According to Forbes, Femi Otedola, the Chairman of Geregu Power, is the 20th richest person in Africa, with $1.1 billion.
Forbes reported on Monday that Aliko Dangote remains Africa’s richest person, with a fortune of $13.9 billion.
According to the magazine, the 20 billionaires on Forbes’ 2024 list of Africa’s Richest are worth a total of $82.4 billion. This is an increase of $900 million above the $81.5 billion reported previous year.
“The fortunes of Africa’s wealthiest people have rebounded slightly in the past 12 months, reversing the decline in their fortunes from a year ago, though they are still off their all-time highs,” the publication said.
Forbes attributed the rise to the return of Otedola, who last appeared on the Forbes Africa list in 2017 with a majority stake in fuel distributor Forte Oil.
During a government attempt to privatize the country’s energy market in 2013, Otedola sold his oil investments and bought Geregu, a public power generation plant, through a Forte subsidiary.
“He owned almost 90% of Geregu when it debuted on the Nigerian exchange’s Main Board in 2022, but has since sold shares to institutional investors such as Afreximbank’s Fund for Export Development in Africa and the State Grid Corporation of China.
“His 73% stake in Geregu is worth more than $850 million, about three-quarters of his $1.1 billion fortune, which puts him at No. 20 on the list.”
According to Forbes, even accounting for Otedola’s return, Africa’s billionaires fell somewhat but still outperformed last year’s 4% loss, when African markets sank in tandem with global asset values.
Dangote, whose fortune increased by $400 million to $13.9 billion, remained at the top of the ranking for the 13th consecutive year, despite political uncertainties following the February presidential election and a currency depreciation in 2023 that countered Dangote Cement’s soaring share price.
Johann Rupert, a South African luxury goods entrepreneur, remained second with $10.1 billion, down from $10.7 billion in 2023, after shares of his Compagnie Financiere Richemont, which manufactures Cartier watches and Montblanc pens, fell.
South African Nicky Oppenheimer, who previously ran diamond mining business DeBeers until selling it to Anglo American a decade ago, ranked third with $9.4 billion, up $1 billion from 2023. Thirteen billionaires increased their fortunes this year, while seven saw their net worth decrease.
On the methodology used, Forbes said, “Our list tracks the wealth of African billionaires who reside in Africa or have their primary business there, thus excluding Sudanese-born billionaire Mo Ibrahim, who is a U.K. citizen and South African Nathan Kirsh, who operates out of London. Strive Masiyiwa, a citizen of Zimbabwe and a London resident, appears on the list due to his telecom holdings in Africa.
“Net worths were calculated using stock prices and currency exchange rates from the close of business on Jan. 8, 2024. To value privately held businesses, we start with estimates of revenues or profits and apply prevailing price-to-sale or price-to-earnings ratios for similar public companies. Some list members grow richer or poorer within weeks-or days-of our measurement date.
List of 20 richest people in Africa:
1. Aliko Dangote — $13.9bn (Manufacturing)
2. Johann Rupert & family — $10.1bn (Fashion & Retail)
3. Nicky Oppenheimer & family — $9.4bn (Metals & Mining)
4. Nassef Sawiris — $8.7bn (Construction & Engineering)
5. Mike Adenuga — $6.9bn (Diversified)
6. Abdulsamad Rabiu — $5.9bn (Diversified)
7. Naguib Sawiris — $3.8bn (Telecom)
8. Mohamed Mansour — $3.2bn (Diversified)
9. Koos Bekker — $2.7bn (Media & Entertainment)
10. Patrice Motsepe — $2.7bn (Metals & Mining)
11. Issad Rebrab & family — $2.5bn (Food & Beverage)
12. Mohammed Dewji – $1.8bn (Diversified)
13. Strive Masiyiwa — $1.8bn (Telecom)
14. Aziz Akhannouch & family — $1.7bn (Diversified)
15. Othman Benjelloun & family — $1.4bn (Finance & Investments)
16. Youssef Mansour — $1.3bn (Diversified)
17. Yasseen Mansour — $1.2bn (Diversified)
18. Christoffel Wiese — $1.2bn (Fashion & Retail)
19. Michiel Le Roux — $1.1bn (Finance & Investments)
20. Femi Otedola — $1.1bn (Energy)
