Judul : Oxfam: 4 richest Africans own more than half of continent’s population
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Oxfam: 4 richest Africans own more than half of continent’s population
Africa’s problem of wealth distribution may be worse than earlier thought, says development charity Oxfam, with a new report showing that the four richest people on the continent now own more than half its population. The report shows that some 750 million people in Africa are collectively poorer than the wealthiest few.
The four richest Africans have a combined net worth of $57.4 billion, which is more than half of the continent's 1.5 billion inhabitants.
Africa had no billionaires in 2000 but, 25 years later, it now has 23. Their combined wealth has soared by 56 percent in just the past five years to reach $112.6 billion.
Oxfam named Nigerian Aliko Dangote as the richest man on the continent, with an estimated wealth of $23.3 billion. The top four include South Africans Johann Rupert and Nicky Oppenheimer, and Egyptian businessman Nassef Sawiris.
The report, Africa’s Inequality Crisis and the Rise of Ultra-Wealth, released on July 9, reflects on Africa’s twin problems: Poverty and unequal wealth distribution. In the past, the general assumption was that most of the wealth was accumulated among the 10 percent richest people on the continent, with conflict, political instability and disease prevalence piling onto the poor.
The Oxfam document says the top five percent of Africans by wealth hold almost $4 trillion in assets, more than twice the total wealth of the remaining 95 percent of the continent's population. The report also shows that Africa is home to almost half of the world's 50 most unequal countries.“Africa’s wealth isn’t missing,” said Fati N’Zi-Hassane, Oxfam’s Africa director. This growing divide is exacerbating poverty, threatening economic development and undermining democratic governance.”Some African countries have grown poorer over recent years, the result of stalled development, civil wars or just distraction from climate-related problems.
A recent report by the African Development Bank, for instance, showed that nine in every 10 people in South Sudan are now considered extremely poor, meaning that 92 percent of the 12 million people cannot afford a meal, clothes, basic education or primary healthcare.
The South Sudan Country Focus 2025 compiled by the AfDB and released in Juba on June 25 stated that poverty levels in South Sudan have been on the rise at every turn, due to conflict, which has impacted oil production, taken a toll on the economy and affected development indicators.
AfDB cites World Bank data, which shows the share of South Sudanese population living below the poverty line increased from 51 percent in 2011 to 82 percent in 2022. The following year, it worsened and became widespread, rising from 84 percent to 92 percent in 2024. South Sudan was among the most illiterate countries in the region.
Wealth taxOxfam argues that government policies disproportionately favour the wealthy, exacerbating inequality by enabling Africa’s richest individuals to amass fortunes.“The majority of African nations fail to use progressive taxation to tax the ultra-wealthy fairly and combat inequality.”Oxfam found that Africa’s tax systems are almost three times less efficient than the global average at redistributing wealth from the top one percent.
The report highlighted that a one percent wealth tax and a 10 percent income tax on the top one percent could generate $66 billion per year — enough to cover the financing gaps for free, quality education and universal electricity access across the continent.
The report also examined how government policies across Africa have failed to address inequality. African governments currently collect just 0.3 percent of GDP in wealth taxes, which is the lowest rate globally, and this figure has fallen by almost a quarter in the past decade.
Meanwhile, governments are raising almost three times more revenue from indirect taxes, such as VAT, which have a disproportionate impact on poorer citizens.
Most African countries with active loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank cut spending on essential services such as education, health and social protection in 2023 and 2024, in order to meet debt repayments.
Ironically, Africa loses an estimated $88.6 billion each year due to illicit financial flows, which further drains vital resources needed for development.
According to Oxfam, nearly 850 million Africans now face moderate or severe food insecurity, which is an increase of 20 million since 2022.“Today, seven out of 10 people living in extreme poverty worldwide are African, which is a dramatic increase from one in 10 in 1990. The continent also has the world’s largest gender wealth gap, with men holding three times more wealth than women,” it said.
In some countries, political participation is being increasingly undermined. In Nigeria, for example, democratic representation is distorted by high barriers to political participation and widespread vote-buying, which entrenches power among wealthy elites.
To tackle the problem, Oxfam says that modest tax reforms are needed across the continent to fund essential services.
The organisation points out that a one percent increase in wealth tax and a 10 percent rise in income tax on the richest one percent could generate $66 billion annually, equivalent to 2.29 percent of Africa’s GDP.
The report adds that this would be sufficient to close critical gaps in free, quality education and universal electricity access.
The report warns that, without decisive action to tax the super-rich and invest in the majority of the population, Africa risks experiencing instability and economic hardship for decades to come.
Read: African states need new economic models amid external shocksThe NGO warned that inequality hinders democracy, slows down the reduction of poverty, and worsens the climate crisis in Africa.“Political capture” by the wealthy undermines pro-poor government policies and the effectiveness of public institutions, the report says. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info).Demikianlah Artikel Oxfam: 4 richest Africans own more than half of continent’s population
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