73-year old former Nigerian Defense Minister, Theophilus
Yakubu Danjuma, has joined the enviable list of richest men and women in
Africa with a net worth of $600 million. Hence, the retired general and
philanthropist is ranked 24th on the latest Forbes African
billionaires’ list released yesterday.
Meanwhile,
Nigeria’s mega entrepreneur, Aliko Dangote, is top of the list for the
second year running, with a net worth of $12 billion, up from $10.1
billion in November 2011.
Most of his net worth lay in
publicly-traded Dangote Cement, which operates in 14 African countries.
Nicky Oppenheimer of South Africa came in once again as the second
richest, with a $6.4 billion fortune. Oppenheimer decided in late 2011
to sell his family’s 40 per cent stake in diamond producer, DeBeers to
mining company Anglo American for $5.1 billion. The deal got final
regulatory approval in July 2012, marking the end of 85 years of
Oppenheimer family control of DeBeers.
Notable newcomers include
the first two women: Folorunsho Alakija of Nigeria, who joins due to her
stake
in the prolific Agbami oil field; and Isabel dos Santos of
Angola, an entrepreneur, investor and daughter of that country’s
president. South Africa’s Desmond Sacco debuts as a billionaire thanks
to his shares in mining concern Assore, which he chairs.
Another
South African newcomer: Koos Bekker, who since 1997 has turned media
group Naspers into a true multinational firm, taking neither a salary
nor a bonus along the way. His $450 million net worth lay mostly in
vested Naspers options.
The Africa’s billionaires list featured
Nigerian business moguls, like Mike Adenuga, who ranks the fifth
position with a net worth of $4.6 billion from his telecommunications
and oil companies; Jim Ovia emerged as the 19th wealthiest man in the
continent with a net worth of $825 million; Abdulsamad Rabiu, who heads
BUA Group is ranked 21st with a net worth of $675 million.
Folorunsho
Alakija, who is one of the two women that made the list, ranked 24th
with Danjuma, with a net worth of $600 million from her oil business,
while 68-year old former banker and Honey Well Group founder, Oba
Otudeko, came next with a net worth of $575 million.
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