Mike Adenuga, a Nigerian billionaire businessman, has seen his net worth rise dramatically in recent weeks, approaching $7 billion after falling to $6 billion in mid-March despite the country’s recent currency troubles.
In January, Forbes recalculated the value of Globacom, Nigeria’s third-largest telecom service provider, increasing the billionaire’s net worth to $7.4 billion. However, the naira’s devaluation caused it to drop to $6 billion by mid-March. It has since rebounded, reaching $6.9 billion at the time of writing.
Forbes reports that Adenuga has a net worth of $6.9 billion, making him one of the world’s 400 richest people and one of the top five in Africa. He is trailing only fellow Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote, South African billionaires Johann Rupert and Nicky Oppenheimer, and Egyptian billionaire Nassef Sawiris.
The latest $900 million increase in his fortune, from $6 billion on March 15 to $6.9 billion today, is attributed to the naira’s rising against the US currency. The local currency has made significant gains in both the official and parallel markets. Renewed trust in the naira has resulted in a surge of speculators selling their dollar assets, significantly strengthening the currency’s position.
The CBN’s announcement to resolve all valid foreign exchange backlogs has helped revive the currency. Olayemi Cardoso, the top bank governor, initiated this plan to reduce a $7 billion claims backlog. Recent efforts have resulted in a $1.5 billion clearance.
Adenuga’s extensive business portfolio goes beyond telecoms. He has a large investment in the oil sector through Conoil Producing and Conpetro. He owns a 0.86 percent share in Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (Transcorp), a conglomerate managed by Tony Elumelu, as well as investments in Julius Berger, a construction business worth over $17 million.
Adenuga’s 30.63 percent ownership in Sterling Financial Holding strengthens his position among Nigeria’s financial elite. Under his leadership, Globacom has pursued the ambitious objective of building Africa’s largest telecommunications network, collecting millions of users in Nigeria and Ghana and controlling around 28% of the Nigerian market.
