Aliko Dangote has retained his position as the richest man in Africa, with a net worth of $12.1 billion, according to the 2022 edition of the Forbes’ Top 10 Africa’s Billionaires List.

This is contained in a post on their verified Twitter account @Forbes.

According to the report, for the 11th year in a row, Aliko Dangote of Nigeria is the continent’s richest person, worth an estimated $13.9 billion, up from $12.1 billion in 2021.

According to the magazine, this followed a 30 per cent increase in the stock price of Dangote Cement, his most valuable asset. A surge in housing developments in Nigeria and growth in government infrastructure spending drove higher demand in the first nine months of 2021, analysts found.

The report added that Africa’s billionaires were richer than they had been in years, despite the global pandemic.

As a group, the continent’s 18 billionaires were worth an estimated $84.9 billion – a 15 per cent increase from 12 months ago and the most since 2014, when a larger number of billionaires–28–were worth a combined $96.5 billion.

On average, the continent’s billionaires were worth $4.7 billion now, worth $3.4 billion in 2014 with soaring stock prices from Nigeria to Zimbabwe lifted the fortunes of these tycoons, as demand for products from cement to luxury goods ticked up.

Jumping into the number two from the list – up from number four last year – was luxury goods magnate Johann Rupert of South Africa.

More than 60 per cent surge in the share price of his Compagnie Financiere Richemont–maker of Cartier watches and Montblanc pens–pushed his fortune to $11 billion, up from $7.2 billion a year ago, making him the biggest dollar gainer on the list.

South African Nicky Oppenheimer, who formerly ran diamond mining firm DeBeers before selling it to mining firm Anglo American a decade ago, ranked number three, worth an estimated $8.7 billion.

The biggest gainer in percentage terms–up 125 per cent was Strive Masiyiwa of Zimbabwe, worth $2.7 billion, up from $1.2 billion last year.

Shares of Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, which he founded, rose more than 750% in the past year, helping to drive up the size of his fortune.

Another gainer: Nigerian cement tycoon Abdulsamad Rabiu is $1.5 billion richer after taking yet another of his companies public.

In early January 2022, Rabiu listed his sugar and food firm BUA Foods on the Nigerian stock exchange. He and his son retained a 96 per cent stake in the company, which recently had nearly $2.8 billion market capitalisation. (Forbes discounts the values of stakes when the public float is less than 5 per cent).

BUA Cement, in which he and his son had a 96 per cent stake, listed in January 2020.

According to the release, only two of the 18 billionaires are worth less than in 2021: Koos Bekker of South Africa, who dropped to $2.7 billion from $2.8 billion as the share prices of consumer Internet firms Naspers and Prosus fell more than 20 per cent each.

(NAN)