Nigeria’s business titans Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga, Abdulsamad Rabiu, and Femi Otedola have secured their positions as the only Nigerians on Forbes’ 2025 Africa’s Billionaires List released yesterday.
Dangote has maintained his reign at the summit of the prestigious ranking for the 14th consecutive year, with his estimated net worth surging to $23.9 billion, marking a significant increase from $13.9 billion in the previous year. Forbes attributed this remarkable growth primarily to the inclusion of his refinery’s value in the calculations.
The Dangote Group continues to dominate various sectors including cement, sugar, flour, salt, seasoning, pasta, beverages, real estate, and expanding projects in oil & gas and fertiliser production.
Telecommunications magnate Mike Adenuga claimed the fifth position on the continental ranking with a fortune of $6.8 billion. BUA Group’s founder Abdulsamad Rabiu followed with a net worth of $5.1 billion, solidifying his position among Africa’s wealthiest business leaders.
In a particularly noteworthy development, Femi Otedola emerged as the 16th richest person in Africa, with his wealth experiencing an impressive surge of over 30 percent during the past year. According to Forbes, Otedola’s net worth reached $1.5 billion, making him one of the fastest-growing billionaires on the list, second only to South Africa’s Johann Rupert, whose fortune grew by 39 percent.
“Shares of Geregu surged by approximately 40 percent in the past year following a rise in revenue and profits,” Forbes noted regarding Otedola’s power generation firm.
Otedola serves as Chairman of Geregu Power Plc, the first electricity-generating company to be listed on the Nigerian Exchange, and First Holdco Plc (formerly FBN Holdings Plc), while maintaining his commitment to philanthropy through significant support for Save the Children.
The 2025 ranking marks a historic milestone as the cumulative wealth of Africa’s billionaires exceeded $100 billion for the first time, with the continent’s 22 billionaires amassing a combined fortune of $105 billion, up from $82.4 billion shared among 20 billionaires last year.
South Africa led the continental representation with seven billionaires, while Nigeria and Egypt followed with four billionaires each.
Forbes calculated net worths using stock prices and currency exchange rates as of March 7, 2025, applying industry standard valuation methods for privately held businesses.
DANGOTE MAINTAINS TOP POSITION AS FOUR NIGERIANS FEATURE ON FORBES AFRICA’S BILLIONAIRES LIST
