Forbes: Dangote, Adenuga among ‘Africa’s wealthiest’ who made more money during pandemic

Despite the harsh impact of COVID-19 pandemic on businesses, Forbes, an American business magazine, has listed Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga and Abdulsamad Rabiu, as the top three Nigerian businessmen who made more money in 2020.

According to Forbes’ latest list of Africa’s 2021 billionaires released on Friday, the continent’s 18 billionaires were worth an average $4.1 billion, which is a 12 percent increase compared to last year, and driven in part by Nigeria’s surging stock market.

Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Cement, maintained his top position as the richest man in Africa — for the 10th consecutive time — with a net worth of $12.1 billion from last year’s $10.1 billion.

“For the tenth year in a row, Aliko Dangote of Nigeria is the continent’s richest person, worth $12.1 billion, up by $2bn from last year’s list, thanks to a roughly 30 percent rise in the shares of Dangote Cement, by far his most valuable asset,” Forbes said.

Abdulsamad Rabiu, chairman of BUA Group, was the biggest gainer as he climbed to sixth position from the eighth position he occupied in 2020, with a net worth of $5.5 billion from $3.1 billion — a 77 percent increase.

“Remarkably, shares of his BUA Cement Plc, which is listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) in January 2020, have doubled in value in the past year,” the report noted.

Mike Adenuga, chairman of Globacom, a telecommunication company in Nigeria, dropped from his third position in 2020 to fifth position in 2021 with a net worth of $6.3 billion from $7.7 billion.

However, for Isabel dos Santos, Angolan businesswoman and daughter of former president, with a net worth of $2.2 billion, and Folorunsho Alakija with a net worth of $1billion in 2020, they both failed to maintain their spots on the coveted list.

Forbes said Alakija’s fortune dropped below $1 billon due to lower oil prices because she is mainly into oil exploration.

Also, Isabel dos Santos, who had maintained her position as the wealthiest female in Africa since 2013, could not make the top 20 because of the freezing of her assets in Portugal and Angola and other legal cases.

Forbes added that the 18 billionaires from Africa came from different African countries with South Africa and Egypt producing five billionaires each, three from Nigeria, while Morocco produced two.

Below is the list of the 18 African billionaires with an aggregate worth of $73.8 billion up from last year’s $73.4 billion.

1. Aliko Dangote $12.1 billion
2. Nassef Sawaris $8.5 billion
3. Nicky Oppenheimer $8 billion
4. Johann Rupert $7.2 billion
5. Mike Adenuga $6.3 billion
6. Abdulsamad Rabiu $5.5 billion
7. Issad Rebrab $4.8 billion
8. Naguib Sawiris $3.2 billion
9. Patrice Motsepe $3.2 billion
10. Koos Bekker $2.8 billion
11. Mohamed Mansour $2.5billion
12. Aziz Akhannouch $2billion
13. Mohammed Dewji $1.6 billion
14. Youssef Mansour $1.5 billion
15. Othman Benjelloun $1.3 billion
16. Michiel Le Roux $1.2 billion
17. Strive Masiyiwa $1.2 billion
18. Yasseen Mansour $1.1 billion.