Report on affluent raises queries as some in the league left out

The recent New World Wealth report on super rich Kenyans has brought to the fore questions about the methodology researchers use when ranking these individuals.

This is exemplified by two earlier reports by Forbes Africa and Nigerian-based magazine Ventures Africa whose findings painted a different picture from the New World Wealth one.

For instance, while Mama Ngina Kenyatta, the mother of President Uhuru Kenyatta, was listed by Ventures Africa as being worth Sh86 billion ($1 billion), the other two publications leave her and her family out of the ranking.

Forbes had in 2011 included President Kenyatta and business magnate Manu Chandaria in its list, but said it had failed to ascertain the “principal custodian” of their wealth.

Dr Chandaria was also listed in the Ventures Africa report as being the richest Kenyan (with $1.65 billion) on account of him being the chairman of Comcraft Group, an industrial firm operating in over 45 countries.

However, in the New World Wealth report, he is not listed as the wealthiest Kenyan, instead it is Bidco’s Oil Refineries chief executive officer Vimal Shah, with a net worth of Sh146 billion ($1.7 billion).

Forbes had placed Mr Shah’s wealth, as at November 1, at $1.6 billion.

DISPARITIES

It is such disparities that have led people like Mr Shah to publicly deny the report’s claims about his wealth.

“Of course I am not a dollar billionaire. If you gave me that kind of money I would sell you my business,” Mr Shah told the Nation.

The report also invites scrutiny due to the fact that it only states the value of Mr Shah, opting to lump the other high net worth individuals (HNWI) in a category called ‘centimillionaires’.

These are individuals who are worth between $100 million and $999.9 million.

This list includes Equity Bank CEO James Mwangi and chairman Peter Munga, industrialists Chandaria, Chris Kirubi and Prandeep Paunrhana and 11 others.

Also, several influential personalities—who are known to own substantial property in the country—are missing from the list.

An explanation for this could be the fact that many Kenyans (and more so the wealthy ones) go to great lengths to conceal their actual worth.

Some of the preferred ways of doing this is holding a substantial number of shares in several listed or private companies through proxies.

Others resort to registering shell companies all in a bid to make the money trail go cold.

Another preferred way of people ensuring that their money is kept away from the spotlight is by wiring it to foreign accounts, normally in tax havens.

This money is said to be in private banks in countries like Switzerland, Dubai, Cyprus and Channel Islands.