For the 12th year in a row, Dangote Group’s boss Aliko Dangote maintains his status as the richest man in Africa.
Despite economic headwinds that affected the fortunes of half of the world’s reported billionaires, Dangote makes the billionaires’ list as the only Nigerian with an estimated net worth of $14.2 billion, up from last year’s $12.1 billion.
With his business flagship, Dangote Cement Plc, Dangote rose against falling stocks, wounded unicorns, and rising interest rates to be on the list while some of the world’s wealthiest people had a down year.
The GCON awardee is ranked 124th among the 200 world’s richest billionaires. Aside from being the only Nigerian on the list, he also stands tall as one of the two Africans. He’s joined on the list by South Africa’s Johann Rupert, who deals in luxury goods and ranked 157th with a net worth of $11.1 billion.
The foremost philanthropist had earlier been rated 11th of the 50 World’s Greatest Men and Women of all Time by Fortune Magazine for being able to use his conglomerate to impact society positively.
Dangote has hard work and God’s grace to thank as Forbes reported that the party is over for many of the world’s richest people. For the second straight year, the number of billionaires around the globe has declined from 2,668 in 2022 to 2,640 in 2023 and total billionaire wealth has dropped, too – down by $500 billion, to $12.2 trillion – as turbulent times have hit both public and private markets.
The report further said nearly half the planet’s billionaires are poorer than they were a year ago. A total of 254 people have lost their billionaire status altogether yet others recorded gains.