Two of Kenya’s richest men have been dropped from Forbes magazine’s annual list of Africa’s richest people. Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and business magnet Chris Kiribu are both conspicuously missing from the list. The two were ranked as Kenya’s richest and second richest men (respectively) in last year’s list but their names have now been removed.
So what gives?
Well according to Forbes, Uhuru was removed from the list because the magazine is unsure about who exactly is in control of the Kenyatta family’s vast land wealth in Kenya (which the magazines puts at over 500,000 acres);
“The Kenyatta family of which he is a key member, owns over 500,000 acres of prime Kenyan land, along with other assets such as a stake in the Commercial Bank of Africa, a dairy company and a television station. He dropped off due to uncertainty over who in his family is the chief custodian of the vast land holdings.”
Kirubi meanwhile was dropped from the list because - even with an estimated personal wealth of $300 million - he is no longer rich enough to be on it!;
“The flamboyant Kenyan tycoon owns a significant stake in the landmark International House Limited building in Nairobi. He owns a 49% stake in Tiger Haco Industries, a leading manufacturer of cosmetics in Kenya. He’s also the largest individual shareholder in Centum Limited, a Nairobi Stock Exchange-listed investment firm. His net worth last year was $300 million –not enough to make the 2012 list.”
