For the seventh year in a row, President and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has been adjudged as the richest man in the continent of Africa with a net worth that Forbes pegged at $12.2 billion.
That was an increase of $100 million from a year ago.
Bill Gates maintained his position as the richest in the world with a net worth $86 billion, while Warren Buffet and Jeff Bezos were second and third, consecutively, with a net worth of $75.6 billion and $72.8 billion.
Forbes further stated that “Dangote is looking beyond cement –his most valuable asset – and has been investing in a fertilizer production company and a large oil refinery. Dangote Fertilizer is expected to start operations in the second quarter of this year.”
Dangote was also recently the only African selected among Bloomberg’s world 50 best persons in the year 2017. While names of notable Nigerians were dropped from the billionaires lists, Globacom Chairman, Mike Adenuga, with a net worth of $5.3 billion was adjudged the 5th richest man in Africa and Folorunsho Alakija, also a Nigerian, whose estimated $1.6 billion fortune lies in oil exploration firm, was adjudged as the 15th richest person in Africa.
Number two on the list of African richest people is diamond mining heir, Nicky Oppenheimer of South Africa, with a net worth of $7.7 billion, up $700 million from last year. Oppenheimer is one of eight South Africans on the list, making it the African country with the most billionaires. Nigeria has just three.
Last year, South Africa and Egypt tied with six billionaires each. Boosting the South African ranks this year, newcomer Michiel Le Roux, the founder and former chairman of Johannesburg-listed Capitec Bank Holdings, whose stock has climbed more than 50 percent in the past year, making Le Roux a new billionaire worth $1.2 billion.