Forbes has listed Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga, Abdulsamad Rabiu, and Femi Otedola as the wealthiest individuals in Nigeria for the year 2024.
Aliko Dangote, who runs the Dangote Group, the richest man in Africa and the richest black man in the world. He’s in 129th place on Forbes’ list, with $15.0 billion. Dangote’s fortune rose to $13.4 billion, Adenuga’s fortune stood at $6.7 billion, while Rabiu and Otedola achieved a fortune of $5.2 billion and $1.4 billion in 2024, respectively.
His business empire, Dangote Group, is one of the largest private-sector employers in Nigeria. Also, it is the most valuable conglomerate in West Africa.
Mike Adenuga is a wealthy Nigerian businessman. He owns Globacom, which is Nigeria’s second-largest telecom company and operates in Ghana and Benin too. He also has shares in Equitorial Trust Bank and Conoil, an oil exploration company. Forbes says he’s worth around $6.7 billion in 2024.
Abdulsamad Rabiu is another rich Nigerian businessman and a generous philanthropist. He started and leads BUA Group, a Nigerian company that focuses on manufacturing, infrastructure, and agriculture, bringing in more than $2.5 billion in revenue.
Femi Otedola is a Nigerian businessman and philanthropist. He is the current executive chairman of Geregu Power Plc. Otedola is also the founder of Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited, and the owner of a few other businesses across shipping, real estate, and finance. He has recently invested in power generation as part of the liberalization of the sector in Nigeria.
Forbes reports that it has been a lucrative year for the world’s billionaires, with their wealth steadily increasing despite challenges such as war, political instability, and persistent inflation, as global stock markets remain resilient.
‘‘As with the economy in general, the money is concentrated at the very top. There are now a record 14 people who are members of the $100 billion Club, the elite group of people whose fortunes stretch into 12 digits. That is up from just one four years ago.’’ Forbes said. ‘‘These lucky few are worth $2 trillion in all, meaning just 0.5 per cent of the world’s 2,781 billionaires hold 14 per cent of all billionaire wealth.’’
‘‘There are now more billionaires than ever: 2,781 in all, 141 more than last year and 26 more than the record set in 2021. They are richer than ever, worth $14.2 trillion in aggregate, up by $2 trillion from 2023 and $1.1 trillion above the previous record, also set in 2021.’’ it added.
Most of the increase in wealth comes from the top 20 richest people, who together gained $700 billion more since 2023. The United States now has a record number of billionaires at 813, with a total combined wealth of $5.7 trillion. China still holds second place with 473 billionaires, including those from Hong Kong, and they have a total wealth of $1.7 trillion. This is surprising because consumer spending is slow and there’s a problem in the real estate market, which caused a $200 billion drop in wealth and 89 billionaires to leave the list.
India has also hit a new record with 200 billionaires, making it the third country with the most billionaires.
The report said that “the richest of all is Bernard Arnault, who holds the number one spot for the second year in a row.
“The French luxury goods kingpin is worth an estimated $233 billion, $22 billion more than in 2023, thanks to another record year for his conglomerate LVMH. It is the company behind brands such as Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co. and Sephora.”
It added that “two-thirds of the planet’s billionaires are richer than a year ago.
“To calculate net worths, we used stock prices and exchange rates from March 8, 2024,”
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