Forbes: Dangote’s wealth hits $13.9bn, gains $1.8bn in one year

For the 11^th year in a row, Aliko Dangote has retained his position as the richest man in Africa. His net worth is estimated at $13.9 billion, according to the 2022 edition of the Forbes’ Top 10 Africa’s Billionaires List.

Dangote’s $13.9 billion is up from $12.1 billion last year. This means the billionaire gained $1.8 billion in one year.

This was attributed to a 30% increase in the stock price of Dangote Cement, his most valuable asset.

Dangote’s sources of wealth are in cement and sugar.

Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest person, founded and chairs Dangote Cement, the continent’s largest cement producer.

He owns 85% of publicly-traded Dangote Cement through a holding company.

Dangote Cement has the capacity to produce 48.6 million metric tons annually and has operations in 10 countries across Africa.

After many years in development, Dangote’s fertilizer plant in Nigeria began operations in mid-2021.

Dangote Refinery has been under construction since 2016 and is expected to be one of the world’s largest oil refineries once complete.

Another Nigerian gainer in the Forbes’ list is cement tycoon, Abdulsamad Rabiu of BUA. He is $1.5 billion richer after taking yet another of his companies to the stock market.

Rabiu is the fifth richest African with a net worth of $7 billion.

In early January 2022, Rabiu listed his sugar and food firm BUA Foods on the Nigerian stock exchange. He and his son, according to Forbes, retained a 96% stake in the company, which recently had a market capitalization of nearly $2.8 billion. BUA Cement, in which he and his son have a 96% stake, listed in January 2020.

Mike Adenuga, the chairman of Globacom, is the sixth richest African with a net worth of $6.7 billion. He is the third Nigerian on the Forbes’ Top 10 Africa’s Billionaires List.

Rabiu has displaced Adenugu as the second richest Nigeria.

Jumping into the No. 2 spot –up from No. 4 last year– is luxury goods magnate Johann Rupert of South Africa. A more than 60% surge in the share price of his Compagnie Financiere Richemont–maker of Cartier watches and Montblanc pens – pushed his fortune to $11 billion, up from $7.2 billion a year ago, making him the biggest dollar gainer on the list.

South African Nicky Oppenheimer, who formerly ran diamond mining firm DeBeers before selling it to mining firm Anglo American a decade ago, ranks No. 3, worth an estimated $8.7 billion.

Nassef Sawiris, an investor and a scion of Egypt’s wealthiest family, is the fourth richest African with net worth of $8.6 billion.

The report added that Africa’s billionaires were richer than they had been in years, despite the global pandemic.

As a group, the continent’s 18 billionaires were worth an estimated $84.9 billion – a 15 per cent increase from 12 months ago and the most since 2014, when a larger number of billionaires –28– were worth a combined $96.5 billion.

On average, the continent’s billionaires were worth $4.7 billion now, worth $3.4 billion in 2014 with soaring stock prices from Nigeria to Zimbabwe lifted the fortunes of these tycoons, as demand for products from cement to luxury goods ticked up.

The biggest gainer in percentage terms –up 125 per cent was Strive Masiyiwa of Zimbabwe, worth $2.7 billion, up from $1.2 billion last year.

Shares of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, which he founded, rose more than 750% in the past year, helping to drive up the size of his fortune.

According to the release, only two of the 18 billionaires are worth less than in 2021: Koos Bekker of South Africa, who dropped to $2.7 billion from $2.8 billion as the share prices of consumer Internet firms Naspers and Prosus fell more than 20per cent each.

Mohammed Dewji of Tanzania, whose fortune declined to an estimated $1.5 billion from $1.6 billion a year ago, due to lower multiples for publicly traded competitors.

The 18 billionaires from Africa, who were not new to the ranks, also hailed from seven different countries, South Africa and Egypt each had five billionaires, followed by Nigeria with three and Morocco with two.

All of the continent’s billionaires were men; the last woman to appear in the ranks, Isabel dos Santos of Angola, fell off the Forbes list in January 2021.

Forbes noted that the list tracked the wealth of African billionaires who resided in Africa or had their primary business there, thus excluding Sudanese-born billionaire, Mo Ibrahim, who is a UK citizen.

So also the billionaire London resident, Mohamed Al-Fayed, an Egyptian citizen.

TheStar