South African billionaire dethrones Aliko Dangote as Africa’s richest man

A South African billionaire businessman, Johann Rupert, has apparently dethrone Aliko Dangote as the richest man in Africa.

According to Forbes Magazine, Nigerian billionaires; Rabiu Abdulsamad and Mike Adenuga have lost their spots in the billionaire rankings.

In the list, the Forbes Daily billionaires ranking platform, which tracks daily changes to the net worth of the most high-net-worth individuals across the world revealed that Aliko Dangote moved down to second position as his wealth decreased from $13.5b in 2023 to $9.5b in the start of 2024.

In the list, there were significant declines in the wealth of the billionaires. The wealth of Nigeria’s Mike Adenuga, moved him to the tenth position, while Patrice Motsepe who was in the top ten in 2023 didn’t make the top ten richest men in 2024. Sadly, no woman made the top ten richest list at the start of the year.

The declines in these individuals’ wealth are indicators of the economic challenges confronting African countries. The decline in Dangote’s wealth can be attributed to the Naira’s depreciation and other economic issues.

In the 2024 rankings, Johann Rupert & Family’s wealth fell from $10.7 billion to $10.3 billion, edging out long-time African richest man Aliko Dangote, whose wealth fell from $13.5 billion to $9.5 billion.

Nassif Sawiris surpassed Rabiu Abdulsamad to become Africa’s fourth richest man. His fortune increased from $7.3 billion in 2023 to $7.4 billion in 2024. Abdulsamad is currently ranked fifth. His diversified wealth fell from $7.6 billion to $5.9 billion.

Nathan Kirsh, a new billionaire from Eswatini, entered the list this year, taking sixth place with a net worth of $5.8 billion. Mike Adenuga, who held the position in 2023, fell four positions to become Africa’s tenth richest man. His fortune dropped from $6.3 billion to $3.1 billion.

Algerian Issad Rebrab & Family remained seventh with $4.6 billion. Mohamed Mansour rose from tenth to eighth place in 2023, with his wealth increasing from $2.9 billion to $3.6 billion. Mansour’s fortune increased more than that of Naguib Sawiris, who rose to ninth place while keeping his net worth of $3.3 billion. Patrice Motsepe, who was ninth in 2023, did not make the top ten list at the start of 2024 because his wealth had depreciated to $2.5 billion.