Three Nigerian billionaires Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga, and Abdul Samad Rabiu make Forbes comprehensive 2023 world billionaire rankings.
The list which was released on the 4th of April had a total of 2,460 billionaires globally with recent surprise entries.
Nigerian business magnate and the CEO of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote who has long held the spot for the richest man in Africa, retained his number-one position as Africa’s wealthiest man. Dangote who currently occupies the 125th position of the world billionaires ranking, had his wealth estimated to be around $14.2 billion, an increase from $14 billion recorded in 2022.
Coming behind Dangote on the richest men ranking in Africa is a Nigerian businessman and the founder of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu who is one of the surprises on the list. The Nigerian billionaire saw his net worth rise from $7.6 billion in a few months to $8.2 billion, which saw him become the 249th richest person in the world, closing in on overtaking the third richest man in Africa Nicky Oppenheimer who has a net worth of $8.4 dollars.
The third and final Nigerian billionaire that made it to Forbes Comprehensive 2023 World Billionaire Rankings is Nigerian businessman Mike Adenuga and CEO of Globacom, Nigeria’s second-largest telecom operator. Meanwhile, Adenuga saw his net worth decline from $7.3 billion in 2022 to $6.1 billion in 2023, placing him as the 418th richest man in the world.
On the global rankings, Louis Vuitton boss Bernard Arnault was named the richest man in the world worth $211 billion.
The 74-year-old became the third person in history to amass an estimated fortune above the $200bn (£160bn) threshold.
His wealth has increased by $39bn so far this year, as shares in LVMH have risen 30%, thanks to soaring demand for luxury goods among the world’s wealthy.
Arnault was followed closely by Twitter and Tesla CEO Elon Musk who slipped to the second position after his net worth dropped to $137.5 billion, from about $200 billion, following the crash of Tesla stocks. Investors King understands that Arnault and Musk have been trading spots on the world billionaire for the past rankings, but Arnault recently superseded the Tesla billionaire after his net worth grew more than $50 billion to $211 billion.
Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos ranked as the third richest person on the earth with a net worth of $136 billion. His position remains the same even after divorcing his wife MacKenzie in 2019 and transferring a quarter of his stake in Amazon to her.
