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The top 20 investors on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX) have amassed staggering wealth through equity stakes in their own and other companies, which they typically hold via both direct and indirect investments.
As of the closing of the Nigerian bourse today, the market value of all NGX-listed companies was $48.06 billion (N20.03 trillion). In contrast, the market value of the equity stakes of the top 20 investors on the exchange amounted to $14.07 billion (N5.86 trillion).
The stakes of the top two investors in the ranking, Aliko Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest man and the founder of the continent’s most diversified manufacturing conglomerate, Dangote Industries Limited, and Abdul Samad Rabiu, the founder of BUA Group, were valued jointly at $11.70 billion (N4.88 trillion).
Research by Billionaires.Africa revealed that the stakes of these two billionaires in NGX-listed companies account for 24 percent of the bourse’s total equity capitalization.
Meanwhile, the stakes of the top 20 investors account for nearly 30 percent of the total equity capitalization of the NGX. Here is how these UHNWIs match up in terms of their equity positions in entities listed on the exchange.
#1 Aliko Dangote
Equity stake: $8.29 billion
Africa’s wealthiest man, Aliko Dangote, holds both direct and indirect stakes in Dangote Cement Plc, Dangote Sugar Refinery, Nascon Allied Plc and Jaiz Bank.
The total market value of his stakes is $8.29 billion (N3.46 trillion).
#2 Abdul Samad Rabiu
Equity stake: $3.41 billion
Abdul Samad Rabiu, who founded BUA Group in 1988, owns 92 percent of his flagship company, BUA Cement Plc. His stake in the company is now valued at $3.41 billion (N1.42 trillion).
#3 Isiaku Rabiu
Equity stake: $360.56 million
Father to Nigerian billionaire industrialist Abdul Samad Rabiu, who is the number-two investor featured on this list, Isiaku Rabiu holds a direct stake of 2,072,085,309 ordinary shares in Nigeria’s second-largest cement manufacturer, BUA Cement Plc. His stake is valued at $360.56 million (N150.23 billion).
#4 Victor Odili
Equity stake: $322.05 million
Victor Odili is a Nigerian shipping mogul and multimillionaire. He holds a substantial stake of 3.96 percent (806,886,900 ordinary shares) in Nigeria’s leading telecom company, MTN Nigeria. His equity stake in the telecom giant is valued at $322.05 million (N134.19 billion).
#5 Jim Ovia
Equity stake: $296.25 million
Jim Ovia, the founder of Nigeria’s top tier-1 bank, Zenith Bank Plc, holds 5,072,104,311 ordinary shares in Zenith through both direct and indirect holdings.
His stake in the multinational financial service provider is valued at $296.25 million (N123.44 billion).
#6 Shravin Bharti Mittal
Equity stake: $203.75 million
Shravin Bharti Mittal, the son of Sunil Bharti Mittal, who founded Bharti Airtel, the parent company of Airtel Africa, holds an indirect stake of 127,147,531 ordinary shares in the pan-African telecom company.
His indirect stake in Airtel Africa is worth $203.75 million (N84.90 billion), putting him in the sixth position among the top 20 investors on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
#7 John Coumantaros
Equity stake: $188.37 million
John Coumantaros is a Greek businessman and the chairman of Nigeria’s food and agro-allied company Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc.
The multimillionaire, who inherited 79 percent of the total issued shares of Flour Mills from his father George Coumantaros, has been in charge of running the business since his father passed away in 2016.
His direct equity stake of 2,597,314,890 ordinary shares in Flour Mills is valued at $188.37 million (N78.49 billion).
#8 Douraid Zaghouani
Equity stake: $136.26 million
Douraid Zaghouani is a non-executive director in Dangote Cement Plc. The renowned civil engineer, who is also a senior executive at Dangote Industries Limited, holds an indirect stake of 243,540,000 ordinary shares in the cement behemoth.
His stake in the company is valued at $136.26 million (N56.78 billion), putting him in the eighth spot on the list.
#9 Pascal Dozie
Equity stake: $135.87 million
Pascal Dozie is a Nigerian entrepreneur and businessman who founded Diamond Bank Plc. The multimillionaire businessman holds an indirect stake in MTN Nigeria Plc, amounting to 340,409,900 ordinary shares.
His stake in MTN is valued at $135.87 million (N56.61 billion).
#10 Sani Bello
Equity stake: $105.08 million
Sani Bello, the founder of Amni International Petroleum Development Co., an oil exploration company with a 50-percent interest in the Okoro Setu Field, ranks number ten on the list.
His indirect stake in MTN Nigeria Plc amounts to 265,092,150 ordinary shares and is valued at $105.08 million (N44.09 billion).
#11 Austin Avuru
Company: Seplat Petroleum Plc
Equity stake: $102.38 million
#12 Babatunde Folawiyo
Company: MTN Nigeria Plc
Equity stake: $87.33 million
#13 Gbenga Oyebode
Company: MTN Nigeria Plc, Okomu Oil Plc
Equity stake: $83.71 million
#14 Viswanathan Shankar
Company: Dangote Cement Plc
Equity stake: $71.93 million
#15 Ahmad Dasuki
Company: MTN Nigeria Plc
Equity stake: $65.89 million
#16 A.B.C. Orjiako
Company: Seplat Petroleum Plc
Equity stake: $64.43 million
#17 Tony Elumelu
Company: United Bank for Africa, Transcorp Plc
Equity stake: $44.42 million
#18 Abdulwasiu Sowami
Company: Ardova Plc
Equity stake: $36.11 million
#19 Herbert Wigwe
Company: Access Bank Plc
Equity stake: $31.77 million
#20 Wole Oshin
Company: Custodian Investment Plc
Equity stake: $22.98 million
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