Algeria counts 46.000 billionaires

Latest data obtained by Echorouk show that the number of billionaires in Algeria is on the increase, reaching 46.000 big billionaires and 20.000 living a factitious life, while 500 young millionaires are ready to enter the world of billionaires.

• Former Minster of Trade, Noureddine Boukrouh, said in 2004 their number exceeded 40.000 and it increased due to the opening of market in Algeria during the last years and emergence of the nouveau riche.
• Financial experts said the 46.000 Algerian billionaires are divided into two groups, there are 20 to 30.000 real billionaires, belonging mostly to rich families, and their properties are logical because their families were exporters of oranges, olives, dates, grapes and other products, since the colonial period.
• In addition to this category, observers insist that the wide circle of billionaires includes more than 20.000 fictitious billionaires, led by looters of public funds in the courts every day.
• Few disclosures estimate the total wealth of these billionaires with more than 2 billion dinars for each, while analysts stress that there is a significant number of billionaires who have unbelievable figures, and became challenging “Bill Gates” and the Greek billionaires.
• On the other hand, suspicious transactions and lobbies of speculation, business, embezzlement and the tremendous importation of everything will create over 500 nouveau riche who will join the Algerian billionaires.
• The red decade in Algeria did not stop at killing civilians, but it encourages the leaders of some terrorist groups to become warlords through collecting people’s money before killing them, as well as development of drug trade, where 80% of cannabis entered to Algeria, and money laundering, which reached the highest levels, producing new billionaires who were professionals in looting people’s funds.
• In the same context, many financial experts focus on the difficulty to find the exact amount of money of those billionaires abroad due to the absence of accurate statistics that would monitor and control the capitals, particularly in light of the presence of 40% of funds outside the monetary authority.
• Previously, both the Algerian PM, Ahmed Ouyahia, and the Finance Minister, recognized the existence of huge amounts of money that are outside the official circles and banks, in the form of what is happening inside the black market, thing that negatively affects and blocks the identification of the financial leakages.