Nigerian industrialist, Aliko Dangote continues to dominate the rankings of Forbes’ ‘Africa’s Richest 2020’ list. The 64 year-old cement baron, worth an estimated $10.1 billion, topped the list for the ninth consecutive year as his wealth grew on the back of investments. Dangote’s fortune, built on cement, is down from $10.3 billion a year ago amid a dip in the Dangote Cement share price. He is currently building the world’s largest single oil refinery with capacity of 650,000 barrels per day (bpd) to help to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported petroleum.
Egyptian telecoms magnate Nassef Sawiris came second in Africa with a net worth rising to $8 billion from $6.3 billion the year before. Sawiris is chairman of private gold mining group La Mancha, while his family controls the sprawling Orascom business empire. According to Forbes’ listing, only eight of Africa’s 54 nations are home to billionaires. Egypt and South Africa have five billionaires each, Nigeria has four, while Morocco has two. Zimbabwe and Tanzania have one billionaire each.
