Alhaji Aliko Dangote has solidified his position as the richest man in African with a jump of 16 places from the 67th position he occupied in the 2015 Forbes ranking to 51st in the latest.
According to Forbes, Dangote’s wealth grew to $15.4bn from $14.7bn in 2015. The 2016 Forbes list, which contains 1,810 billionaires in dollar terms, also has four other Nigerians apart from Dangote.
Otunba Mike Adenuga is ranked at 103rd on list with net worth of $10bn. Femi Otedola is at 1,011th with net worth of $1.8bn. Other Nigerians on the list are Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija who estimated to worth $1.6bn at 1,121st position and Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, BUA Group, Abdulsamad Rabiu who is ranked at 1,577th with net worth of $1.1bn.
Dangote, Adenuga, Otedola and Rabiu moved up on the list to emerged 51st, 103rd, 1,011th and 1,577th in this year’s list, from 67th, 393rd; 1,741st and 1,741st, respectively in 2015. However, Mrs Alakija, who was ranked 949th last year, went down to the 1,121st position this year.
For the 30th annual guide to the world’s richest, Forbes found 1,810 billionaires, down from a record 1,826 a year ago. Forbes said the aggregate net worth was $6.48tn, which is $570bn less than that of last year.
It was also the first time since 2010 that the average net worth of a billionaire dropped – it is now $3.6bn, $300m less than last year, it said. Behind these figures is a story of huge upheaval, as 221 people fell off the list, while 198 newcomers joined the ranks; another 29 people from 2015 died, while 29 who had previously fallen off climbed back on. Of those who were billionaires both years, 892 are poorer, while 501 added to their fortunes.
Bill Gates remains the richest person in the world with a net worth of $75bn, despite being $4.2bn poorer than a year ago. He has been No. 1 one for three years in a row and topped the list 17 out of 22 years. In the 30 years Forbes has tracked global wealth, only five people have held the title of the richest person on planet; three of those still rank among the four richest in the world, including Warren Buffett and Carlos Slim.
Holding steady is Buffett at No. 3. Zara’s Amancio Ortega moves up to No. 2 for the first time, displacing Mexico’s Carlos Slim, who slips to No. 4. Slim’s fortune fell by $27.1bn to $50bn in the past year, as shares of his telecom business, América Móvil, tumbled.
Mark Zuckerberg had the best year of all the billionaires. The 31-year-old added $11.2bn to his fortune and moved up to No. 6 from 16. He and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos both make their first appearance in the top 10 of Forbes annual ranking of the world’s wealthiest.
Aliko Dangote and Mike Adenuga are richer than a number of international figures including Roman Abramovich (Chelsea FC owner) with net worth of $7.6 billion, Oprah Winfrey with $6.2 billion and Republican presidential hopeful, Donald Trump with net worth of $4.5 billion.
