President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has been ranked 144th on the global rich list by Forbes, with a net worth of $13.4bn in 2024.
Dangote tops the list of four Nigerians who made the list, with Mike Adenuga, Abdulsamad Rabiu and Femi Otedola, also featuring.
Meanwhile, Bernard Arnault & family top the global rich list, followed by Elon Musk in second place, Jeff Bezos in third and Mark Zuckerberg in 4th place.
In Nigeria, the combined wealth of the country's top three richest businessmen dropped slightly by 11.23 per cent to $25.3bn, according to the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires released on Tuesday.
The three Nigerians are the President/Chief Executive of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote; BUA Group Chairman, Abdul Samad Rabiu, and Globacom boss, Mike Adenuga.
The figure was a reduction of $3.2bn from $28.5bn recorded by the business moguls in 2023.
A breakdown shows that the fortune of the founder of Dangote’s group reduced slightly from $14.2bn in 2023 to $13.4bn.
The wealth of the chairman of BUA group also reduced marginally to $5.2bn in 2024 from $8.2bn in 2023 while Adenuga’s fortune increased from $6.1bn to $6.7 billion within one year.
Otedola was listed as a new entrant to the billionaire list with a total net worth of $1.4bn.
On the list, Dangote, ranked at number 144, was described as the richest man in Africa and the richest Black man in the world.
His business empire, Dangote Group, is one of the largest private-sector employers in Nigeria as well as the most valuable conglomerate in West Africa.
Adenuga, ranked at number 409 n the Forbes list, is a Nigerian billionaire businessman, his company Globacom is Nigeria’s second-largest telecom operator and also has presence in Ghana and Benin Republic.
He owns stakes in the oil exploration firm, Conoil.
Forbes estimated his net worth at $6.7bn in 2024.
Rabiu is a Nigerian billionaire businessman and philanthropist, the founder and chairman of BUA Group, a Nigerian conglomerate concentrating on manufacturing, infrastructure and agriculture and producing a revenue in excess of $2.5bn and was ranked at number 581 in the Forbes list.
While, Otedola is a Nigerian businessman and philanthropist and the current executive chairman of Geregu Power Plc.
He is ranked at number 2,152 with a networth of $1.4bn
He is the founder of Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited, and the owner of a number of other businesses across shipping, real estate and finance.
He has recently invested in power generation as part of the liberalisation of the sector in Nigeria.
According to Forbes, there are 2,781 individual billionaires globally.
It labelled 2024 as a year for the planet’s billionaires, whose fortunes continue to swell as global stock markets shrug off war, political unrest and lingering inflation.
Forbes said, “There are now more billionaires than ever: 2,781 in all, 141 more than last year and 26 more than the record set in 2021. They’re richer than ever, worth $14.2tn in aggregate, up by $2tn from 2023 and $1.1tn above the previous record, also set in 2021. Two-thirds of the list’s members are worth more than a year ago; only one-fourth are poorer.
“Much of the gains come from the top 20, who added a combined $700bn in wealth since 2023, and from the U.S., which now boasts a record 813 billionaires worth a combined $5.7tn. China remains second, with 473 (including Hong Kong) worth $1.7tn, despite weak consumer spending and a real estate bust that helped wipe out $200bn in wealth and knocked 89 billionaires from the ranks. India, which has 200 billionaires (also a record), ranks third.”
“In all, 265 fresh faces are new to the World’s Billionaires. The richest of all is Italy’s Andrea Pignataro, a former Salomon Brothers bond trader behind financial software firm ION Group. He’s worth an estimated $27.5bn.”
According to th magazine, other notable newcomers include the founder of the Raising Cane’s fast-food chain Todd Graves ($9.1bn); Maggie Gu, Molly Miao and Ren Xiaoqing ($4.2bn each); three cofounders of fast-fashion giant Shein; iconic high-heel designer Christian Louboutin ($1.2bn); and Elon Musk pal, and Tesla and SpaceX investor, Antonio Gracias ($1.1bn).
"What a year it’s been for the planet’s billionaires, whose fortunes continue to swell as global stock markets shrug off war, political unrest and lingering inflation. There are now more billionaires than ever: 2,781 in all, 141 more than last year and 26 more than the record set in 2021," Forbes wrote.
" They’re richer than ever, worth $14.2 trillion in aggregate, up by $2 trillion from 2023 and $1.1 trillion above the previous record, also set in 2021. Two-thirds of the list’s members are worth more than a year ago; only one fourth are poorer. Much of the gains come from the top 20, who added a combined $700 billion in wealth since 2023, and from the U.S., which now boasts a record 813 billionaires worth a combined $5.7 trillion. China remains second, with 473 (including Hong Kong) worth $1.7 trillion, despite weak consumer spending and a real estate bust that helped wipe out some $300 billion in wealth. India, which has 200 billionaires (also a record), ranks third. To calculate net worths, we used stock prices and exchange rates from March 8, 2024. See below for the full list of the world’s billionaires and our methodology. For daily updated net worths of all 2,781 billionaires, check out our real-time billionaires rankings."
Top ten:
1. Bernard Arnault & family
Net Worth: $233 Billion | Age: 75 | Country/Territory: France | Industry: Fashion & Retail
Bernard Arnault oversees the LVMH empire of 75 fashion and cosmetics brands, including Louis Vuitton and Sephora.
2. Elon Musk
Net Worth: $195 Billion | Age: 52 | Country/Territory: United States | Industry: Automotive
Elon Musk cofounded six companies, including electric car maker Tesla, rocket producer SpaceX and tunneling startup Boring Company.
3. Jeff Bezos
Net Worth: $194 Billion | Age: 60 | Country/Territory: United States | Industry: Technology
Jeff Bezos founded e-commerce giant Amazon in 1994 out of his Seattle garage.
4. Mark Zuckerberg
Net Worth: $177 Billion | Age: 39 | Country/Territory: United States | Industry: Technology
A 19-year-old Mark Zuckerberg started Facebook in 2004 for students to match names with photos of classmates.
5. Larry Ellison
Net Worth: $141 Billion | Age: 79 | Country/Territory: United States | Industry: Technology
Larry Ellison is chairman, chief technology officer and cofounder of software giant Oracle, of which he owns just under 40%.
6. Warren Buffett
Net Worth: $133 Billion | Age: 93 | Country/Territory: United States | Industry: Finance & Investments
Known as the "Oracle of Omaha," Warren Buffett is one of the most successful investors of all time.
7. Bill Gates
Net Worth: $128 Billion | Age: 68 | Country/Territory: United States | Industry: Technology
Bill Gates diversified his fortune from software firm Microsoft into dozens of holdings, including waste disposal firm Republic Services and tractor maker Deere & Co.
8. Steve Ballmer
Net Worth: $121 Billion | Age: 68 | Country/Territory: United States | Industry: Technology
Steve Ballmer is the high-wattage former CEO of Microsoft, who led the company from 2000 to 2014.
9. Mukesh Ambani
Net Worth: $116 Billion | Age: 66 | Country/Territory: India | Industry: Diversified
Mukesh Ambani chairs and runs $110 billion (revenue) Reliance Industries, which has interests in petrochemicals, oil and gas, telecom, retail and financial services.
10. Larry Page
Net Worth: $114 Billion | Age: 51 | Country/Territory: United States | Industry: Technology
Larry Page stepped down as CEO of Alphabet, the parent company of Google, in 2019 but remains a board member and a controlling shareholder.
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