Personality in Focus
Forbes Confirms Dangote Africa’s Richest Man, as Otedola Returns to Billionaire List
After a six-year hiatus, Nigerian business magnate, Femi Otedola, has returned to the Forbes Africa list of the richest people, landing at No. 20 position with a fortune of $1 billion.
Otedola’s comeback marks a significant milestone. He last graced the Forbes Africa list in 2017 with his controlling stake in fuel distributor – Forte Oil.
However, a strategic shift saw him divest from oil and embrace the energy sector. In 2013, he used a Forte subsidiary to acquire Geregu, a public power generation plant and capitalised on its privatisation.
According to Forbes, Otedola’s 73% stake in Geregu is valued at over $850 million, forming the backbone of his fortune.
“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,” Forbes said.
“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. 20 on the list.”
Forbes added that despite Otedola’s rise, the overall wealth of African billionaires dipped slightly compared to last year. This reflects the global economic slowdown, but it’s important to note that African billionaires still fared better than their global counterparts, who saw a 4% decline.
“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,”
The magazine stated that “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 bust private fortunes.”
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s Aliko Dangote remains Africa’s richest man, with his fortune rising to $13.9 billion from $400 million, claiming the top spot for the 13th year in a row, despite political uncertainty following the February presidential election and a naira devaluation in 2023 that offset Dangote Cement’s rising share price.
The top three spots are rounded out by South African luxury goods magnate Johann Rupert held onto the No. 2 spot with $10.1 billion, down from $10.7 billion in 2023 as shares of his Compagnie Financiere Richemont–maker of Cartier watches and Montblanc pens – slid. South African Nicky Oppenheimer, who formerly ran diamond mining firm DeBeers before selling it to mining firm Anglo American a decade ago, ranks No. 3 with $9.4 billion, up $1 billion from 2023.
Interestingly, 13 of the 20 billionaires on the list saw their fortunes increase, while seven saw their net worth decline. The biggest decline on this year’s list belongs to Algerian industrial magnate Issad Rebrab, who was barred by a court in May from exercising any commercial or management duties at his conglomerate, Cevital.
Rebrab, who denied any wrongdoing, had previously served 8 months in jail on corruption charges until his release in January 2020. Rebrab, who shares the wealth with his wife and five children, including his son, Malik, who took over as CEO in 2022, saw his net worth fall by almost half to $2.5 billion.
The biggest gain belongs to Egypt’s Nasseff Sawiris, who added $1.4 billion to $8.7 billion thanks to a rise in Addidas shares (he owns about 6%), as well as dividends from the German sneaker company and family conglomerate OCI.
This year, South Africa claims six spots on the ranking, followed by Egypt with five and Nigeria with four. Algeria, Tanzania and Zimbabwe each have one billionaire on the list, while Morocco has two.
Former Presidential Spokesperson, Doyin Okupe has reportedly passed away.
TheNewsGuru reports that the senior adviser to former President Goodluck Jonathan and, recently, the Director-General of Peter Obi’s 2023 Presidential Campaign died at 71, after a long struggle with cancer.
In October 2023, Okupe was hospitalized with prostate cancer and was flown to Israel for treatment.
However, it was learnt that his condition did not improve as expected.
Okupe had a history of prostate cancer, first diagnosed 16 years ago, and a later bout with sarcoma in his right shoulder.
Following his milestone achievements as Chairman of the Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices (POCACOV), the Chairman/CEO of Executive Group, Dr. Ayo Ogunsan has been officially announced as the Patron of the Police advocacy initiative in Lagos State, National Association of Online Security News Publishers, NAOSNP can report.
The POCACOV is the Nigeria Police Force advocacy initiative to help young people avoid cultism and other vices. It uses advocacy, awareness, and sensitization to help young people avoid vices by conducting community outreaches to schools, inner cities, rural areas, and urban centres. It also helps to rehabilitate and reintegrate those who have been cut in the web of cultism, crimes, and social vices.
It would be recalled that Dr. Ayo Ogunsan took up the Chairmanship job about a year ago and was able to use his grand standing as the Board Member of Lagos State Security Trust Fund (LSSTF), prime supporter of security news beat association National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP), and leadership of non-profit initiative, AKEM Foundation to champion his work and various impacting activities in the past one year. This is why POCACOV through its National Coordinator, ACP Olabisi Oluseyi Okuwobi on behalf of the Inspector General of Police announced his official elevation into the role of Patron of POCACOV in Lagos State.
The United Nations POLAC International Peace Advocate, Dr. Ayo Ogunsan expressed his gratitude to the Inspector General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun and the National Coordinator, ACP Okuwobi for the new role and promised to give direction to the new Chairman, Mr. Moses Oladimeji which will lead to improved performance of POCACOV in Lagos.
‘I will keep raiding our communities with love. We will give them food, shelter, etc. Police will do the Police work but I will do the policing of love’, Ogunsan affirmed.
This piece is contributed by Oki Samson
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed Shamsedeen Ogunjimi as the new Accountant General of the Federation after a rigorous selection process.
A statement by Special Adviser to the President (Information & Strategy), Bayo Onanuga said his appointment, approved on Tuesday, takes effect from 7th March 2025, the same day the incumbent Oluwatoyin Madehin will retire.
Ogunjimi, 57, was first named as Madehin’s successor last December.
“A selection committee later chose him through a competitive, rigorous, and merit-based process involving Directors of Accounts in the Federal Civil Service. The committee conducted the process through three stages: a written assessment, an ICT proficiency test, and oral interviews.
“The selection process underscores President Tinubu’s commitment to promoting transparency, excellence, and competence in key public service positions,” the statement read in part.
Ogunjimi graduated from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science in Accountancy.
He also obtained a Master’s in Accounting and Finance from the University of Lagos.
He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria.
President Tinubu congratulated Ogunjimi on his appointment, and urged him to discharge his duties in the service with integrity, professionalism, and dedication to Nigeria’s service.
