58-year-old Bhanwarlal Doshi, who was profiled by Forbes and said to be worth over $600m, runs a plastic company in Delhi, India. But Doshi would get converted into the famous Jain monk’s life, prompting him to give up his $600m empire.

He got converted last Sunday and became one of the disciples of Jain Acharya, Shri Gunratna Surishwarji Maharaj.

To kick-off his monk life, a lavish three-day send-off party was thrown for him, where 1,500 people served food to guests. After the ceremony, he is expected to live in abject poverty with no maids or money or any physical possession.

Times of India reports that, “The venue [of the send-off] was built in the form of a ship. 500 hotel rooms were booked to accommodate guests. An estimated 150,000 people participated in the event.”
Reports said he had always wanted to become a monk after he listened to Jain’s lectures in 1981, but it took him time to convince his family. .

Credit: Times of India

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The publication, which tracks the fortunes of the continent’s richest people, said falling currencies, the plunge in oil prices and flagging stock markets had combined to push down the minimum net worth requirement from the $510 million needed last year.

As such seven Africans failed to make the cut this year, it said. They were Econet majority shareholder Strive Masiyiwa of Zimbabwe, Tanzania media baron Reginald Mengi, the CEO of the Nigerian conglomerate Yinka Folawiyo Group Tunde Folawiyo and compatriot Oba Otudeko who chairs the Honeywell Group.

Of note is that the last two both hold or have held shareholdings in major telecoms firms, MTN Nigeria for Folawiyo, while Otudeko sold his stake in Bharti Airtel.

Another Nigerian who dropped from the much-watched list is Hakeem Belo-Osage who chairs the Nigerian operations of UAE mobile telephony firm Etisalat.

Egypt steel magnate Ahmed Zzz and South African mining bigwig Desmond Sacco round out the list of those who failed to beat the drop.

The publication notes that as a group, the continent’s wealthiest 50 are worth $95.6 billion, a decline of $15 billion from a year ago. Just over half—23—were dollar billionaires.

Nigeria’s Aliko Dangote remained perched atop the list for the fifth year running, but has lost almost $5 billion on his current net worth of $16.7 billion due to negative share price movements.

South Africa has 16 representatives, up from 11 last year, ahead of Nigeria with 10. Morocco has eight, Egypt seven while Tanzania and Kenya have three each.

Only two are women: Angola’s Isabel Dos Santos, whose father leads the country, and Folorunsho Alakija of Nigeria, a major player in oil.

The oldest is aged 86, Miloud Chaabi from Morocco, while the youngest is 40—Tanzania’s Mohammed Dewji who heads METL, a conglomerate.

All those tracked by the list live and operate from African continent.

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There are a record 1,826 billionaires in the world presently, Forbes said, an increase of 181 in the past 12 months. Bill Gates has been declared the richest man in the world for the 16th time by Forbes magazine's annual ranking of global billionaires.

The Microsoft founder once again beat Mexican businessman Carlos Slim to the top spot. Mr Gates' net worth rose by just over $3bn (£1.94bn) in the year to 13 February, to $79bn.

Mr Gates has now been top of the list for 16 of the last 21 years, Forbes added.

Legendary US investor Warren Buffett regained third place in the list with a net worth of $72.7bn, from Amancio Ortega, the founder of Spanish fashion chain Zara.

Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg moves up five places in the rankings to number 16, with a net worth of $33.4bn. This is the first time he has been included in the list of the world's 20 richest people.

The youngest billionaire in the world is 24 year-old Evan Spiegel, the co-founder of messaging app Snapchat, with a fortune of $1.5bn.

Technology dominates
The funds required to make it into the top 20 in the list have fallen by $2bn to $29bn this year. The founders and chief executives of US technology firms dominated the list again, accounting for six of the top 20 richest men in the world.

The first woman on the rich list is Christy Walton, the widow of John Walton, one of the heirs to the Wal-Mart retail empire. She has been declared the richest woman in the world for five of the last six years by Forbes.

Silicon Valley has produced 23 new billionaires this year including co-founders of car-hailing service Uber, Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp, and their first employee, Ryan Graves.

Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of blood-testing firm Theranos, has debuted on the global list as the youngest self-made woman at age 31, with a fortune of $4.5bn.

Dropouts
The US also dominates the top 20 with 15 of the world's richest people coming from America. This list includes 290 newcomers, 71 of whom come from China. There is also a new record of 46 billionaires under under the age of 40.

One hundred and thirty-eight people from last year's list dropped out of the ranks altogether. Most notable of these is current Ukrainian President and former "chocolate king" Petro Poroshenko.

Meanwhile, Guatemala has a billionaire for the first time in Mario Lopez Estrada, who owns Comcel, which has about half of the mobile phone market in the country. He ranks as 1741 on the list.

FULL LIST [TOP 10]

1. Bill Gates $79.2bn (Microsoft)
2. Carlos Slim Helu $77.1bn (Phones and construction in Mexico)
3. Warren Buffett $72.7bn (Global investor)
4. Amancio Ortega $64.5bn (Zara and other fashion chains)
5. Larry Ellison $54.3bn (Oracle data storage technology)
6. Charles Koch $42.9bn (Industrialist)
7. David Koch $42.9bn (Industrialist)
8. Christy Walton $41.7bn (Walmart retail giant)
9. Jim Walton $40.6bn (Walmart retail giant)

10. Liliane Bettencourt $40.1bn (L'Oreal cosmetics firm)

Source: FORBES

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According to the World Bank, Sub-Saharan Africa is projected to remain one of the fastest growing regions in the world. While Africa’s economy is soaring past most regions with an annual growth of about 5% due mainly to increased agriculture production, infrastructure investment including transportation, ports and energy as well as buoyant services led by tourism, telecommunications and financial services, the continent’s middle class is expected to swell to approximately 300 million people. Additionally, the World Bank projects private consumption in the region to remain strong in 2015-17; particularly with the continent’s burgeoning middle class looking to splurge on new passenger vehicles and for most, their first such purchase.

Last year, Africa was projected to see sales of new 2 million cars with major auto players such as Toyota, Tata Motors and General Motors GM +0.18% looking at the continent for growth opportunities. According to Zawya, there are approximately 21.6 million passenger vehicles operating in Africa; making the continent’s nearly 1.2 billion population a very attractive prospect for global automobile manufacturers to penetrate. Not to be left out of the lucrative market, African entrepreneurs are now entering the automobile industry; designing and developing vehicles specifically geared for the local market and local consumers but with global aspirations.

Kantanka SUV models – Ghana

Below are three African automobile manufacturing companies that are developing “made in Africa” vehicles that look the most promising for the African consumer market;

Kiira Motors Corporation, Uganda

Originally developed by students from Uganda’s Makerere University for a project headed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), the sedan hybrid electric vehicle called the Kiira EV SMACK was designed for the region, local terrain and consumers’ ability to afford the car. The five-seater sedan is powered by a rechargeable battery and also has an internal combustion engine-based generator which charges the battery. The first commercial vehicle from this line is expected to rollout in 2018

Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company, Nigeria

The domestic vehicle maker Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing Company has built on its success of manufacturing buses and trucks to launch a passenger car line comprised of a truck (IVM 1021A) and a Sports Utility Vehicle (IVM 6490A). According to the company website, the automobile company was commissioned by President Goodluck Jonathan and founded by Mr. Innocent Chukwuma.

Kantanka Automobile Company, Ghana

The Ghanaian based automobile company founded by Apostle Safo Kantanka, assembles its passenger vehicles (mainly SUVs and pickup trucks) at the company’s manufacturing plant located in Gomoa Mpota in the central region of Ghana. The automobile company has reportedly pushed back commercial release of its models pending approval from the Ghana Standards Authority.

The commercial success of these “made in Africa for Africans” cars will depend on the uptake by African consumers.

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Fifteen years ago Dr. Dre wondered aloud whether people had forgotten about him. If there was a question then, it has certainly dissipated throughout the next steps of a career filled with highlights—most recently the sale of Beats, the company he cofounded, to Apple AAPL -0.33% for $3 billion.

Dr. Dre took home $620 million this year before taxes, thanks largely to that deal, making him the world’s top-earning musician of 2014. More remarkably, that number also marks the largest single-year haul of any musician, ever.

“It’s safe to say headphones is a good business,” said DJ Khaled, one of hip-hop’s top earners.

Dr. Dre’s payday gives him the widest margin in history between the first and second spots on our top-earning musicians list—half a billion dollars separate him from the No. 2 earner, Beyoncé, who pulled in $115 million. Her most lucrative year yet comes courtesy of her Mrs. Carter Show tour, a surprise album and endorsements with the likes of Pepsi and H&M .

Only one other act reached the nine-figure mark: The Eagles, who earned $100 million on the strength of their History Of The Eagles tour. Bon Jovi ranks fourth with $82 million and Bruce Springsteen rounds out the top five with $81 million; both Jersey-born rockers grossed millions per night on successful arena tours. Those three acts also benefit from staging that’s relatively simple, and therefore cheap, compared to some big pop acts.

“I think it’s just wise to be efficient,” Bon Jovi once told FORBES. “I know big bands where each of them has personal assistants on the road, each of them has a security guard. We don’t have a security guard. Take your own friggin’ bags!”

Full coverage: The World’s Highest-Paid Musicians [Watch video below:]

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Indeed, each of those three legacy acts earned twice as much as younger listmates such as Katy Perry ($40 million), Miley Cyrus ($36 million) or Lady Gaga ($33 million). Justin Bieber ($80 million) and One Direction ($75 million) are the only acts under age 30 to make the top ten; Taylor Swift finished at No. 11 ($64 million).

There’s more diversity when it comes to genre than age. Hip-hop, pop and rock are represented in the top three; the top earners of other categories can be found further down. For example: Calvin Harris notched the highest single-year payday of any DJ ever evaluated by FORBES, pulling in $66 million.

“The rise of dance music has been astronomical in the last three years,” he explained. “And I happened to be in the right place at the right time.”

Harris finished just one spot ahead of country’s cash king, Toby Keith, who pulled in $65 million. The cowboy capitalist collected from a diverse array of income streams including his own record label, mescal line and restaurant chain.

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To form this year’s list, we considered income from touring, recorded music, publishing, merchandise sales, endorsements and other ventures. Management, agent and lawyer fees were not deducted. Earnings were calculated from June 2013 to June 2014 and based on data from Pollstar, the RIAA and Nielsen, and on interviews with managers, lawyers, executives and some artists themselves.

Dr. Dre didn’t sit for an interview, but some of the other artists on the list did speak to FORBES over the past year—including some who feel they could find themselves closer to the top next time around.

“I feel like I’m just getting started,” said Bruno Mars, who earned $60 million last year, locking him into a three-way tie with Jay Z and Diddy for No. 12. “I haven’t even really scratched the surface yet.”

Credit: Forbes

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