Doha – What started as an exclusive club of 140 billionaires in Forbes’ first list in 1987, exploded in a power plant of global prosperity of 16.1 trillion dollars in 2025.
The latest list of the billionaires of the Forbes World Breaked All previous records that count 3,028 billionaires – an encore of 247 members from the previous year and almost 2 trillion dollars in new assets.
The list, which was compiled with share prices and exchange rates from March 7, shows the unprecedented expansion of global assets to industries and continents.
Morocco’s representation on the list is guided By Othman Benjelloun, CEO of the BMCE Bank of Africa, with a net asset of 1.6 billion US dollars. Benjelloun, who ranks 2110 and 14 in Africa worldwide, has built up his assets through banking and insurance.
His business empire includes a significant participation in the Moroccan arm of the French telecommunications company Orange through his holding company FinanceCom. The 92-year-old banker is also known for his ambitious $ 500 million Mohammed VI tower project Rabat will be one of the highest buildings in Africa.
Benjelloun’s influence goes beyond the banking business-is a co-owner of the Ranch Adarouch, one of the greatest cattle breeders in Africa, and received the David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award for its education initiatives in rural Morocco in 2016. He holds a diploma by Ecole Polytechnique de Lausanne.
Anas Sefriui celebrates a remarkable comeback in the ranking for the first time since 2017 and adapts Benjelloun with a net asset of 1.6 billion US dollars. The 67-year-old founder and CEO of Groupe Addoha, who shared the same position as Benjelloun, also worldwide and 14 in Africa, has accumulated his assets through state-related cost-effective residential developments.
His success in the development of affordable residential projects in Morocco has established him as a key figure in the country’s real estate sector. His success is further reinforced by the role of his daughter Kenza as deputy chairman and strengthens the influential footprint of the family at the head of the company.
Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch Round The Moroccan quota with a fortune of 1.5 billion US dollars, which he placed in Africa in 2233 and 16 worldwide. The 64-year-old majority owner of the Akwa Group, a conglomerate founded by his father and Ahmed Wakrim in 1932, has different interests in petroleum, gas and chemicals through listed companies Afriquia Gaz and Maghreb.
Akhannouch, who has an MBA from the University of de Sherbrooke in September 2021.
The African continent reached a new threshold, with the billionaire 22 and its combined assets over 100 billion US dollars over 105 billion US dollars of $ 82.4 billion in 2024.
With three numbers on the list, Morocco holds third place in Africa for the billionaire, behind South Africa with seven and Nigeria with four.
Aliko Dangote in Nigeria heads the African ranking for the 14th time in a row with 23.9 billion US dollars, followed by South African Johann Rupert with $ 14 billion.
The United States continues to dominate 902 billionaires worldwide, followed by China with 516 (including Hong Kong) and India with 205.
The world richest person Elon Musk remains with an estimated net asset of 342 billion US dollars, followed by Mark Zuckerberg with $ 216 billion and Jeff Bezos with $ 215 billion.
The continuing presence of Moroccan economists on this prestigious list reflects the role of the country in the economic landscape of Africa, in the middle of volatility and political uncertainties.
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