With a net worth of $13.9 billion, Dangote Group President and billionaire Aliko Dangote continues to be the wealthiest person in Africa according to the 2024 Forbes list of 20 Africa’s Richest billionaires, which was made public yesterday.
The wealthiest individuals in Africa had a modest increase in their fortunes over the previous 12 months, according to Forbes. This reversed a year ago’s decrease in their fortunes, however they were still below all-time highs.
The New Jersey-based media outfit pointed out that the 20 billionaires on the 2024 Forbes list of Africa’s Richest were worth a combined $82.4 billion, up $900 million from last year’s $81.5 billion.
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Dangote is followed by Johann Rupert and Family from South Africa, with net worth of $10.1 billion; another South African businessman, Nicky Oppenheimer and his family, with net worth of $9.4 billion; Nassef Sawiris with net worth of $8.7 billion.
Nigeria’s Mike Adenuga with net worth of $6.9 billion; and Chairman of BUA Group, Abdulsamad Rabiu, with net worth of $5.9 billion, are fourth and fifth respectively on the list. Femi Otedola with a net worth of $1.1bn is 19th on the 20-person list.
This year, South Africa claimed six spots on the ranking, followed by Egypt with five, and Nigeria with four. Algeria, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, have one billionaire each on the list, while Morocco has two.
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Forbes stated that Africa “remains one of the world’s toughest places to build – and hold onto – a billion-dollar fortune, as global investors remain leery of its stock exchanges, businesses struggle against strained economies, poor infrastructure and volatile exchange rates, while changing political winds can make, boost or bust private fortunes”.
Meanwhile, Executive Chairman of Geregu Power Plc and a Non-Executive Director FBN Holdings, Mr. Femi Otedola, was named among the 20 richest persons in Africa. Otedola was listed as the 19th richest person in Africa with net worth of $1.1 billion.
