List of Top 5 Wealthiest Kenyans

A new report by Oxfam International has listed Sameer Naushad Merali and Bhimji Depar Shah as Kenya’s wealthiest moguls with fortunes of $790 million (Sh89.6 billion) and $750 million (Sh85 billion) respectively.

Bhimji Shah is the founder of Bidco Group of Companies, a consumer goods manufacturing company while Sameer Merali is the son of the late Naushad Merali, who died in July last year. The late Merali had built his vast empire in the telecommunications, manufacturing, agriculture, banking and real estate sectors.

According to Oxfam, the two wealthiest individuals in Kenya have more wealth than 16.5 million Kenyans.

President Uhuru Kenyatta $530 million (Sh60 billion)

The other three moguls on the top 5 list of the wealthiest in Kenya are  Jaswinder Singh Bedi $680 million (Sh77.1 billion) and Mahendra Rambhai Patel ($430 million/Sh48.7 billion) and President Uhuru Kenyatta $530 million (Sh60 billion).

Oxfam however added that President Kenyatta’s wealth is associated with the larger Kenyatta Family Business empire.

“The Kenyatta family retains interests in a wide range of sectors, including banking, milk processing, transport, media, and hospitality and land.”

The Oxfam report is based on data from Wealth-X, an organization that tracks the records of the world’s wealthiest individuals.

“Between 2016 and 2021, the number of individuals with wealth 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 percent, adjusted for inflation,”  Oxfam said in the report.