TIRANA, Nov. 1 – Albania’s top 20 richest people list is dominated by businessmen operating in the trade, oil and construction business but also includes a politician and two women entrepreneurs, according to a 2015 Albanian millionaires study conducted by Tirana-based Foundation for Economic Freedom.
Samir Mane tops the richest people list again with an estimated fortune at about 30 percent of the top 60 entrepreneurs when taking into account the share and net capital and well as profit. Mane, whose companies are involved in trade, construction and mining, had been previously named by Wealth-X intelligence provider as Albania’s first billionaire with an estimated fortune of US$1.2 billion.
Shefqet Kastrati, the Albanian oil tycoon whose Kastrati company has a market share of more than 50 percent, climbed to second in this year’s ranking with his fortune estimated at 10.2 percent of the top 60.
Third comes Vasil Naà§i, the owner of a large food and beverage production and distribution chain followed by Behar Cukaj, the owner of Bolv-oil company with 6.7 percent share each.
Vjollca Hoxha, the heiress of the Top Media company, and a shareholder in pay TV platforms, was the eighth richest person and Albania’s richest woman in 2015 with an estimated wealth at 3.36 percent of the top 60. Female entrepreneur Vilma Nushi, who is the largest distributor for tobacco and alcoholic beverages, dropped to 12th in the 2015 ranking despite being awarded a lucrative medical check-up concession.
Expelled Socialist Party MP Tom Doshi is the only politician to make it to the top 20. Doshi whose main business is the Profarma Albanian pharmaceutical company, has been an MP since a decade.
The study was based on official financial data submitted with state authorities by 60 individuals and their shares in commercial enterprises. The report took into account the declarations with the National Registration Center, the current National Business Center, and answers from a confidential survey also including real estate and shares in companies operating outside Albania.
Women entrepreneurs accounted for 10 percent of Albania’s richest with an estimated wealth of 5.9 percent of the top 60 in 2015.
“Taking into account the economic and financial climate during the past 25 years of Albania’s transition to a market economy following the collapse of the 45-year communist regime, this indicator unveils both emancipation but also a lot of work to be carried out by the businesswomen community,” researchers say.
The study also unveils it is high time this community of Albania’s richest is provided with long-term vision and expanded internationally.
“It will soon be needed (if this need has not arisen yet) that this community is served with long-term and structured visions in order not only to preserve the consolidation of the financial and strategic capital, but also perform better in the domestic market and especially internationally where opportunities and rules are now well-established,” the Foundation’s researchers add.
“These challenges as well as a still unexplored field in consultancy and asset and wealth management belong to the future,” they add.
Last year, the Foundation for Economic Freedom unveiled Albania has more than 2,000 millionaires but yet has no billionaire.
The study showed Albania has 2,005 millionaires who possess between Euro 1 to 5 million known as the “millionaires next door,” 19 middle-millionaires with wealth between 5 to 30 million euros, 6 ultra-high-net-worth individuals with 30 to 99 million euros and one centa millionaire with 100 to 999 million euros.
Researchers have indicated that unofficially there are richer individuals coming from politics and the public administration.
“The thing is about cases when high public officials from the government or opposition are rumored as holding millions of euros, most of which on behalf of other people and partly under their own name. But the enrichment of politicians is mainly in the frame of public rumor and with no indication by law-enforcement agencies,” says Zef Preà§i, the director of the Centre for Economic Studies in Albania.
