Dangote reclaims top spot from Rupert on Forbes Africa’s billionaire list

Adebisi Aikulola
Adebisi Aikulola
Aliko Dangote

Aliko Dangote has regained his position as the richest person in Africa, according to Forbes Real-Time Billionaires.

On January 4, South African business mogul Johann Ruper dethroned Nigerian Aliko Dangote to emerge as Africa’s wealthiest man.

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 million 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 of January 8 was $10 billion, down from $10.7 billion as of January 30, 2023.

Dangote is now ranked 191st on the Forbes list, while Rupert is ranked 197th worldwide.

According to Bloomberg, the majority of his fortune 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.

It 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 and 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.”

His cash holdings are based on an analysis of dividends, taxes, insider transactions, and other expenditures.

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