Forbes has named four Nigerian business moguls—Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga, Abdulsamad Rabiu, and Femi Otedola— on its 2025 list of Africa’s billionaires, reaffirming their dominance in the continent’s economic landscape.
The prestigious ranking which was released on Saturday, highlighted a significant surge in the collective wealth of Africa’s billionaires, rising from $82.4 billion in 2024 to $105 billion in 2025.
The total number of African billionaires also increased from 20 to 22 within a year.
Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, topped the list with an impressive net worth of $23.9 billion, a remarkable increase from $13.9 billion in 2024. Forbes attributed the surge to the valuation of his Dangote Petroleum Refinery, which played a crucial role in his financial growth.
Globacom chairman, Mike Adenuga, secured the fifth position with a net worth of $6.8 billion, while BUA Group’s chairman, Abdulsamad Rabiu, ranked sixth with $5.1 billion.
Meanwhile, Femi Otedola, the chairman of First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) Holdings Plc, was jointly ranked 16th with a net worth of $1.5 billion.
Forbes noted that South Africa led the ranking with seven billionaires, followed by Nigeria and Egypt, each with four representatives.
The list also featured three billionaires from Morocco, one from Algeria (Issad Rebrab), one from Tanzania (Mohammed Dewiji), and one from Zimbabwe (Strive Masiyiwa).
“Our list tracks the wealth of African billionaires who reside in Africa or have their primary business there, thus excluding Sudanese-born billionaire Mo Ibrahim, who is a U.K. citizen, and South African Nathan Kirsh, who operates out of London and has his business in the U.S. and U.K.,” Forbes stated.
The magazine disclosed that the net worth calculations were based on stock prices and currency exchange rates as of March 7, 2025.
