Aliko Dangote is ranked 172 on Forbes’ Real-Time Global Billionaires List, with a net worth of $10.7 billion, trailing South Africa’s Johann Rupert & Family, who is ranked 145 with a net worth of $12 billion.
This implies that Johann Rupert of South Africa has surpassed billionaire businessman Aliko Dangote to become Africa’s richest man.
Analysts believe Aliko Dangote’s demotion from the top spot in Africa’s Billionaires Ranking is related to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) recent unification of foreign exchange rates.
According to media estimates, Dangote has lost $4.12 billion since the CBN chose to float the Naira against the US dollar and other currencies, a development that may have contributed to Dangote’s removal off the list of the world’s top 100 richest individuals, and number one in Africa.
“Aliko Dangote’s wealth has decreased by $4.12 billion since the liberalisation of the naira and the unification of exchange rates by CBN,” a report by Nairametrics was quoted to have said.
The value of Dangote’s assets, including Dangote Cement, Dangote Sugar, and Bascom Allied Industries, is affected by the floating of the Naira.
On June 18, 2023, the Forbes Real-time Billionaires List rated South Africa’s Johann Rupert & Family as number 145 in the world with a net worth of $12 billion dealing in luxury goods, while Aliko Dangote was listed as number 172 with a net worth of $10.7 billion dealing in cement and sugar.
As a result, Forbes and Bloomberg were forced to recalculate the fortunes of all Nigerian billionaires, resulting in large decreases in the fortunes of Dangote, Abdul Samad Rabiu, founder of BUA Cement, and Mike Adenuga, Chairman of Globacom Telecommunications Limited.
However, it is widely assumed that with the scheduled start of petroleum product refining at the $20 billion Dangote Petrochemical and Refinery, which was inaugurated this month, Aliko Dangote will reclaim his status as Africa’s richest man.
