These five tycoons, have, however, demonstrated that it is not always rosy for the rich in Kenya as chances of losing their properties still linger.
As much as some billionaires have been able to diversify their portfolios enough to remain rich after losing a couple of billions, some individuals, such as Dalila Asiago, lost everything and were left wallowing in poverty.
1. Atul Shah
For years, former Nakumatt Chief Executive Office Atul Shah battled to save his posh Nairobi mansion which had been put up for sale to recover money owed to suppliers of the defunct giant retailer.
For months, the four-bedroom mansion located in at Elite Gardens in Nairobi’s upmarket Lavington Estate had been put on auction but it was formally acquired in September 2021.
“There is an individual who has entered into a deal with the bank to buy the house, the buyer is willing to raise the Ksh30 million we were looking for when we floated the house for sale in August,” the auctioneers stated at the time.
The home was re-claimed in July following Justice Francis Tuiyott’s ruling that authorized the auction of the property as Atul owed a Ksh2 billion debt to numerous banks after Nakumatt’s downfall.
2. Dalila Asago
In the 1990s, Kenyan athlete Dalila Asago was a renowned runner who scooped gold medals in events such as the Steamboat Classic where she set a world record, All Africa Games and World Championships.
During her tenure, she amassed wealth valued in millions of shillings but would later lose it and admitted that she could not account how she used the money.
In an interview in the last half of 2021, she noted that her troubles began in 1999 after she was banned for two years due to doping allegations.
She earned Ksh30 million in different races and used some of the proceeds to construct a house for her parents but could not account for the rest.
3. Balminder Singh Sochi
Sochi has reclaimed his success story today and hit gold in chilli farming but his life has not always been that of privilege.
The tycoon started out in the lucrative engineering industry and ran the Kisumu Engineering Works Limited which served most sugar mills and machinery in Nyanza and Western regions.
The sugar millers, however, ran into financial headwinds leaving his company exposed. He later lost his wealth and became broke following the closure of his company that he later auctioned on social media.
Sochi later received advise from one of his allies to venture into chili farming, a lucrative business that has since catapulted him back to his days of glory.
4. Manu Chandaria
Known for his down-to-earth persona, billionaire Manu Chandaria has found success in his nine decades of but has also counted some losses.
In June 2021, his company Kaluworks Limited which is under Comcraft Group was placed under receivership over the non-payment of a debt valued at Ksh4.3 billion.
It was revealed that the company had been struggling financially and realised less profits from its sale of aluminium utensils and roofing sheets.
The tycoon, however, still runs profited businesses and has interest in manufacturing as well as food processing industries.
5. Ali Punjani
In June 2021, Coast billionaire Ali Punjani also lost his mansion over a Ksh1 billion debt a local bank claimed he owed them.
He was also accused of being a close associate of jailed drug lords, the Akasha brothers and saw Garam Auctioneers put in charge of the sale and asset recovery.
The eight-bedroom double-storey mansion sits on a 0.4 parcel of land in Bondeni, Nyali.
It comprises a swimming pool and staff quarters and overlooks the Indian Ocean. Police had, in August 2019, raided the house of the suspected drug lord under under orders from Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i.
