Forbes has released its 2021 World’s Billionaires list showing that the combined net worth of three of Nigeria’s richest persons increased by $5.7 billion in one year to $22.5 billion.
The list which was published yesterday included 14 African billionaires, with the president/chief executive of Dangote Group, Aliko Aliko Dangote, leading the as his net worth as Africa’s richest person leaped to $11.5 billio from $8.3 billion in 2020, making him the 191st wealthiest person in the world.
The chairman of Globacom and Conoil Plc, Dr Mike Adenuga, who is Nigeria’s second richest person and the fifth on the continent, was ranked 440th as his fortune rose to $6.1 billion from $5.6 billion last year.
For the founder of BUA Group, Mr. Abdulsamad Rabiu, his wealth jumped to $4.9 billion from $2.9 billion in 2020, making him the 574th richest person in the world and the sixth in Africa.
The other Africans on the list comprise five South Africans, five Egyptians and one Algerian.
The second richest African, Nassef Sawiris, was ranked 297th on the list with a net worth of $8.3 billion.
He is an investor with his most valuable asset being a nearly six per cent stake in sportswear maker Adidas, according to Forbes.
Other Egyptians are Naguib Sawiris (worth $3.2bn and ranked 956th); Mohamed Mansour ($2.5bn, 1,249th); Youssef Mansour ($1.5bn, 2,035th), and Yasseen Mansour ($1.1bn, 2,524th).
The South Africans are Nicky Oppenheimer and family (worth $8 billion and ranked 308th); Johann Rupert and family ($7.1 billion, 358th); Koos Bekker ($3 billion, 1,008th); Patrice Motsepe ($2.9 billion, 1,064th); and Michiel Le Roux ($1.1 billion, 2,524th).
The founder and chief executive officer of Cevital, Algeria’s biggest privately-held company, Issad Rebrab, and his family were ranked 589th with a net worth of $4.8 billion.
The founder and chief executive officer of Amazon, Jeff Bezos, is the world’s richest for the fourth year running, worth $177 billion, while Elon Musk, co-founder and chief executive officer of Tesla, moved to the second position with $151 billion, as their shares surged.
“It’s been a year like no other, and we aren’t talking about the pandemic. There were rapid-fire public offerings, surging cryptocurrencies and skyrocketing stock prices,” Forbes said.
It also stated 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.
“Of those, a record high 493 were new to the list — roughly one every 17 hours, including 210 from China and Hong Kong. Another 250 who’d fallen off in the past came roaring back. A staggering 86 per cent are richer than a year ago,” it said.
Altogether, the billionaires are worth $13.1tn, up from $8tn in 2020.
“The United States still has the most, with 724, followed by China (including Hong Kong and Macao) with 698. We used stock prices and exchange rates from March 5 to calculate net worth’s,” Forbes added.
