Africa’s hospitality industry is attracting investment from billionaires, sovereign wealth funds, royal families and international hotel groups, as developers expand luxury accommodation across the continent’s major cities, safari destinations and coastal resorts.
The investment momentum reflects growing demand for premium hotels, branded resorts and exclusive travel experiences, particularly in markets such as Morocco, South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania and Rwanda.
Beyond room rates that can run into thousands of dollars per night, these properties represent significant investments in real estate, tourism infrastructure and hospitality management.
The industry’s ownership structures vary considerably. Some hotels are controlled by wealthy individuals and family-owned businesses, while others operate through partnerships involving institutional investors, sovereign investment companies and international hotel management groups.
These arrangements have brought together investors from Africa, Europe and the Middle East, with operators including Four Seasons, One&Only and Singita managing properties across the continent.
For investors, luxury hospitality offers exposure to international tourism spending, high-value real estate and long-term destination development.
Against this backdrop, Nairametrics profiles the founders, owners and investment executives behind some of Africa’s most expensive hotels in 2026, examining the capital and business interests supporting their operations.
9. Keith Vincent – CEO, Wilderness
Owners-DumaTau Camp, Botswana
Keith Vincent is the Chief Executive Officer of Wilderness, the luxury safari and conservation company behind DumaTau and Little DumaTau camps in Botswana.
Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Vincent developed an interest in wildlife conservation at an early age, becoming a professional safari guide in 1980.
He worked with several safari companies across Zimbabwe before settling in Victoria Falls in 1984. He joined Wilderness Safaris in 1993 and served as Chief Operations Officer for six years before his appointment as CEO in July 2013.
Wilderness was founded in Botswana in 1983 by safari guides Colin Bell and Chris McIntyre, who started the business with limited savings and a second-hand Land Rover. The company initially offered guided wildlife expeditions before expanding into luxury safari accommodation.
Bell sold his stake in 2005, while Wilderness subsequently attracted institutional investment.
In 2018, The Rise Fund acquired a 34% stake in Wilderness Holdings, while FS Investors purchased 24% through its affiliate, African Wildlife Investments.
The company was taken private in 2019 following its delisting from the Botswana and Johannesburg stock exchanges.
8. Beatrice Tollman – Founder, Red Carnation Hotels
Owners-The Oyster Box, South Africa
Beatrice Tollman is a South African-born hotelier and founder of Red Carnation Hotels, the luxury hospitality group behind The Oyster Box, a five-star hotel overlooking the Indian Ocean in Umhlanga, South Africa.
Tollman began her hospitality career in 1954 alongside her late husband, Stanley Tollman, when the couple leased The Nugget Hotel in Johannesburg, using money received as wedding gifts to furnish the property.
Initially aspiring to become a nursery school teacher, she entered the hospitality industry at 22, managing hotel kitchens and developing the service standards that would later define the family business.
The couple subsequently expanded their hotel interests across South Africa before relocating to London in 1975, where they continued building their international hospitality operations.
In 2006, Stanley and Beatrice acquired The Oyster Box, a historic property originally established as a hotel in 1954. Following extensive renovations between 2007 and 2009, the property reopened as a luxury destination.
Red Carnation Hotels subsequently expanded into a collection of luxury properties across Africa, Europe and the United States.
Following Stanley’s death in 2021, the family continued overseeing the hospitality business, with their daughter Victoria Tollman serving as President and son Brett Tollman as Chairman of Red Carnation Hotels.
7. Liz Biden – Co-founder, The Royal Portfolio
Owners- The Silo Hotel, South Africa, Royal Malewane, South Africa
Liz Biden is a South African entrepreneur and co-founder of The Royal Portfolio, the luxury hospitality group behind The Silo Hotel, and Royal Malewane a five-star property overlooking Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront.
She established the company alongside her husband, Phil Biden, after building a career spanning education, medical debt collection and fashion retail.
Biden began her professional career as a teacher before entering business, eventually becoming involved in the South African fashion brand Jenni Button.
At age 50, she sold her fashion business and ventured into hospitality, proposing to her husband that they convert their family holiday homes into luxury boutique hotels.
Their first property, Royal Malewane, was developed from the family’s private bush retreat. The couple subsequently converted their seaside residence into Birkenhead House and their Franschhoek property into La Residence.
The portfolio expanded in 2017 with the opening of The Silo Hotel, located above the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town.
Biden personally oversees the interior design of the group’s properties, incorporating art, antiques and distinctive furnishings into their luxury offerings.
The Royal Portfolio remains family-owned, with the couple’s son, Matthew Biden, serving as CEO and overseeing its hospitality operations.
6. Mostafa Terrab – Chairman and CEO, OCP Group
Owners- La Mamounia, Morocco
Mostafa Terrab is the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of OCP Group, Morocco’s state-controlled phosphate and fertilizer company that owns La Mamounia, a historic five-star luxury hotel in Marrakech.
Terrab has led OCP Group since 2006, overseeing its transformation from a phosphate mining enterprise into a global producer of fertilizers and plant nutrition solutions.
He studied engineering at École Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées in France before pursuing further education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States.
Before joining OCP, Terrab served as Director General of Morocco’s National Telecommunications Regulatory Agency between 1998 and 2002 and later worked as a Lead Regulatory Specialist at the World Bank until 2006.
OCP Group, established in 1920, is majority-owned by the Moroccan government and operates across phosphate mining, fertilizer production and agricultural solutions.
The group acquired the Moroccan government’s remaining stake in La Mamounia for approximately 1.7 billion dirhams ($173 million), consolidating ownership of the luxury hotel previously held by state entities.
Under Terrab’s leadership, OCP has also launched a $13 billion green investment programme focused on renewable energy, sustainable fertilizer production and achieving carbon neutrality by 2040.
5. Ali Albwardy – Founder and Chairman, Albwardy Investment
Owners- Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti, Tanzania
Ali Saeed Juma Albwardy is a UAE-based businessman and founder of Albwardy Investment, the diversified conglomerate behind Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti, a luxury safari property located in Tanzania’s Serengeti National Park.
Albwardy established his investment business in 1975, building a portfolio spanning hospitality, retail, food distribution, manufacturing and industrial services.
Over five decades, he has expanded the privately held group into more than 20 countries across Africa, the Middle East, Europe and South America, with over 30 companies and a workforce exceeding 10,000 employees.
His hospitality investments include Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti, which previously operated as Bilila Lodge before reopening under the Four Seasons brand in 2012.
The property is owned through Albwardy Investment and managed by Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts under a management agreement.
Albwardy’s business interests also include partnerships with international brands such as Spinneys, Waitrose, Nestlé, Meliá Hotels and Henkel.
In 2020, the group’s subsidiary, ASB Hospitality Zimbabwe, acquired the five-star Meikles Hotel in Harare for approximately $20 million.
Albwardy also serves as Chairman of Al Seer Group and Spinneys 1961 Holding, extending his business interests across consumer goods, retail and hospitality.
4. Zain Richardson – CEO, ASMALLWORLD Group
Managers- North Island, Seychelles
Zain Richardson is a luxury hospitality executive and Chief Executive Officer of ASMALLWORLD Group, the Swiss-listed luxury travel company whose hospitality division manages North Island, an exclusive private island resort in Seychelles.
Richardson joined the group in March 2025, bringing nearly two decades of experience across international hospitality, aviation and luxury travel.
He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in English and French from the University of Oxford and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
Before joining ASMALLWORLD, Richardson served as Chief Marketing and Customer Officer at Aero, a California-based luxury airline, and previously held the position of Chief Marketing Officer at Aman Group.
His earlier career included commercial leadership roles at Marriott International, Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Expedia Group.
ASMALLWORLD was founded in 2004 by Swedish entrepreneurs Erik and Louise Wachtmeister and became publicly listed on Switzerland’s SIX Swiss Exchange in 2018.
Through its hospitality division, the group has provided operational and strategic management services to North Island since 2019.
The resort ended its affiliation with Marriott International on June 30, 2025, transitioning to independent operations under private family ownership, although the identities of its current beneficial owners remain undisclosed.
3. King Mohammed VI – Owner, Royal Mansour Collection
Owner- Royal Mansour Casablanca, Morocco
King Mohammed VI of Morocco is the royal investor behind the Royal Mansour Collection, the luxury hospitality group that includes Royal Mansour Casablanca, a five-star hotel in Morocco’s commercial capital.
Born on August 21, 1963, in Rabat, he is the eldest son of the late King Hassan II and ascended the Moroccan throne in July 1999.
He earned a law degree from Mohammed V University in 1985 and later obtained a doctorate in law from the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis in France in 1993.
Beyond his royal duties, Mohammed VI has extensive business interests through the royal family’s investment holdings, including Al Mada, with investments spanning banking, mining, telecommunications, energy and real estate.
His luxury hospitality interests include Royal Mansour Marrakech, inaugurated in 2010, and Royal Mansour Casablanca, which reopened on April 15, 2024, following eight years of redevelopment.
The Casablanca property, originally established in 1953, now features 149 rooms, suites and private apartments, alongside restaurants, spa facilities and event spaces.
The collection also includes Royal Mansour Tamuda Bay, which opened in 2024, with Jean-Claude Messant overseeing the group’s hospitality operations.
2. Mohammed Ibrahim Al Shaibani – Managing Director, Investment Corporation of Dubai
Owners-One&Only Gorilla’s Nest, Rwanda
Mohammed Ibrahim Al Shaibani is an Emirati investment executive and Managing Director of the Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD), the sovereign investment arm of the Dubai government and a major shareholder in Kerzner International, the luxury hospitality group operating One&Only Gorilla’s Nest in Rwanda.
Born in Dubai in 1964, Al Shaibani holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from a university in the United States.
He began his career at Dubai Ports Authority and Jebel Ali Free Zone, spending seven years in the maritime and trade sectors before serving as Managing Director of Al Khaleej Investments in Singapore.
In 1998, he became President of the Dubai Office, managing investment interests associated with Dubai’s ruling family.
As Managing Director of ICD, established in 2006, Al Shaibani oversees a diversified investment portfolio spanning banking, aviation, hospitality, energy and financial services.
The government-owned investment company holds a major stake in Kerzner International, which manages luxury hospitality brands including One&Only and Atlantis.
Kerzner operates One&Only Gorilla’s Nest, which officially opened in March 2020, alongside One&Only Nyungwe House in Rwanda.
Al Shaibani also serves as Chairman of Kerzner International and Dubai Islamic Bank, extending his leadership responsibilities across hospitality and financial services.
1 Luke Bailes – Founder and Executive Chairman, Singita
Owners- Singita Lebombo Lodge, South Africa
Luke Bailes is a South African hospitality entrepreneur and founder of Singita, the luxury safari and conservation company behind Singita Lebombo Lodge, located in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.
Bailes founded Singita in 1993, building on his family’s conservation legacy dating back to 1925, when his grandfather acquired 30,000 acres of land in South Africa’s Lowveld region.
The property, originally used for hunting, was gradually transformed into a wildlife conservation reserve and later became part of the Sabi Sand Nature Reserve.
Singita opened its first property, Ebony Lodge, in 1993, establishing a luxury safari business combining exclusive accommodation with wildlife protection and community development.
The company subsequently expanded across South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Rwanda, developing a portfolio of luxury lodges and conservation partnerships.
Its Kruger National Park operations include Singita Lebombo and Singita Sweni, situated within a private concession in the park.
Dubai World Africa acquired a 50% interest in the concession through a strategic partnership, while Danish billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen has also been identified as a major investor in Singita’s management business. Bailes remains Executive Chairman, with Jo Bailes serving as Chief Executive Officer.