Despite a sharp drop in his net worth in 2022, Aliko Dangote has maintained his status as Africa’s richest man for the 12th consecutive year, amid a challenging year for the continent’s billionaires as declining equity values caused wealth losses in line with the global trend.
Dangote, who is worth $13.5 billion after a $400-million drop, retained his title as Africa’s richest person for the 12th year in a row (Bloomberg values his wealth at $19 billion), while South African billionaire Johann Rupert holds onto the second spot despite a $300-million decline to $10.7 billion (Bloomberg values his wealth at $12.3 billion).
The $400-million slump in Dangote’s net worth, according to Forbes, can be linked to the market performance of his 86 percent stake in his flagship business, Dangote Cement.
According to Forbes’ latest billionaire list, Africa’s billionaires endured a challenging year as their combined wealth declined by $3.1 billion in the past 12 months – a drop that exceeds the GDP of 10 African countries, including the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Seychelles, and South Sudan.
The latest edition of the billionaire list showcases 19 individuals with a combined net worth of $81.5 billion, a slight decrease from the previous year’s total of $84.9 billion. However, the list now includes the return of South African businessman Christo Wiese, who had dropped out in 2018 due to an accounting scandal. Wiese successfully sued retailer Steinhoff and has now regained his place on the list.
Only billionaires from seven African nations were included in the list, excluding prominent figures such as Mo Ibrahim, Nathan Kirsh, and Mohamed Al-Fayed who have citizenship or reside in other countries outside of Africa.
The four-percent slump in the combined net worth of these billionaires follows a 15-percent surge in the previous year, due to rising stock prices across the continent. However, these tycoons’ fortunes faded in tandem with global equity values, closely tracking the S&P All Africa index, which dropped more than 20 percent in the first nine months of 2022.
Despite the overall dip, some of these billionaires have managed to recover some of their early wealth losses in 2022 due to a late-year rally.
By the end of January 2023, the S&P All Africa index had fallen by just three percent, which Forbes used to determine the stock prices and exchange rates for the billionaires list.
