Masiyiwa is worth US$280 million and is tied on position 34 with South African national, Adrian Gore. Masiyiwa is both an entrepreneur and philanthropist, having fo-unded Econet Wireless Zimbabwe which began operating in 1998.
The mobile operator could have come on the mobile market earlier had the businessman not fought in the courts for an operating licence. To date Econet is the largest mobile operator with over five million subscribers and controls over 70% of the mobile telephony market.
Masiyiwa was rank-ed above African National Congress politician Cyril Ramaphosa who was on position 36 with a net worth of US$275 million. Masiyiwa is the group chairman of the South African-based Econet Wireless which is now a global telecommunications group with operations, investments and offices in more than 15 countries in Africa, Europe, USA, Latin America and Asia-Pacific.
The company’s activities include mobile cellular telephony, fixed networks, enterprise networks, fibre- optic cables, and satellite services. They also provide payment solutions to banks across Africa.
Other business activities include operations and investments in some of Africa’s leading businesses in areas such as financial services, insurance, renewable energy, bottling for Coca-Cola, hotels and safari lodges.
