T he fortunes of Africa's wealthiest people have rebounded slightly in the past 12 months, reversing the decline in their fortunes from a year ago, though they are still off their all-time highs. The 20 billionaires on the 2024 Forbes list of Africa's Richest are worth a combined $82.4 billion. That's up $900 million from last year's $81.5 billion.
All of that gain can be attributed to the return of Nigeria's Femi Otedola, who last appeared on the Forbes Africa list in 2017 when he held a controlling stake in fuel distributor Forte Oil. Otedola phased out his oil investments during a government push to privatize the country's energy business in 2013, using a Forte subsidiary to purchase Geregu, a public power generation plant. He owned about 90% of Geregu when it was listed on the Nigerian exchange's Main Board in 2022, but has since sold shares to institutional investors, which include Afreximbank's Fund for Export Development in Africa and the State Grid Corporation of China. His 73% stake in Geregu is worth more than $850 million, about three-quarters of his $1.1 billion fortune, which puts him at No. 19 on the list.
After taking Otedola's comeback into account, Africa's billionaires dipped slightly, but still fared better than the decline of 4% last year, when African markets faded in sync with equity values around the world. This year, African equities joined a late-year global rally, with the S&P All Africa index rising 10% in the final two months of 2023 but still ended down more than 9% in the 12 months through January 8, 2024.
NIGERIA'S ALIKE DANGOTE, WHOSE FORTUNE ROSE $400 MILLION TO $13.9 BILLION, CLAIMED THE RANKING'S NO. 1 SPOT FOR THE 13TH YEAR IN A ROW, DESPITE THE POLITICAL UNCERTAINTY FOLLOWING THE FEBRUARY PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION AND A DEVALUATION OF THE NAIRA IN 2023 THAT OFFSET THE RISING SHARE PRICE OF DANGOTE CEMENT.
The continent remains one of the world's toughest places to build – and hold onto – a billion-dollar fortune, as global investors remain leery of its stock exchanges, businesses struggle against strained economies, poor infrastructure and volatile exchange rates, while changing political winds can make, boost or
