Nigerian cement tycoon Aliko Dangote remains Africa’s richest person for the sixth year running with a $12.1 billion fortune, despite a nearly $5 billion drop in his net worth for the second year in a row. Dangote is joined by just two other Nigerian billionaires on this year’s list – telecom tycoon Mike Adenuga, who is Africa’s third richest person with an estimated $5.8 billion fortune, and oil billionaire Folorunsho Alakija, who has an estimated net worth of $1.6 billion. Two Nigerians dropped off the Billionaires List this year – oil marketer Femi Otedola, whose net worth dropped from $1.6 billion in November 2015 to just $330 million today, and sugar billionaire Abdulsamad Rabiu, whose net worth dropped below $1 billion in the wake of a weakened Nigerian currency.
Thirteen out of Africa’s 21 billionaires have self-made fortunes, while the other eight inherited their fortunes. The 21 billionaires hail from seven countries: South Africa, Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco (which has three billionaires), Algeria (one billionaire), Angola (one billionaire) and Tanzania (one billionaire).
African billionaire fortunes have declined on the new FORBES list of the continent’s richest.
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