Wealthy investors in the stock market have booked Sh39.51 billion paper gains on their shares at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) in the past 12 months to Wednesday, cementing the bourse’s reputation as one of the quickest paths to prosperity.
The billionaire investors include bank executives James Mwangi and Gideon Muriuki, the Kenyatta and Ndegwa families, the Shah family of I&M Group and long-term market investors Baloobhai Patel and John Kibunga Kimani.
Their long-term investments in some of the top blue-chip firms on the NSE continue to pay off as the bourse recovers from a prolonged bear run that stripped their portfolios of billions of shillings between 2015 and 2022.
In the past 12 months, the NSE has added Sh1.29 trillion in investor wealth to stand at a record high of Sh3.95 trillion, boosted by gains on large firms such as Safaricom, Equity Group, KCB Group, Co-operative Bank of Kenya, Absa Bank Kenya and NCBA Group.
These gains have set the bourse on the path to a third straight calendar year of large gains in market capitalisation—the measure of investor wealth. In 2025, the NSE added a record Sh1 trillion in market cap, building on the gain of Sh500.5 billion it posted in 2024.
New listings of Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) in March 2026 and Family Bank last month have also boosted the NSE’s valuation by Sh207.5 billion, while also minting additional billions for Family Bank founder Titus Muya and his associates.
Bank stocks generated the largest gains for the market billionaires between July 2025 and July 2026, as the segment recorded a 71 percent jump in its overall valuation to Sh1.62 trillion in the period.
I&M Group founder and director Suresh Raja Shah and his two sons Sarit and Sachit Shah have seen the value of their 249.7 million shares in the bank grow by Sh7.2 billion to Sh16.6 billion in the past one year. The lender’s share price has appreciated by 77 percent to Sh66.50 in the period.
The Shahs hold their I&M Bank shares through their interest in various investment vehicles, primarily the lender’s three top shareholders Minard Holdings Limited, Tecoma Limited and Ziyungi Limited, whose directors include Raja Shah.
Jomo Kenyatta family
By the end of May 2026, the three entities held a combined 54.93 percent stake with a market value of Sh63.6 billion in I&M.
The families of Kenya’s first President Jomo Kenyatta and former Central Bank of Kenya Governor Philip Ndegwa have made gains of Sh5.27 billion and Sh5.97 billion on their respective stakes in NCBA, whose share price has risen by 38.6 percent in the past year to Sh87.
The Kenyattas’ Enke Investments Limited owns 13.2 percent or 217.49 million shares in the bank, which are now valued at Sh18.92 billion, up from Sh13.65 billion a year ago.
Recent disclosures showed businessman Muhoho Kenyatta, a son of the founding President, has a direct and indirect interest of 227.3 million shares in NCBA, valuing his personal holdings at Sh19.7 billion.
Muhoho Kenyatta following proceedings during President’s Award convention at the Award’s offices in Nairobi on January 15, 2016.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
The Ndegwas, through their investment vehicle First Chartered Securities Limited, hold a 14.94 percent stake or 246.15 million shares in NCBA. The shares are now valued at Sh21.4 billion, up from Sh15.4 billion in July 2025.
The two families are, however, set to cash in on part of their stake after committing to sell at least two-thirds of their holdings to South African multinational lender Nedbank, which is acquiring 66 percent of NCBA in a cash-and-stock deal valued at Sh110 billion.
They are in line to net Sh21.9 billion in the deal, comprising a cash payout of Sh1.32 billion and 10.14 million Nedbank shares worth Sh20.6 billion.
Equity Group chief executive officer James Mwangi has meanwhile seen the market value of his 3.39 percent stake in the bank, equivalent to 127.8 million shares, rise by Sh4.5 billion to Sh10.96 billion in the past year. The lender’s share price has gone up by 69.8 percent in the period to Sh85.75.
Mr Mwangi has also booked a paper gain of Sh388.5 million on the 75 million shares he holds in insurance firm Britam Holdings, taking his overall gain in the market from Britam and Equity to Sh4.89 billion.
Britam’s 61.5 percent share price growth to Sh13.60 per unit has also handed its former chief executive, Benson Wairegi, a paper gain of Sh526 million to Sh1.38 billion for his 101.7 million shares in the company.
Businessman Jimnah Mbaru has meanwhile seen the value of his 130 million Britam shares jump by Sh673.4 million to Sh1.77 billion, while Equity Group founder Peter Munga’s 69.62 million Britam shares have appreciated in value by Sh360.6 million to Sh946.8 million.
Co-operative Bank of Kenya CEO Gideon Muriuki’s 135.03 million shares in the bank, equivalent to a 2.3 percent stake, have doubled in value by Sh2.32 billion to Sh4.65 billion after the lender’s share price jumped from Sh17.25 to Sh34.45 in the 12 months.
Cooperative Bank of Kenya CEO Gideon Muriuki.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Mombasa-based billionaire family, the Bablas, have also joined in the large paper gains courtesy of their 59.74 million KCB shares, whose value jumped by Sh2.04 billion to Sh4.87 billion after the bank’s share price grew by 72.3 percent to Sh81.50 in the period.
Businessman Baloobhai Patel has seen the value of his holdings in various segments of the bourse grow by about Sh4.89 billion.
His biggest paper gain came on the 127.2 million shares he owns in Carbacid Investments —through investment vehicle Aksaya Investment Holding Ltd— which appreciated by Sh1.84 billion to Sh4.6 billion.
The value of Mr Patel’s 100 million shares in Co-operative Bank grew by Sh1.72 billion to Sh3.44 billion, and a similarly sized holding in Absa Bank Kenya appreciated by Sh1.32 billion to Sh3.31 billion.
He has also enjoyed smaller gains of Sh14.7 million and Sh9.7 million on shares he holds in Williamson Tea Kenya and Sanlam Allianz Holding Kenya.
Fellow businessman John Kibunga Kimani’s paper gains in the period stood at Sh836.7 million, mainly drawn from Kakuzi where the value of his 33.5 percent stake or 6.57 million shares rose by Sh463 million to Sh2.86 billion.
In the past 12 months, the NSE has added Sh1.29 trillion in investor wealth to stand at a record high of Sh3.95 trillion.
Photo credit: Shutterstock
He has also recorded gains of Sh193 million to Sh850 million on his 24.1 million Safaricom shares, and a Sh180.3 million gain on his 73.6 million Centum Investment Company shares, which are now valued at Sh1.09 billion.
Similarly, Centum’s 20 percent jump in share price to Sh14.80 has grown the value of the firm’s 205.9 million shares held by the estate of the late businessman Chris Kirubi by Sh525 million to Sh3 billion.
In Family Bank, founder Titus Muya and his associates hold a 35.67 percent stake or 593 million shares, whose value since the lender’s listing on June 23 has grown by Sh3.83 billion to Sh14.5 billion, after its share price rose to Sh24.45 from the listing price of Sh18.
