Top Nigeria business man, and Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dango has hit big on the list of World Richest People. Dangote has moved from his previous position 103rd to the 64th spot.
Dangote, who remains the richest man in Africa for the eighth year running, was the only Nigerian on the list of the top 500 billionaires, as released by Bloomberg in its yearly billionaires list.
TVCONTINENTAL gathered from Bloomberg that Dangote with a net worth of $16.6bn currently, had a net worth of $10.5bn at the end of last year to a low of $9.63bn on January 1, 2019.
Dangote, 61, on Monday, gained $5.8bn within 24 hours as his total net worth rose to $16.6bn on Tuesday.
According to Bloomberg, the index also revealed that his net worth increased by 23 per cent from $13.5bn on February 26, 2018, to $16.6bn, raising his wealth by 58 per cent this year.
Bloomberg Billionaires Index reports that Dangote is the only member on the index from one of the 60 poorest countries.
Other Africans with a representative on the Bloomberg wealth ranking are all from South Africa. Nicky Oppenheimer ranked 216th with a net worth of $7.05bn, luxury tycoon Johann Rupert ranked 225th with $6.92bn wealth, and property and wholesaling mogul Natie Kirsh ranked 263rd, with a net worth of $6.10bn.
All three have extensive holdings outside Africa.
“Dangote controls Dangote Industries, a closely held conglomerate. The Lagos-based company owns sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest cement producer, Dangote Cement, which had revenue of N805.6 bn ($2.4bn) in 2017. It also has interests in sugar, salt, flour, fertilizer, and packaged food,” said Bloomberg.
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Jeff Bezos (Amazon) remains the richest in the world with $136 billion in his kitty while Bill Gates and Warren Buffett followed as second and third respectively with $98.4 billion and $83 billion on the world billionaires’ chart, dominated by North Americans.
Dangote is among just a few Nigerian billionaires, most of whom accrued their wealth by coming into possession of lucrative oil blocks or, in the case of telecom magnate Mike Adenuga, providing services to a fast-growing population. Adenuga, the nation’s second-richest person, owns mobile phone network Globacom Ltd., with 45 million subscribers. He’s worth $2.8 billion, according to the Bloomberg wealth index.
