Dangote leads list of Africa’s richest men for 13th year
Aliko Dangote, president and chief executive officer of Dangote Group, listens during a Bloomberg Television interview on the sidelines of the Bloomberg New Economy Forum in Singapore, on Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018. The New Economy Forum, organized by Bloomberg Media Group, a division of Bloomberg LP, aims to bring together leaders from public and private sectors to find solutions to the world's greatest challenges. Photographer: Wei Leng Tay/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Forbes magazine has listed Aliko Dangote as Africa’s richest man for the 13th year in a row despite Nigeria’s raging economic downturn.
The 20 billionaires on its list are worth a combined $82.4bn (£64.8bn).
Forbes tracks the wealth of African billionaires who reside in Africa or have their primary business on the continent.
The magazine said Mr. Dangote’s massive wealth rose by $400m over the last year to a net worth of $13.9bn.
Born in northern Nigeria, Dangote made his fortune in cement and sugar – and last year opened a private oil refinery in Nigeria’s economic hub of Lagos, and the latest addition is expected to swell up his accounts.
Forbes stressed that Mr Dangote maintained his position despite the naira’s devaluation “that offset the rising share price of Dangote Cement”.
Johann Rupert, a South African luxury goods magnate, remained at number two, with former diamond miner Nicky Oppenheimer coming in third.
South Africa has four more people on the rich list, followed by Egypt (five), Nigeria (four), and Morocco (two). Algeria, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe all have one billionaire.
