Morocco Secures Three Places on Forbes 2026 World’s Billionaires List

Marrakech, The Gulf Observer: Morocco has secured three positions on Forbes’ 40th annual World’s Billionaires List, released on Tuesday, with Othman Benjelloun, Aziz Akhannouch, and Anas Sefrioui representing the country among a record 3,428 billionaires worldwide.

According to the Forbes rankings, Othman Benjelloun, 93, remains the richest Moroccan, with an estimated net worth of $1.7 billion, placing him 2,386th globally and 18th in Africa. Benjelloun serves as the CEO of BMCE Bank of Africa, a major financial institution with assets exceeding $12 billion and operations across West, Central, and East Africa.

Beyond banking, his business interests extend through his holding company FinanceCom (O Capital Group), which holds a stake in the Moroccan subsidiary of French telecom operator Orange. Benjelloun also expanded his family’s insurance business RMA into a leading company in Morocco. In 2014, he launched a $500 million project to build the 55-story Mohammed VI Tower in Rabat, one of the tallest buildings in Africa.

FinanceCom is also involved in the development of a multibillion-dollar technology city in Tangier, expected to host about 200 Chinese companies. In recognition of their philanthropic efforts, Benjelloun and his wife received the David Rockefeller Bridging Leadership Award in 2016 for supporting education initiatives in rural Morocco.

The second Moroccan on the list is Aziz Akhannouch, 65, with a net worth estimated at $1.6 billion, ranking 2,481st globally and 19th in Africa. Akhannouch is the majority owner of Akwa Group, a multibillion-dollar conglomerate founded by his father and partner Ahmed Wakrim in 1932. The group operates in the petroleum, gas, and chemical sectors through publicly listed companies Afriquia Gaz and Maghreb Oxygene.

Akhannouch has also played a prominent role in Moroccan politics, serving as the country’s Head of Government since September 2021. He holds an MBA from the Université de Sherbrooke and is based in Casablanca. His wife, Salwa Idrissi, runs a business managing franchises of international brands including Gap, Gucci, and Ralph Lauren in Morocco.

Meanwhile, Anas Sefrioui, 68, founder and CEO of Groupe Addoha, experienced a decline in wealth this year. His fortune dropped by $300 million after shares of the company fell by more than 30 percent, bringing his net worth to $1.3 billion. He now ranks 2,858th globally and 22nd in Africa.

Sefrioui built his wealth through the development of affordable housing projects in Morocco, many undertaken through government contracts. His daughter Kenza Sefrioui serves as the company’s deputy chairman.

Across Africa, Morocco ranks fourth in the number of billionaires, behind South Africa with seven, Egypt with five, and Nigeria with four. The continent’s 23 billionaires collectively increased their wealth by $20.3 billion, bringing their combined fortunes to $126.7 billion, a 21 percent increase from 2025.

Globally, the 2026 Forbes list reached new milestones. The number of billionaires rose by 400 from last year to 3,428, while their combined wealth climbed to $20.1 trillion, up $4 trillion year-on-year. Over the past year alone, the world added more than one new billionaire every day.

Elon Musk topped the ranking for the second consecutive year with an estimated fortune of $839 billion, the highest ever recorded for an individual. His wealth surged by around $497 billion, driven largely by Tesla’s valuation growth and SpaceX’s anticipated public listing in 2026, making him the first person to surpass the $800 billion mark.

He is followed by Google co-founder Larry Page with $257 billion, Sergey Brin with $237 billion, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos with $224 billion, and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg with $222 billion.

For the first time, 20 individuals now hold fortunes exceeding $100 billion, compared with 15 last year and none in 2017. The United States leads the world with 989 billionaires worth $8.4 trillion, followed by China (including Hong Kong) with 610 and India with 229.

Among the 390 newcomers to the list this year are musician Dr. Dre, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, tennis legend Roger Federer, and Berkshire Hathaway’s new CEO Greg Abel, while at least 86 billionaires have built significant portions of their wealth through artificial intelligence-related industries.