Despite economic headwinds that harmed the fortunes of half of the world’s reported billionaires, Aliko Dangote, President of the pan-African Conglomerate, the Dangote Group, has emerged as the richest man in Africa for the 12th year in a row, making him the richest individual on the African continent.
Mr. Dangote, whose business flagship, Dangote Cement Plc, is the largest manufacturer of cement in Africa, is the only Nigerian in the list of the first 200 richest individuals in the world with an estimated net worth of $14.2 billion, which is an increase from the previous year’s figure of $12.1 billion. His wealth has increased significantly over the past year.
According to the most recent ranking of world billionaires that was published by Forbes for 2023, declining stock prices, damaged unicorns, and increasing interest rates all contributed to a less successful year for the wealthiest people in the world.
Mr. Dangote is the only Nigerian in the top 200 world billionaires and one of the two Africans within that bracket. South Africa’s Johann Rupert, who trades in luxury goods, is placed 157th with a net worth of $11.1 billion. Mr. Dangote is currently ranked 124th among the world’s richest billionaires and is the only Nigerian in the top 200 world billionaires.
The richest man in Africa also serves as chairman of Dangote Cement, the most successful cement manufacturer on the African continent. In the ten nations that make up Sub-Saharan Africa, Dangote Cement has integrated factories in seven of those countries, a clinker grinding plant in Cameroon, and import and distribution facilities in Ghana and Sierra Leone. This gives the company a manufacturing capacity of 51.6 million tonnes per year.
Mr. Dangote also has investments in the manufacturing companies Dangote Salt (NASCON) and Dangote Sugar, both of which are publicly traded.
His Dangote Petroleum Refinery, which was recently commissioned and is rumored to be the world’s largest single-train refinery, is planned to process 650,000 bpd of petroleum for domestic consumption and export. This is a development that industry analysts have hailed as a game changer in the oil and gas business.
The most prominent philanthropist was previously ranked 11th out of the 50 greatest men and women in the history of the world by Fortune Magazine. Fortune Magazine is an American multinational business magazine that bases its ranking of the world’s greatest primarily on the businesses that are run by the men and how they have used it to positively impact their society.
According to the time-honored journal, which had its first edition published in February 1930, the greatest men and women in the world are changing the world and encouraging others to do the same in areas such as business, government, philanthropy, and the arts. The publication proclaimed that “These thinkers, speakers, and doers make bold choices and take big risks—and move others to do the same,” and it went on to list their accomplishments.
In particular, Mr. Dangote won nomination after it was determined that he had used his business to accumulate money and is now converting his wealth into significant philanthropy through his Aliko Dangote Foundation. This was the primary reason for his nomination.
Fortune Magazine identifies the following individuals as the world’s ten greatest men and women: Bill and Melinda Gates, Jacinda Ardem, Robert Mueller, Pony Ma, Satya Nadella, Greta Thunberg, Margrethe Vestager, Anna Nimiriano, Jose Andres, Dough McMillon, and Lisa Woods.
The ranking of Mr. Dangote as one of the greatest business executives received responses from notable persons all around the world. These individuals described him as worthy of the nomination based on his commercial acumen and the philanthropic gestures that he has performed.
Forbes, a global media company, said that nearly half of the world’s richest people are worth less now than they were a year ago. This includes Elon Musk, who has a net worth of $180 billion but dropped from No. 1 to No. 2 on the billionaires ranking for 2023. Musk’s plummeting position can be attributed to the fact that his pricey acquisition of Twitter helped sink Tesla, his multinational automotive and clean energy company.
Benard Arnault, a French native who is the CEO of the luxury goods company LVMH and who is 74 years old, has been ranked as the richest man in the world with a net worth of $211 billion. This is the very first time that a citizen of France would be at the top of the list.
According to Forbes, many of the richest people in the world can no longer celebrate their success.
As a result of the unstable conditions that have permeated both public and private markets, the number of billionaires around the world has decreased for the second year in a row, falling from 2,668 in 2022 to 2,640 in 2023. Additionally, the total wealth held by billionaires has also decreased, falling by $500 billion to a total of $12.2 trillion.
A little less than half of the world’s billionaires are now worth less than they did one year ago. There have been a total of 254 people who have completely lost their billionaire status, while others have seen gains.
The United States is still home to the most billionaires in the world, with 735 individuals on the Forbes list who have a combined wealth of $4.5 trillion. India is in second place with 169 billionaires worth $675 billion, followed by China (which includes Hong Kong and Macau) with 562 billionaires worth $2 trillion. China is still in second place. Forbes used the stock prices and exchange rates from March 10, 2023 to perform their calculations on net worths.