Dangote, Rabiu, Adenuga Defy Naira Fall, Others, as Combined Wealth Hits New Record in 2024
- Forbes data has shown that Nigeria's wealthiest billionaires almost doubled their wealth in three weeks of 2024
- This occurred despite the economic crises and political uncertainty following the February presidential election
- Analysts said the recent surge in the valuation of their companies, fueled by increased investment in shares, led to the spike
Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over three years of experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.
Dangote, two other Nigerian billionaires shine on the list of top 10 African billionaires in 2024
Forbes' Real-Time Billionaires list has shown that the total wealth of Aliko Dangote, Abdulsamad Rabiu, and Mike Adenuga has climbed by $15.5 billion thus far in 2024.
Source: UGC
On Thursday, January 25, the trio saw their wealth almost double to $33.6 from $18.1 billion on December 29.
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An analysis of the statistics reveals that Adenuga's wealth increased by $4 billion to $7 billion, Rabiu's wealth rose by $2.4 billion to $8.1 billion, and Dangote's by $9.1 billion to $18.5 billion.
This comes despite the naira woes and inflation experienced by the billionaires' businesses in the country in tune with Forbes's methodology for tracking the daily ups and downs of the world's richest people using the value of individuals' public holdings and private companies.
Forbes said in its latest 2024 Africa's richest list that Nigeria's Aliko Dangote claimed the ranking's No. 1 spot for the 13th year in a row, despite the political uncertainty following the February presidential election and a devaluation of the naira in 2023 that offset the rising share price of Dangote Cement.
Analysts have said that the recent spike in their corresponding stocks drove the growth of the billionaire's wealth.
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that investors' rush for Dangote Cement, Bua Cement, and other stocks pushed the Nigerian stock index to a record level.
This surge was fueled by increased share investment, leading to a significant All-Share Index (ASI) rise, surpassing a record 100,000 basis points milestone.
The current level of the main stock index marks the pinnacle in the history of the Nigerian stock market.
He said:
The worth of the listed businesses that the billionaires hold is what makes them wealthy, according to investor relations expert Ayorinde Akinloye of Lagos, who spoke with BusinessDay.
“If the share price of their companies is going up, their value will also be going up. The return on the stock exchange is outweighing the loss of the dollar,”
Gbolahan Ologunro, portfolio manager at FBNQuest, said:
“The increase in their wealth is related to what is happening in the stock market. The share price of Dangote Cement has more than doubled, which has offset the value of the devaluation, making it positive for his wealth in dollar terms.”
According to him, the value of the devaluation may be partially offset if the billionaires' naira-based assets double in value.
He added:
“Over the past few months, their wealth has been impacted by devaluation. So, one way of boosting their wealth is to double the price of their naira-based assets so that it can have a certain impact on their USD assets.”
Nigerians added to Forbes' Top 20 African Billionaires in 2024
Legit.ng reported that the wealthiest individuals in Africa have seen a slight increase in their fortunes over the last 12 months, which has reversed the decline they experienced a year earlier.
The cumulative net worth of the 20 billionaires on Forbes' 2024 Africa's Richest list is $82.4 billion. Compared to $81.5 billion the previous year, that is an increase of $900 million.
Forbes reported that the gain is attributable to Femi Otedola, who last appeared on the Forbes Africa list in 2017 when he was the majority owner of fuel distributor Forte Oil.
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Source: Legit.ng
