Limited, (4) International House Limited, (5) Nairobi Bottlers Limited, (6) Sandvik East Africa Limited and (7) 98.4 Capital FM. He was also a non-executive director of (8) Bayer East Africa Limited, (9) UAP Provincial Insurance Company Limited and (10) Beverage Services of Kenya Limited. He died on 14 June 2021 after a long battle with cancer.

Early life and education

Chris Kirubi was born in a poor family. Both of his parents died when he was young. He began work while still in school, working during school holidays to support himself and his siblings. Upon graduation, his first job was as salesman, repairing and selling gas cylinders for

Shell Shell may refer to: Architecture and design * Shell (structure), a thin structure ** Concrete shell, a thin shell of concrete, usually with no interior columns or exterior buttresses ** Thin-shell structure Science Biology * Seashell, a hard o ...

, the petroleum conglomerate.

Career

During the 1960s and early 1970s, Kirubi worked as an Administrator at ''Kenatco'', a government-owned transportation company. Starting around 1971, he began buying run-down buildings in the cities of Nairobi and Mombasa, renovating them and either selling the renovated structures or renting them out. He also began acquiring prime land in and around Nairobi, and proceeded to erect rental and other commercial properties, using loans from Kenyan financial institutions.

Holdings

Kirubi's investments included but are not limited to the following: (1) Centum Investment Company: Chris Kirubi was the largest single investor in the company, whose stock is listed on both the

Nairobi Stock Exchange The Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) was established in 1954 as the Nairobi Stock Exchange, based in Nairobi the capital of Kenya. It was a voluntary association of stockbrokers in the European community registered under the Societies Act in ...

and on the

Uganda Securities Exchange The Uganda Securities Exchange (USE) is the principal stock exchange of Uganda. It was founded in June 1997. The USE is operated under the jurisdiction of Uganda's Capital Markets Authority, which in turn reports to the Bank of Uganda, Uganda's ...

. (2) He owned 100 percent of Haco Industries Limited, a Kenyan household goods manufacturer. (3) 98.4 Capital FM, is a Nairobi radio station, whose shares he owned 100 percent (4)

Kenya Commercial Bank Group KCB Group Limited, also known as the KCB Group, is a financial services holding company based in the African Great Lakes region. The Group's headquarters are in Nairobi, Kenya, with its subsidiaries being KCB Bank Kenya Limited, KCB Bank Burundi L ...

and (5)

Nation Media Group Nation Media Group (abbreviated as NMG) is a Kenyan media group listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange. NMG was founded by Aga Khan IV in 1959 and is the largest private media house in East and Central Africa with offices in Kenya, Uganda, and Ta ...

. In March 2020, he filed an application seeking regulatory approval to acquire another 20 percent of Centum's shareholding, to add to the 30 percent that he already owned at that time. The deal involved the purchase of 133 million shares valued at KSh2.7 billion (US$25.7 million).

Former investments

At one time, Kirubi owned 9.58 percent of

UAP Holdings Old Mutual Holdings Plc, Formally known as UAP Holdings Limited, is an investment, retirement, and insurance group that operates mainly in Eastern Africa, but has plans to be a pan-African insurance company. UAP Holdings is one of the leading ins ...

, an investment and insurance conglomerate that provides investment and insurance services in the countries of Eastern and Central Africa. In 2015, he sold his shares to Old Mutual and exited the stock. In May 2020, Haco Industries sold the BIC brand (stationery, lighters and shavers) to French conglomerate Société BIC. The deal brought to an end 40 years of Haco’s BIC franchise.

Philanthropy

Chris Kirubi was involved in a youth mentorship programme dubbed
Ask Kirubi.
' He drove his passion for empowering youth in Africa through online authorship and physical talks in High schools and Universities in Kenya.

Death

Chris Kirubi died on 14 June 2021 after a long battle with colon cancer.

References

External links

Interview With Chris Kirubi
As of January 2020.
Kenyan Tycoon Chris Kirubi To Pocket $2.3 Million Centum Dividends
As of 12 June 2019.
Meet the Boss: Chris Kirubi, businessman, KenyaInside the luxurious private jet that billionaire Chris Kirubi wants to buyChris Kirubi first Kenyan to drive Sh40 million luxurious Maybach BenzInterview with Chris Kirubi
As of September 2020 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kirubi, Chris 1941 births 2021 deaths Kenyan businesspeople INSEAD alumni Harvard Business School alumni University of Gothenburg alumni Alumni of Friends School Kamusinga Kenyan company founders Kenyan business executives People from Murang'a County Deaths from cancer in Kenya Centum Investment Company people