The founder and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko
Dangote, has been named Africa’s richest man for the seventh year in a
row with a net worth of $12.2billion.
According to the publication, Dangote who was recently the only
African selected among Bloomberg’s world 50 best persons in the year
2017, got an increase of $100m from a year earlier.
“Dangote is looking beyond cement – his most valuable asset – and has
been investing in a fertiliser production company and a large oil
refinery. Dangote Fertiliser is expected to start operations in the
second quarter of this year,” Forbes stated.
Diamond mining heir, Nicky Oppenheimer of South Africa, is named
number two on the list of Africa’s richest people with a net worth of
$7.7bn, up $700m from last year.
However, some notable Nigerians were dropped from the billionaires’
list, including Globacom Chairman, Mike Adenuga, with a net worth of
$5.8bn, he was adjudged the fifth richest man in Africa and Folorunsho
Alakija, whose estimated $1.6bn fortune is in oil exploration, was
adjudged as the 15th richest person on the continent.
While there are eight South Africans on the list, making it the African country with the most billionaires, Nigeria has three.
According to Forbes, two of the 23 listed African billionaires are
women, unchanged from 2016.
Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of Angola’s
former President, Jose Santos, is worth an estimated $2.7bn, down from
$3.2bn in 2016. Her net worth dropped in part due to a lower value for
Banco BCI, as its book value plunged in 2016 amid a tough year for the
oil-producing country.
Telecom magnate Strive Masiyiwa placed Zimbabwe on the list for the
first time. Mr. Masiyiwa, who chairs the Econet Group whose shares have
surged in value over the past year, owns more than half of the company.
The entrepreneur also has a majority stake in fibre optic firm Liquid
Telecom, which raised $700 million in a bond offering in July 2017.
According to Forbes estimates, Mr. Masiyiwa’s net worth is $1.7
billion.