Econet founder, Strive Masiyiwa has corrected reports claiming he attained British Citizenship while stating that he is Zimbabwean.
Responding to one of his Facebook followers who had congratulated him for being named first British black billionaire, the various awards he has won and his humanitarian work in Africa, Masiyiwa wrote:
Thank you, Joseph. Just one correction; I’m not British, I’m Zimbabwean. The article simply said the first black billionaire to live in Britain.
There are many billionaires on the list who are residents of the UK, but not British citizens.
To suggest that I’m British simply because on the list of a UK newspaper is the same as I’m an American since I have long appeared on the list of Forbes Magazine.
Masiyiwa’s wealth is estimated to be £1.087 billion, which elevated him into the ranks of Britain’s super-rich.
The 60-year-old businessman, who also chairs Liquid Intelligent Technologies, a pan-African fibre-optic operator, a subsidiary of Econet, was in January also named among Africa’s richest businesspeople.