Despite a majority of Kenyans grappling with biting economic times, there is an elite class of businessmen who continue to flourish through their multi-billion business ventures.
They are not the household names you know but each of them has businesses and assets valued at over $50 Million, approximately Ksh5 Billion.
Adil Popat
He is the son of the late Abdul Karim Popat, one of Kenya’s most storied businessmen before his death in 2013.
He now rules over the Simba Corporation, an empire that includes auto dealerships, luxury hotels, engineering and financial services.
Simba Corporation has the sole distributorships in Kenya for Mitsubishi, Renault and Mahindra.
He also owns the popular Villa Rosa Kempinski hotel in Nairobi.
Peter Muthoka
He is the founder and CEO of Acceler Global Logistics, one of Kenya’s largest freight and logistics companies which plans, implements and operates complex supply chain solutions on a national, regional and global scale on behalf of several large international companies in Kenya.
The company’s annual revenue is in excess of $50 million (Ksh5 Billion).
He was previously the largest individual shareholder in delisted automobile distribution firm CMC Motors before he sold off his stake in the company to the Al-Futtaim Group of the UAE for close to $20 million (approx. Ksh2 Billion) in 2014.
Samuel Kamau Macharia
Popularly known as SK Macharia is the founder and chairman of Royal Media Services, the media conglomerate that owns the country’s dominant TV station, Citizen TV, as well as 11 English and local language radio stations.
According to international research firm Ipsos, Citizen TV had a 62.5% share of the Kenyan television market in 2016.
Narendra Raval
Naval is the founder of Devki Group, a multi-billion Kenyan conglomerate that manufactures steel products, roofing sheets, and cement.
He is one of Kenya’s most successful entrepreneurs.
Paul Wanderi Ndung’u
He is the founder of Mobicom, Kenyan mobile phone retailer with over 85 stores across Kenya.
Mobicom has annual revenues of a little over $50 million and Ndung’u also owns a 17% stake in Pevans East Africa, the company that owns and operates SportPesa, Kenya’s leading gaming company.
Kiprop Bundotich
Popularly known as Buzeki is the founder of Kenya’s Buzeki Group of companies, a conglomerate that comprises of a leading logistics company in Kenya, an oil-trading firm, a heavy vehicle dealership, and insurance agency.
Buzeki Group was previously in the dairy business; in 2013 Bundotich sold his Buzeki Dairy business to the Kenyatta-family controlled Brookside Dairies for $15 million (approx. Sh1.5 Billion).
Baloobhai Patel
Patel is the founder of Transworld Safaris, one of the oldest safari companies in Kenya that owns and operates a large fleet of custom-built safari minibuses, 4-wheel drive vehicles, and hot air balloons.
He founded the company more than 30 years ago, and over time he has carefully reinvested his profits into a string of companies listed on the Nairobi Stock Exchange.
Patel is renowned for being one of the richest stockholders in Kenya's capital markets. He owns stakes in the following publicly listed companies: Pan African Insurance, Bamburi Cement, carbon dioxide manufacturer Carbacid and commercial banks Diamond Trust Bank and Barclays Bank Kenya.
His shares in publicly listed Kenyan companies alone are worth over $45 million (Sh4.5 Billion).
Peter Munga
Munga, 74, founded Equity Building Services, the microfinance institution that eventually became Equity Bank, Kenya’s largest commercial bank by market capitalization. Today, he owns less than 0.5% of the publicly-traded bank, but he owes the bulk of his fortune to his 26% stake in Britam Holding, a listed financial services giant.
His shares in Britam are valued at more than $50 million (Sh5 Billion) and he is also a major shareholder of Equatorial Nuts, one of the leading macadamia processing companies in East Africa.
