Forbes Lists Dangote As Africa's Richest For Seven Years Running

The chief  Executed of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, has been adjudged
as the richest man in Africa with a net worth that Forbes pegged
at $12.2bn for 2017. That was an increase of $100m from a
year earlier.
Bill Gates maintained his position as the richest in the world with
a net worth of $86bn, while Warren Buffet and Jeff Bezos were
second and third, respectively with net worth of $75.6bn and
$72.8bn.
“Dangote is looking beyond cement – his most valuable asset –
and has been investing in a fertiliser production company and a
large oil refinery. Dangote Fertiliser is expected to start
operations in the second quarter of this year,” Forbes stated.
Dangote was recently the only African selected among
Bloomberg’s world 50 best persons in the year 2017.
While the names of notable Nigerians were dropped from the
billionaires’ list, Globacom Chairman, Mike Adenuga, with a net
worth of $5.8bn, was adjudged the fifth richest man in Africa and
Folorunsho Alakija, also a Nigerian, whose estimated $1.6bn
fortune is in oil exploration, was adjudged as the 15th richest
person on the continent.
Number two on the list of Africa’s richest people is diamond
mining heir, Nicky Oppenheimer of South Africa, with a net worth
of $7.7bn, up $700m from last year. Oppenheimer is one of
eight South Africans on the list, making it the country with the
most billionaires in Africa. Nigeria has three.
In 2016, South Africa and Egypt tied with six billionaires each.
Boosting the South African ranks in the latest ranking is a
newcomer, Michiel Le Roux, the founder and former chairman of
Johannesburg-listed Capitec Bank Holdings, whose stock has
climbed more than 50 per cent in the past year, making him
worth $1.2bn.
South African mining tycoon, Desmond Sacco, chairman of the
Assore Group, returns to the list following a stock price surge of
some 60 per cent in the past 12 months. Sacco last appeared
as a billionaire on the Africa’s richest list in 2012 with a $1.4bn
fortune.
Zimbabwe gets its first billionaire in 2017 as telecom magnate,
Strive Masiyiwa, who chairs the Econet Group, got on the list.
Shares of Zimbabwe-listed mobile phone network Econet
Wireless Zimbabwe have surged in value over the past year;
Masiyiwa owns more than half of that company. He also has a
majority stake in fibre optic firm, Liquid Telecom, which raised
$700m in a bond offering in July 2017. Forbes estimates
Masiyiwa’s net worth at $1.7bn.  
Two of the 23 listed African billionaires are women, unchanged
from 2016. Isabel dos Santos, the daughter of Angola’s former
President, Jose Santos, is worth an estimated $2.7bn, down
from $3.2bn in 2016, according to Forbes. Her net worth
dropped in part due to a lower value for Banco BCI, as its book
value plunged in 2016 amid a tough year for the oil- producing
country.
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