Dangote, Adenuga, Rabiu dominate Africa’s billionaire index

Sopuruchi  Onwuka

Chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, is in comfortable position as Africa’s richest man, West Africa’s leading billionaire and Nigeria’s wealth symbol.

Besides just being a dollar billionaire, Aliko owns and runs Africa’s biggest manufacturing industries, being the biggest player in Nigeria’s manufacturing sector whose Dangote brands cuts across consumer groceries, construction materials, agricultural inputs and hydrocarbon processing.

According to the Forbes magazine which ranks world’s billionaires annually by calculating the worth of their assets, stocks, currency of play and other transaction instruments; Dangote retains wealth leadership in Africa despite operating in Nigeria’s sinking economy.

Aliko Dangote who also holds the status of the World’s richest black man is weighed on a net worth of $13 billion as of August 2022 making him the 130th richest man in the world. His global position also points at the wealth position of the entire black population of the earth.

Whereas Forbes ranks Dangote in the position of richest black man on earth with some $13 billion, the world’s richest person, Elon Musk, has a peak net worth of $330 billion. And Forbes says the Tesla CEO still retains the position even at the lowest range of his swinging which sank to $278.4 billion.

Even with the $278.4 billion, Forbes reported, Elon Musk still has more money than Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, whose current net worth is estimated at $166.2 billion.

Forbes noted that despite being the black man’s money champion, 65-year-old Dangote is still far from the global frontline with $13 billion.

However, The Oracle Today reports that beyond networth Dangote stands out as an indigenous manufacturer who has contributed to the Nigerian economic growth through local production of wide range of quality products at a time the country bleeds from unfavorable balance of payments.

From pasta to sugar and numerous other grocery products, the Dangote brands remain household substitutes for imported products in the country, the West African region and the continent.

Dangote who operates sugar and cement production across 10 countries in Africa also produces fertilizers; he will soon begin local production of petroleum products in Nigeria.

The 65-year-old who holds a bachelor’s degree in arts/science from Al-Azhar University is one the biggest employers of labour in Africa and biggest single contributor to national gross domestic product. By producing locally, Dangote has saved Nigeria huge foreign exchange income that would have been used in importation.

With his 650,000 barrels per day refinery approaching commissioning, Dangote will also significantly cut Nigeria’s petrol import bills and assist in curbing financial leakages associated with decades of fuel importation.

Interestingly, the second richest Nigerian as ranked by Forbes is also a manufacturer, Abdulsamad Rabiu, who appears to be in local competition with Dangote in meeting rising demand for cement and other products in Africa’s biggest market.

Sixty one year old Rabiu is ranked second richest man in Nigeria and West Africa, implying that Nigerian businessmen exclusively occupy the front row of West Africa’s wealthiest men. He is however fifth in Africa’s wealth ranking with a net worth of $7 billion, just about half of Dangote’s wealth.

Abdulsamad Rabiu plays mainly in the cement production industry where his product competes alongside with the Dangote brand. He also trails Dangote in sugar production and cuts out a unique image in real estate. Rabiu is the founder of BUA Group.

Before becoming cement and sugar manufacturer, Rabiu was an importer of iron, steel and chemicals.

Following Rabiu ads third richest Nigerian and West African, Otumba Mike Adenuga is also the sixth richest African with a net worth of $6.7 billion. However, many people think that Adenuga is actually worth more than the Forbes ranking.

The reclusive billionaire is famed for frugality and publicity shyness. And his play in the telecommunications, his mining and financial services industry is not fully captured in the public eye.

Even at 69, Otumba Mike Adenuga remains an invisible giant in the petroleum and telecommunications industries, and remains even more mysterious as solid investor in the financial services industry where he used to an active player with defunct Devcom Bank and Equatorial Trust Bank respectively.

Adenuga holds a Master’s degree in business administration from Pace University in New York. He owns and operates Nigeria’s third biggest mobile telecommunications company, Globacom. His petroleum exploration and production company, Consolidated Petroleum in the upstream, and Conoil in the downstream, are dominant brands in the industry.