Tweaaa! Otumfuo Worth Only $10 Million? - Ashantis Reject Forbes Report

Following the release of a survey conducted by Forbes in respect of who the richest King of Africa is, tongues are wagging as to the value placed on Ghana�s Otumfuo, Osei Tutu, the overload of the Ashanti Kingdom of Ghana. The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, is rated as Africa�s Fifth Richest King, according to the estimations by Forbes. The King of the Asantes is estimated to be worth $10 million and his source of wealth, according to Forbes, is from mining equipment, property and jewelry. Otumfuo Osei Tutu II came behind Mswati III, Swaziland; Oba Okunade Siju-wade, lle-lfe, Nigeria; Oba Obateru Akinrutan, Ugbo Land, Nigeria; King Mohammed VI, Morocco in the ranking. King Mohammed VI, Morocco was named Africa�s richest king with an estimated net worth of $2 billion. He made his wealth from investments. Oba Obateru Akinrutan, Ugbo land, Nigeria came in second with estimated net worth of $300 million from oil. Oba Okunde Sijuwade, IIe-Ife, Nigeria, and King Mswati III, Swiziland came in third and fourth respectively. Oba Okunde Sijuwade is estimated to be worth at least $75 million from construction, property, and oil while King Mswati III is worth at least $50 million from investments. Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, who ascended the throne in 1999 and serves as the political and spiritual head of the Asante people, in 1989 set up Transpomech Ghana, a $12 million (sales) company that provides mining equipment to several large industrial companies in Ghana. According to Forbes, he also owns extensive real estate in Ghana and South Africa as well as a collection of valuable gold crown jewels. Africa�s riches King, Majesty King Mohammed VI derives his fortune from his control of Societe National d'Investissement (SNI) a large Moroccan investment holding company with assets valued at more than $10 billion. SNI�s largest asset is a 48 per cent stake in Morocco's largest bank, Attijariwaga, as well as controlling stakes in mass distribution giant Marhane Holding; mining company Managem Group and mobile telecoms company Inwi. The King, according to Forbes, also owns a substantial chunk of the world�s phosphate reserves. The 27th King of the Alaouite dynasty, ascended the throne in July 1999 and immediately set out to initiate a series of socio-political and economic reforms that have made the Kingdom freer and more prosperous than during the reign of his father, King Hassan II. In 2014, the King introduced a new family law giving women legal equality with men in key areas; his economic strategy has led to the creation of new industrial zones which in turn has given a boost to the number of global industrial corporations setting up shop in Morocco. On the political front, he has enacted a series of reforms to the country�s constitution, including amendments that stripped him of some of his political powers. But speaking in separate interviews with The New Independent, some highly-placed Ashantis rejected Otumfuo�s rating and described the survey as lacking credibility and therefore challenged Forbes to provide the basis for such an estimation of the Asantehene. A well-to-do Ashanti, who spoke to this reporter on condition of anonymity, said, it is totally unacceptable, how can the Ashantihene, Otumfuo worth only $10 million dollars? �Even me, how much am I worth, am I not worth more than the $10 million they are talking about, let alone the Otumfuo himself, this cannot be true.� Another respected Ashanti, a former Minister, told this reporter that, �this can never be true, the Otumfuo is worth more than $10 million dollars,� he said and added that, �this is the biggest joke I have ever heard in my entire life.� �Tweaaa! How can this be true, even these young men and women in the region and elsewhere in the country, whose businesses and statuses are nowhere close to those of Otumfuo are worth more than $10 million dollars, how much more the Otumfuo?� He challenged Forbes to make open how it collected its data and how the assessment was made to arrive at such a low value of worth for no less a person than Otumfuo Osei Tutu II.