…As Adenuga, Rabiu Make Africa’s Top 6
Three Nigerians made it to the top six of Forbes’ 2021 African Billionaires list, according business magazine, Forbes.
Forbes released its 2021 billionaires list on Tuesday, and it includes 14 African billionaires, with the President/Chief Executive of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, retaining the number one spot on the continent.
Other Nigerians who made the top six spots include: Chairman of Globacom and Conoil Plc, Dr. Mike Adenuga, and the founder of BUA Group, Abdulsamad Rabiu.
Dangote’s net worth rose from $10.1 billion in 2020 to $12.1 billion in 2021, making him the 191st wealthiest person in the world.
Though Adenuga who is Nigeria’s second-richest person witnessed a dip from $7.7 billion to $6.3 billion networth, he remained in the top echelon in Africa, placing 5th and was ranked 440th in the world.
Climbing up the billionaires’ ladder is the BUA Group boss, Abdulsamad Rabiu, who saw his fortune rise from $3.1 billion in 2020 to a stunning $5.5 billion in 2021.
With the $2.2 billion gain, Mr. Rabiu now sits pretty as the 6th richest in Africa and the 574th billionaire in the world.
Other Africans who made the top six category include: one Egyptian and two South Africans.
The Egyptian, Nassef Sawiris, comes in second place in Africa and is ranked 297th on the list with a net worth of $8.5 billion.
Forbes disclosed that Sawiris is an investor and a scion of Egypt’s wealthiest family, with his most valuable asset being a nearly six percent stake in sportswear maker.
The two South Africans who come in third and fourth place respectively are Nicky Oppenheimer, with a net worth $8 billion, and ranked 308th in the world; and Johann Rupert, worth $7.2 billion, d ranked 358th in the world list.
Recall that the founder and CEO of Amazon, Jeff Bezos retained his spot as the world’s richest, with a net worth of $177 billion. Second on the list of world’s billionaires is co-founder and CEO of Tesla, Elon Musk, worth $151 billion.
According to Forbes, within the year in focus, there were rapid-fire public offerings, surging cryptocurrencies, and skyrocketing stock prices. It added that the number of billionaires on Forbes’ 35th annual list of the world’s wealthiest exploded to an unprecedented 2,755 – 660 more than a year ago.
The business magazine revealed that together the world’s billionaires are worth $13.1 trillion, up from $8 trillion in 2020.
