Nigerian billionaire, Aliko Dangote has regained his position as the richest person in Africa, according to Forbes and Bloomberg, dethroning South African business mogul Johann Rupert.
The Forbes Daily billionaires ranking platform, which tracks daily changes to the net worth of the most high-net-worth individuals across the world, showed that Dangote’s net worth improved by $10 billion to $10.1 billion as of January 8, 2024.
He overtook Johann Rupert, South African luxury goods tycoon and his family.
Rupert’s net worth as at press time was $10 billion, down from $10.7 billion as at January 30, 2023.
Dangote is now ranked 191st on the Forbes list, while Rupert is ranked 197th worldwide.
Dangote also remains Africa’s richest man on the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.
According to Bloomberg, the majority of Dangote’s wealth is derived from his 86 percent stake in publicly traded Dangote Cement. He holds the shares in the company directly and through his conglomerate, Dangote Industries.
Bloomberg said: “Dangote’s other publicly traded assets include stakes in Dangote Sugar, NASCON Allied Industries, and United Bank for Africa. His stakes in the publicly traded companies are held directly and through Dangote Industries, which also owns closely held businesses operating in food manufacturing, fertiliser, oil, and other industries.
“His most valuable closely held asset is a fertiliser plant with a capacity to produce up to 2.8 million tonnes of urea annually. Its net value is based on a discounted cash flow analysis by KPMG. The valuation was confirmed by outside analysts.”