Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga, Abdulsamad Rabiu, Top Africans on Forbes Billionaires List for 2022

Forbes’ annual World Billionaires List, has ranked 2,668 billionaires around the world.

This year, only three Africans (all Nigerians) were among the Top 500 of the list. They include Aliko Dangote, listed at No. 130 with $14 billion in total earnings; Mike Adenuga, listed at No. 324 with $7.3 billion fortune; and Abdulsamad Rabiu listed at number 350 with $6.9 billion fortune

Aliko Dangote – $14.1B

• Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest person, founded and chairs Dangote Cement, the continent’s largest cement producer.
• He owns 85% of publicly-traded Dangote Cement through a holding company.
• Dangote Cement has the capacity to produce 48.6 million metric tons annually and has operations in 10 countries across Africa.
• After many years in development, Dangote’s fertilizer plant in Nigeria began operations in mid-2021. 
• Dangote Refinery has been under construction since 2016 and is expected to be one of the world’s largest oil refineries once complete.

Read Also: All Nigerians on Avance Media’s 100 Most Influential Young Africans List for 2021

Mike Adenuga – $7.3B

• Adenuga, Nigeria’s second richest man, built his fortune in telecom and oil production.
• His mobile phone network, Globacom, is the third largest operator in Nigeria, with 55 million subscribers.
• His oil exploration outfit, Conoil Producing, operates 6 oil blocks in the Niger Delta.
• Adenuga got an MBA at Pace University in New York, supporting himself as a student by working as a taxi driver.
• He made his first million at age 26 selling lace and distributing soft drinks.

Abdulsamad Rabiu-$6.2B

•  Abdulsamad Rabiu is the founder of BUA Group, a Nigerian conglomerate active in cement production, sugar refining and real estate. 
• In early January 2020, Rabiu merged his privately-owned Obu Cement company with listed firm Cement Co. of Northern Nigeria, which he controlled.
• The combined firm, called BUA Cement Plc, trades on the Nigerian stock exchange; Rabiu owns 98.5% of it. 
• Rabiu, the son of a businessman, inherited land from his father.
• He set up his own business in 1988 importing iron, steel and chemicals.