Oxfam International, a global organisation that deals with charity and inequality has ranked the richest Kenyans.
In the list, it has emerged that two Kenyans have a net worth that’s more than 16.5 million citizens combined.
Sameer Naushad Merali and Bhimji Depar Shah have been ranked the country’s richest individuals boasting a net worth of Ksh89.6 billion and Ksh85 billion respectively.
Merali who died in July 2021 invested a lot in banking, real estate, manufacturing and telecommunications.
On the other hand, Shah is the sole founder of Bidco Group of Companies.
“The two richest people have more wealth than 16.5 million Kenyans,” Oxfam noted.
Others who have been ranked in the list include Jaswinder Singh Bedi (Ksh77.1 billion) and President Uhuru Kenyatta’s family (Ksh60 billion) at positions third and fourth respectively.
The Kenyatta family has interest in a wide range of sectors including banking, milk processing, transport, media and land.
In the fifth position was Mahendra Rambhai Patel who is worth Ksh48.7 billion.
Patel’s family owns Ramco Group which runs print, hardware, office supply and manufacturing.
Oxfam revealed that the figures are based on data from Wealth-X, an organisation that tracks the records of the world’s wealthiest individuals.
“Between 2016 and 2021, the number of individuals with wealth of over $50 million increased from 80 to 120.
“Their combined wealth increased from $12.73 billion to $17.4 billion, an increase of 36.8 per cent, adjusted for inflation,” Oxfam of Kenya’s wealth study report stated.
