Johann Rupert and his family have surpassed Aliko Dangote to become Africa’s wealthiest man, according to a Forbes Magazine ranking.
Nigerian billionaires Rabiu Abdulsamad and Mike Adenuga have dropped off of the Forbes Magazine billionaire rankings.
The Forbes Daily billionaires ranking tool, which records daily changes in the net worth of the world’s most wealthy persons, indicated that Aliko Dangote dropped to second place when his fortune fell from $13.5 billion in 2023 to $9.5 billion at the start of 2024.
The wealth of the billionaires on the list has declined significantly. Nigeria’s Mike Adenuga’s fortune propelled him to tenth place, whereas Patrice Motsepe, who was in the top 10 in 2023, did not reach the top ten richest men in 2024. Furthermore, no woman was among the top 10 wealthiest people in the world at the start of the year.
The decreases in these individuals’ wealth are indicators of the economic issues confronting African countries. The decline in Dangote’s fortune can be ascribed to the Naira’s depreciation and other economic concerns.
In the 2024 rankings, Johann Rupert & Family’s fortune fell from $10.7 billion to $10.3 billion, edging out long-time African richest man Aliko Dangote, whose wealth fell from $13.5 billion to $9.5 billion.
South Africa’s Nicky Oppenheimer & Family’s wealth also decreased from $8.4b in 2023 to $8.4b in the start of 2024.
Nassif Sawiris moved up one place dislodging Rabiu Abdulsamad as the fourth richest man in Africa. His wealth appreciated from $7.3b in 2023 to $7.4b in 2024. Abdulsamad occupies the fifth position. His diversified wealth decreased from $7.6b to $5.9b.
A new billionaire from Eswatini, Nathan Kirsh made entry into this year’s list, taking the sixth position with a net worth of $5.8b. Mike Adenuga, who occupied the position in 2023 moved down four positions to become the tenth richest man in Africa. His wealth depreciated from $6.3b to $3.1b.
Algerian Issad Rebrab & Family maintained their seventh rank with $4.6b. Mohamed Mansour, who occupied the tenth position in 2023, moved up to the eighth position with his wealth moving from $2.9b to $3.6b. Mansour’s wealth grew more than that of Naguib Sawiris who took up the ninth position while maintaining his net worth of $3.3b. Patrice Motsepe, who occupied the ninth position in 2023 didn’t make the top ten list at the beginning of 2024 as his wealth depreciated to $2.5b.
