Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, has significantly moved up in the Bloomberg Billionaires Index as his fortune increased to $19.2 billion from $17.8 billion in August 2021.
Dangote, the only Nigerian on the list, ranked 102nd on the global billionaires’ index as of November 8, 2021, up from 118th in August, 2021.
Other Africans on the world’s 500 wealthiest people list include Johann Rupert and family (South Africa), with an estimated net worth of $10.6billion; Natie Kirsh (South Africa) with $8.27billion; Nicky Oppenheimer (South Africa) with $8.05billion; and Nassef Sawiris (Egypt) with an estimated net worth of $7.06billion.
Globally, Elon Musk became the wealthiest person in the world at the end of September as his earnings grew rapidly and steadily.
In October, his wealth skyrocketed to $289 billion following the purchase of car rental company Hertz. Since then, his net worth has been estimated at $336 billion, causing some specialists to affirm that Elon Musk is ‘the richest person who has walked the planet’.
Dangote as Africa’s richest person, controls Dangote Industries, a closely held conglomerate.
The Lagos, Nigeria-based company owns sub-Saharan Africa’s biggest cement producer, Dangote Cement, which had revenue of N891.7 billion ($2.5 billion) in 2019.
It also has interests in sugar, salt, oil, fertiliser and packaged food.