Dangote, Rabiu, Otedola, Adenuga Make Forbes 2024 Billionaire List
Forbes has listed Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga, Abdulsamad Rabiu and Femi Otedola as the top richest Nigerians in 2024.
Dangote’s fortune rose to $13.4 billion, Adenuga’s stood at $6.7 billion, while Rabiu and Otedola achieved a fortune of $5.2 billion and $1.4 billion in 2024.
Aliko Dangote is the richest man in Africa and the richest black man in the world, with an estimated net worth of around $13.4 billion in 2024. His business empire, Dangote Group, is one of the largest private-sector employer in Nigeria as well as the most valuable conglomerate in West Africa.
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Mike Adenuga is a Nigerian billionaire businessman. His company Globacom is Nigeria’s second-largest telecom operator and also has a presence in Ghana and Benin. He owns stakes in the Equitorial Trust Bank and the oil exploration firm Conoil (formerly Consolidated Oil Company). Forbes estimated his net worth at $6.7 billion in 2024.
Abdulsamad Rabiu, a Nigerian billionaire businessman and philanthropist, is the founder and chairman of BUA Group, a Nigerian conglomerate concentrating on manufacturing, infrastructure and agriculture and producing a revenue in excess of $2.5 billion.
Femi Otedola is a Nigerian businessman and philanthropist. He is the current executive chairman of Geregu Power Plc. Otedola is also the founder of Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited, and the owner of a number of other businesses across shipping, real estate and finance. He has recently invested in power generation as part of the liberalisation of the sector in Nigeria.
According to Forbes, it has been a year for the planet’s billionaires, whose fortunes continue to swell as global stock markets shrug off war, political unrest and lingering inflation.
“As with the economy in general, the money is concentrated at the very top. There are now a record 14 people who are members of the $100 billion club, the elite group of people whose fortunes stretch into 12 digits. That is up from just one four years ago. These lucky few are worth $2 trillion in all, meaning just 0.5 per cent of the world’s 2,781 billionaires hold 14 per cent of all billionaires’ wealth.
“There are now more billionaires than ever: 2,781 in all, 141 more than last year and 26 more than the record set in 2021. They are richer than ever, worth $14.2 trillion in aggregate, up by $2 trillion from 2023 and $1.1 trillion above the previous record, also set in 2021.”
It stated that two-thirds of the list’s members are worth more than a year ago; only one fourth are poorer. Much of the gains come from the top 20, who added a combined $700 billion in wealth since 2023, and from the U.S., which now boasts a record 813 billionaires worth a combined $5.7 trillion.
“China remains second, with 473 (including Hong Kong) worth $1.7 trillion, despite weak consumer spending and a real estate bust that helped wipe out $200 billion in wealth and knocked 89 billionaires from the ranks.
“India, which has 200 billionaires (also a record), ranks third. To calculate net worth, we used stock prices and exchange rates from March 8, 2024,” it added.
