The Africa Report’s inaugural ranking of the top Africans who control the levers of power across politics, business and the arts: from billionaire barons to unpredictable peacemakers and soft-power superstars.
Here are the top 100:
1 – Aliko Dangote (Nigeria) – Money talks
2 – Elon Musk (South Africa) – Rocket man
3 – Koos Bekker (South Africa) – Go-getter in Asia
4 – Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (Nigeria) – The sun keeps rising
5 – Trevor Noah (South Africa) – Mic wrecker
6 – Tidjane Thiam ( Côte d’Ivoire) – Master strategist
7 – Davido (Nigeria) – Naija pop idol
8 – Enoch Adeboye (Nigeria) – Sacred networker
9 – Kumi Naidoo South Africa) – Crime fighter
10 – Abiy Ahmed (Ethiopia) – Change agent
11 – Mark Bristow (South Africa) Golden boy
12 – Strive Masiyiwa (Zimbabwe) The connector
13 – Adebayo Ogunlesi (Nigeria) Plane enthusiast
14 – Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (Egypt) Sitting pretty
15 – Naguib Sawiris (Egypt) Opinionated investor
16 – Cyril Ramaphosa (South Africa) Mountain climber
17 – Iyinoluwa ‘E’ Aboyeji (Nigeria) ‘E’ for excellence
18 – Wizkid (Nigeria) Starboy
19 – Denis Mukwege (DRC) Nobel cause
20 – Winnie Byanyima (Uganda) Rising to a challenge
21 – Mo Ibrahim (Sudan) Truth teller
22 – Mike Adenuga (Nigeria) Alliance builder
23 – Muhoho Kenyatta (Kenya) Family business
24 – Idris Elba (Ghana/Sierra Leone) Storyteller
25 – Anas Aremeyaw Anas (Ghana) Truth teller
26 – James Mwangi (Kenya) Sharp-eyed
27 – Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala (Nigeria) World Banker
28 – Patrice Motsepe (South Africa) Mining money
29 – Mohamed Salah (Egypt) Knight in white
30 – Olusegun Obasanjo (Nigeria) A-grade fixer
31 – Tewolde GebreMariam (Ethiopia) High flyer
32 – Maria Ramos (South Africa) Finance supreme
33 – Tope Lawani (Nigeria) Private eye
34 – Nicky Oppenheimer (South Africa) Still at the table
35 – Mitchell Elegbe (Nigeria) Fintech frontiersman
36 – David Adjaye (Ghana) Raising the roof
37 – Acha Leke (Cameroon) Consulted
38 – Mohamed El Kettani (Morocco) Expedition leader
39 – Aziz Akhannouch (Morocco) Fishing for business
40 – Herbert Wigwe (Nigeria) Minnow-cum-whale
41 – Sim Tshabalala (South Africa) Class topper
42 – Lupita Nyong’o (Kenya/US) Screen idol
43 – Onyeka Akumah (Nigeria) Seed capital
44 – Ory Okolloh (Kenya) Impact investor
45 – Tayo Oviosu (Nigeria) Bill payer
46 – Mohamed Aly El-Erian (Egypt) Word to the wise
47 – Kamel Daoud (Algeria) Acid pen
48 – Kola Masha (Nigeria) King of yield
49 – Akinwumi Adesina (Nigeria) Green gold
50 – Danai Gurira (Zimbabwe/US) Cutting edge
51 – Ngugi wa Thiong’o (Kenya) Voice master
52 – Sauti Sol (Kenya) Groove riders
53 – Shamila Batohi (South Africa) Jail filler
54 – Mona Eltahawy (Egypt) Sword and shield
55 – Jim Ovia (Nigeria) Money magnet
56 – Pravin Gordhan (South Africa) Bomb proof
57 – T.B. Joshua (Nigeria) Prophesy and power
58 – Albert Yuma (DRC) Diamond geezer
59 – Moussa Faki Mahamat (Chad) Top diplomat
60 – Julius Malema (South Africa) Agent of change
61 – Kwame Anthony Appiah (Ghana/US) Contemporary questioner
62 – Achille Mbembe (Cameroon) Public intellectual
63 – Edward Enninful (Ghana) Voguing!
64 – Vera Songwe (Cameroon) Adding it up
65 – Louise Mushikiwabo (Rwanda) Diplomat extraordinaire
66 – James Mworia (Kenya) Meteoric rise
67 – Akwaeke Emezi (Nigeria/Malaysia) Poetry in emotion
68 – Mohammed Dewji (Tanzania) Youthful gains
69 – Tony Elumelu (Nigeria) Engaging entrepreneur
70 – Tony Attah (Nigeria) Riding on
71 – Fatou Bensouda (Gambia) Prosecutor under pressure
72 – Moustapha Cissé (Senegal) Natural and artificial intelligence
73 – Ibrahim Mahama (Ghana) Going places
74 – Nunu Ntshingila (South Africa) Connecting the continent
75 – Khalifa Haftar (Libya) Stubborn strongman
76 – Ken Njoroge (Kenya) On the fintech frontier
77 – Wanuri Kahiu (Kenya) Concerned creator
78 – Amina J Mohammed (Nigeria) Goal-oriented
79 – Mostafa Terrab (Morocco) Renaissance man of phosphates
80 – Mahmood Mamdani (Uganda) Provocative scholar
81 – Genevieve Nnaji (Nigeria) Ace actress
82 – João Lourenço (Angola) In with the new…
83 – Abdulsamad Rabiu (Nigeria) Cementing progress
84 – Ilhan Omar (Somalia/US) Representative of a new generation
85 – Carlos Lopes (Guinea-Bissau) Pushing policy makers
86 – Simon Njami (Cameroon) Critical curator
87 – Ashitey Trebi-Ollennu (Ghana) Star gazer
88 – Mamadou Biteye (Senegal) Digital donor
89 – Oluseun Onigbinde (Nigeria) Transparent ambition
90 – Issad Rebrab (Algeria) Business baron
91 – Moulay Hafid Elalamy (Morocco) Industrious planner
92 – Robert Kyagulanyi Ssentamu (Uganda) Power to the people!
93 – Caster Semenya (South Africa) Pushing forward on and off the track
94 – David Adomakoh (Ghana) Black gold
95 – Clare Akamanzi (Rwanda) Building brand
96 – Sahle-Work Zewde (Ethiopia) Soft spoken soft power
97 – Njideka Akunyili (Nigeria/US) Crosby Million-dollar marvel
98 – Bola Tinubu (Nigeria) Lagos legend
99 – Carlos Saturnino (Angola) Crude prospects
100 – Bridgette Radebe (South Africa) Mining might
