Forbes magazine has named three Nigerians to its list of 2460 individual billionaires for 2023.
The three Nigerians on the list are Aliko Dangote, President/CEO of the Dangote Group, AbdulSamad Rabiu, Chairman of the BUA Group, and Mike Adenuga, CEO of Globacom.
According to Forbes, the list, which was released on Tuesday and includes 2460 individual billionaires from around the world, contains a few surprises.
This is especially true given the previous year’s experience with falling stocks, wounded unicorns, and rising interest rates for many of the world’s wealthiest individuals.
According to Forbes, the world’s 25 richest people are now worth a combined $2.1 trillion, down $200 billion from $2.3 trillion in 2022.
According to Forbes, luxury goods tycoon Bernard Arnault’s net worth has increased by $53 billion to $211 billion dollars since last year, making him the world’s wealthiest person for the first time ever due to the rise of shares in his company, LVMH.
However, it was noted that Elon Musk, the former world’s richest man, fell to second place after his net worth was reduced by $39 billion due to his purchase of the social messaging app Twitter.
According to Forbes, one of the surprises in this year’s ratings is the rise of BUA Group chairman Mr Rabiu from $7.6 billion a few months ago to $8.2 billion, making him the world’s 249th richest person.
With this, the billionaire businessman and philanthropist’s ranking on Forbes’ billionaires list has risen yet again, and he is closing in on the third richest man in Africa, Nicky Oppenheimer, who is worth $8.4 billion.
Mr Rabiu’s net worth increased from $1.6 billion in 2019 to $6.9 billion in 2022 and then to $8.2 billion in April 2023, according to Forbes.
The 62-year-old BUA chairman is primarily involved in cement, sugar, and real estate, and is currently constructing Sub-Saharan Africa’s second-largest refinery and petrochemicals plant in Akwa Ibom, Nigeria.
Meanwhile, Mr Dangote maintained his position as the world’s wealthiest person of African descent, according to Forbes.
According to the most recent reports released on Tuesday, his wealth is estimated to be around $14.2 billion, up from $14 billion in 2022.
Mr Dangote is now the world’s 125th richest man, and he is easily Africa’s largest cement producer. The businessman is also involved in other industries such as pastries, sugar, and manufacturing.
For Mr Adenuga, the third Nigerian on the African billionaire’s list, Forbes noted that he dropped from $7.3 billion in 2022 to $6.1 billion.
It said the last couple of years have seen him move up and down the wealthiest’ scale and that he’s now the 418th richest in the world at 58.
“These are the only three Nigerians that made the list,” Forbes added.
Nathan Kirsh, 90, from the tiny African country of Swaziland, is another unexpected name on the list.
He is said to be worth $6.5 billion, making him the sixth-richest African, surpassing Mr Adenuga.
According to Forbes, Mr Kirsh is believed to be involved in real estate, retail, and fashion, and this is the first time he has been featured as an African billionaire.
Forbes’ “World’s Billionaires list” is a snapshot of wealth based on stock prices and exchange rates as of 10 March, with some people becoming richer or poorer within days of publication.
“We list individuals rather than multigenerational families who share fortunes, though we include wealth belonging to a billionaire’s spouse and children if that person is the founder of the fortune,” the magazine noted.
They previously listed couples and family members together in certain cases for non-founders, but this year, they separated these shared fortunes into individual list members, labeled “split family fortune.”
Forbes reported that fortunes of Russian billionaires were calculated using ownership structures dating back to February 2022, prior to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and before many transferred assets to managers, friends, and others in an effort to protect their holdings from sanctions.
“We value a variety of assets, including private companies, real estate, art and more. We don’t pretend to know each billionaire’s private balance sheet (though some provide it). When documentation isn’t supplied or available, we discount fortunes,” Forbes noted.
