While heightened geopolitical risk and uncertainty and economic fallout from the Russia-Ukraine war continue to cloud the valuation of companies and financial assets globally, many of the world’s wealthiest men have seen their fortunes rise significantly, while others have seen their fortunes fall remarkably.
Since the start of the year, the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, the world’s most valuable carmaker, has seen his net worth decline by $9.6 billion, while Africa’s wealthiest man, Aliko Dangote, has seen his net worth rise by $1.14 billion.
Dangote, the chairman of Dangote Group, Africa’s most diversified manufacturing conglomerate, derives the majority of his wealth from an 86-percent stake in Dangote Cement Plc, his flagship company.
Dangote Cement is Africa’s largest cement producer, with a total capacity of 51.55 million tonnes of cement produced per year across 10 countries.
Dangote’s net worth has skyrocketed by $1.14 billion since the year began, from $19.1 billion at the start of business activity this year to $20.2 billion at the time of writing this report.
The Nigerian billionaire is also on track to receive N293 billion ($704.1 million) in final dividends from his stake in Dangote Cement. This is the majority of the N340.81-billion ($819.2 million) final dividend distribution approved by the company’s board of directors at the end of the group’s 2021 fiscal year.
On the other hand, the year-to-date loss in Musk’s wealth can be attributed to a decline in the market value of his Tesla shares, as the market reacts to the company’s decision not to produce new model vehicles in 2022, combined with investor reactions to a surge in the price of lithium—an essential component in Tesla’s batteries.
Despite losing nearly $10 billion since the beginning of the year, Musk remains the world’s richest man with a $261-billion net worth, making him 13 times richer than Dangote.
Musk, who already owns 9.2 percent of Twitter, recently offered $43 billion to purchase the U.S. microblogging and social networking service.
Twitter’s board of directors adopted a limited duration shareholder rights plan, often called a “poison pill,” just one day after he offered to buy the company, a move that is frequently used to fend off a potential hostile takeover.
Under the new structure, which will expire on April 14, 2023, if any person or group acquires beneficial ownership of at least 15 percent of Twitter’s outstanding stock without the board’s approval, other shareholders will be able to purchase additional shares at a discount.
