Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote has once again retained Africa’s richest man title in the latest billionaire ranking even after his wealth dipped to $10.3b from $12b the previous year.
This is the eighth consecutive time Dangote gets the prestigious title.
The Dangote Group president founded and chairs Dangote Cement, the continent’s largest cement producer and the biggest stock on the Nigeria Stock Exchange. Dangote also owns stakes in publicly-traded salt, sugar and flour manufacturing companies.
In May 2018, the Nigerian billionaire was ranked the 66th most powerful person on earth.
Forbes blamed plunging stock values and weaker currencies for the shrinking in the billionaires club in Africa. It said: “Buffeted by plunging stock prices and weaker currencies, the number of African billionaires has shrunk to just 20, down from 23 a year ago.”
“Four people fell off Forbes’ annual list of the continent’s richest since last year while one returned to the ranks after a four-year absence. All but four members of the list have smaller fortunes than a year ago,” Forbes continued.
Other countries’ performance
South Africa and Egypt are in the number one position, tying with five billionaires each. They are followed by Nigeria with four and Morocco two. And Forbes found one billionaire each in Algeria, Angola, Tanzania and Zimbabwe.
Uganda and the rest of other African countries did not appear on Forbes list of the top 20.
