9 African-born billionaires account for 43% of America's richest immigrants' combined $2.2 trillion fortune

African-born entrepreneurs account for just a small fraction of America's richest immigrant billionaires by number, but they command an outsized share of the group's wealth, thanks largely to South Africa-born Elon Musk.

• African-born entrepreneurs make up a small percentage of the richest immigrant billionaires, but control a large portion of their collective wealth.
• Forbes' ranking shows nine African-born billionaires are worth a combined $952.9 billion.
• Elon Musk alone, with an estimated $927 billion fortune, dominates the African-born contingent, which now includes his brother Kimbal Musk.
• Africa's representation spans five countries and business leaders from various sectors such as technology, healthcare, finance, media, and consumer goods.

A new ranking of America's richest immigrant billionaires by Forbes shows that nine African-born billionaires have amassed a combined fortune of $952.9 billion, representing about 43% of the collective $2.2 trillion wealth held by the 144 foreign-born billionaires on the list.

The latest ranking, which features a record number of immigrant billionaires, highlights the growing economic influence of entrepreneurs who built their fortunes after moving to the United States.

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This year's list includes 144 immigrant billionaires, up from 125 a year earlier, with their combined wealth surging from $1.3 trillion to $2.2 trillion.

Together, they account for nearly 15% of all American billionaires and about one-quarter of the country's billionaire wealth.

Africa's representation on the list spans five countries—South Africa, Nigeria, Egypt, Morocco and Kenya—with business leaders making their fortunes across technology, healthcare, finance, media and consumer goods.

The number of African-born billionaires on America's richest immigrants list rose from eight to nine this year with the debut of South Africa-born Kimbal Musk, the younger brother of Elon Musk, whose $1.6 billion fortune secured him a place on the ranking.

Elon Musk leads Africa's billionaire contingent

The African-born contingent is overwhelmingly led by Elon Musk, the South Africa-born founder of Tesla and SpaceX, whose estimated $927 billion fortune accounts for nearly the entire wealth of the continent's representatives on the ranking.

Musk is joined by fellow South Africans Patrick Soon-Shiong, the billionaire physician and pharmaceuticals entrepreneur worth $9.8 billion; Rodney Sacks, the energy drinks executive behind Monster Beverage, with $3.6 billion; and Kimbal Musk, the entrepreneur and Tesla board member worth $1.6 billion.

Nigeria is represented by Adebayo Ogunlesi, the private equity executive whose $2.4 billion fortune stems from infrastructure investing, and Tope Awotona, founder of scheduling software company Calendly, with a net worth of $1.4 billion.

The remaining African-born billionaires on the list are Haim Saban, the Egyptian-born media investor worth $3.3 billion, Marc Lasry, the Moroccan-born hedge fund manager with $2.2 billion, and Bharat Desai, the Kenya-born technology entrepreneur worth $1.6 billion.

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While African-born billionaires make up only 6.25% of the immigrant billionaires on the list, they control 43.3% of the group's total wealth, underscoring the disproportionate impact of a handful of high-profile entrepreneurs—particularly Musk.

The broader ranking also reflects the increasing diversity of America's billionaire class. The 144 immigrant billionaires originate from 45 countries and territories, up from 42 last year, with Haiti, the Philippines, Poland and Spain appearing on the list for the first time.

Three of the world's ten richest people are now U.S. immigrants, further highlighting the role migration continues to play in shaping America's innovation and business landscape.