Four Nigerian businessmen led by Dangote make the Forbes Africa Billionaires List

FOUR Nigerian businessmen led by the continent's richest man Alhaji Aliko Dangote have been named in the 2025 Africa’s Billionaires List compiled  and published by Forbes magazine over the weekend.

For the 14th consecutive year, Alhaji Dangote topped the list with an estimated net worth of $23.9bn, up from $13.9bn a year ago. Other business moguls who made the list include Chief Mike Adenuga, Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu and Otunba Femi Otedola, most of who have a presence in the Nigerian oil industry but have diversified into other sectors too.

With regards to Alhaji Dangote, the significant jump in his fortune was primarily due to Forbes factoring in the value of his new Lekki refinery. One of the biggest private companies in Nigeria, the Dangote Group operates in diverse sectors, including cement, sugar, flour, salt, seasoning, pasta, beverages, real estate and projects in oil and gas and fertiliser.

On the other hand, Chief Adenuga, who ranked fifth on the list, had $6.8bn in his portfolio during the period under review, while Alhaji Rabiu was worth $5.1bn. Chief Adenuga runs the Pan-African telecommunications company, Globacom, while Alhaji Rabiu owns the BUA Group, with interests in cement, sugar, oil and other sectors.

Otunba Otedola emerged as the 16th richest person in Africa on the Forbes list, with his wealth surging by over 30% in the last year. Forbes stated that Otunba Otedola’s wealth reached $1.5bn during the period, making him one of the fastest-growing billionaires, second only to Johann Rupert of South Africa, whose fortune grew by 39%.

A prominent Nigerian businessman, Otunba Otedola has established and led several companies across various sectors, with many notable enterprises associated with his name. Checks revealed that some of these include Geregu Power, the first electricity-generating company in Nigeria to be listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in October 2022, where he serves as chairman.

Additionally, he is the chairman of First Holdco, formerly FBN Holdings, a financial holding company that serves as a diversified group of financial services businesses, including commercial banking, merchant banking, capital markets, trusteeship and insurance brokerage. A dedicated philanthropist, Otunba Otedola has been a significant supporter of Save the Children, donating billions of naira to improve the lives of children in Nigeria.

This Forbes list tracks the wealth of African billionaires who reside in Africa or have their primary business there. Net worths were calculated using stock prices and currency exchange rates as of the close of business on March 7 2025.

Forbes noted that net worth changes were measured from its 2024 African billionaires list, published in January 2024. To value privately held businesses, Forbes starts with estimates of revenues or profits and applies prevailing price-to-sales or price-to-earnings ratios for comparable public companies.

Similarly, the report highlighted that the cumulative wealth of Africa’s billionaires surpassed $100bn for the first time, as the continent’s 22 billionaires saw their combined fortunes rise to $105bn, up from $82.4bn and 20 billionaires last year. South Africa had the highest number of billionaires this year, with seven, followed by Nigeria and Egypt, with four billionaires each.