In the recently released 2024 Forbes list of Africa’s wealthiest billionaires, Aliko Dangote, the President of Dangote Group, has reclaimed his position as the richest person in Africa, boasting a net worth of $13.9 billion.
This follows an earlier record where South African business magnate Johann Rupert briefly displaced Dangote to the second position.
The ranking indicates that Dangote’s wealth had decreased from $13.5 billion in 2023 to $9.7 billion as of January 4, 2024, signifying a $3.8 billion loss. Nevertheless, the real-time data in the 2024 Forbes list showcases his rebound to the top spot.
Forbes mentioned that the fortunes of Africa’s wealthiest individuals experienced a slight recovery in the past 12 months, reversing the decline observed a year ago. The combined wealth of the 20 billionaires on the 2024 Forbes list reached $82.4 billion, up by $900 million from the previous year’s $81.5 billion.
The Forbes methodology used stock prices and currency exchange rates as of January 8, 2024, to calculate net worth.
“To value privately held businesses, we start with estimates of revenues or profits and apply prevailing price-to-sale or price-to-earnings ratios for similar public companies. Some listed members grow richer or poorer within weeks or days of our measurement date,” the document stated.
Femi Otedola, the Executive Chairman of Geregu Power Plc, was named among Africa’s 20 richest individuals, securing the 19th position with a net worth of $1.1 billion. Otedola, absent from the Forbes Africa list since 2017, divested from oil investments in 2013 and purchased Geregu, a public power generation plant.
Despite challenges faced by African markets, the continent’s billionaires fared relatively well this year compared to a four percent decline in the previous year. Africa saw a late-year global rally, with the S&P All Africa index rising 10 percent in the final two months of 2023. However, it still ended down more than 9 percent in the 12 months through January 8, 2024.
Aliko Dangote leads the list, followed by Johann Rupert and Family from South Africa with a net worth of $10.1 billion, Nicky Oppenheimer and his family from South Africa with $9.4 billion, Nassef Sawiris with $8.7 billion, Mike Adenuga from Nigeria with $6.9 billion, and Abdulsamad Rabiu, the Chairman of BUA Group, with $5.9 billion.
South Africa claimed six spots on the ranking, Egypt had five, and Nigeria had four. Algeria, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, and Morocco each had one billionaire on the list.
Despite the challenges faced by entrepreneurs in Africa, entrenched family fortunes and close ties to governments continue to dominate the ranks of Africa’s richest.
Aliko Dangote, with his $400 million increase, secured the top spot for the 13th consecutive year, showcasing resilience despite political uncertainty and currency devaluation in Nigeria.