by Lucas Ajanaku with Agency report
President,
Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote retained his Africa’s richest man
position for the eighth consecutive time though his wealth dipped by $2
billion from $12.2 billion in January 2018 to $10 billion this year,
Forbes’ Africa Billionaires List released yesterday showed.
The
Chairman of Globacom with interests in oil exploration and real estate,
Dr Mike Adenuga Jnr moved up to be Africa’s second richest man.
The
United States (U.S.) magazine said Adenuga’s net worth increased
tremendously from $5.3 billion to $9.2 billion because he provided more
detailed information about his assets.
Also, the Chief Executive Officer of BUA Group, Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu, featured on the list for the first time since 2015.
The
merger between Rabiu’s Kalambaina Cement firm with Cement Company of
Northern Nigeria, which he controlled, in December 2018 was formally
consummated in Sokoto earlier this week. He now owns 97 per cent of the
entity.
Kalambaina, which operates a new cement production
facility, started selling cement in mid-last year just as Rabiu’s OBU
Cement has expanded its operations, adding a new production line.
Mrs
Folorunsho Alakija, whose net worth dropped to $1.1 billion from $1.3
billion, was ranked 19th. She is vice chair, Famfa Oil, an indigenous
oil exploration company with a stake in Agbami Oilfield, a prolific
offshore asset. Famfa Oil’s partners include Chevron and Petrobras.
Alakija’s first company was a fashion label whose customers included the wife of former military President Ibrahim Babangida.
The
Federal Government awarded Alakija’s company an oil prospecting license
in 1993, which was later converted to an oil mining lease.
Alakija’s ranking was in a tie with South African banker, Michiel Le Roux.
Forbes blamed plunging stock values and weaker currencies for the shrinking in the billionaires club in Africa.
It
said: “Buffeted by plunging stock prices and weaker currencies, the
number of African billionaires has shrunk to just 20, down from 23 a
year ago.
“Four people fell off Forbes’ annual list of the
continent’s richest since last year while one returned to the ranks
after a four-year absence. All but four members of the list have smaller
fortunes than a year ago.”
In a per country ranking, Egypt and
South Africa are tied with five billionaires each, followed by Nigeria
with four and Morocco- two. Forbes found one billionaire each from
Algeria, Angola, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
Source:- Thenationonlineng
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