Forbes, the world’s most authoritative voice in wealth reporting recently released its 2024 list with four Nigerians making the cut.
Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga, Abdulsamad Rabiu and Femi Otedola were the only Nigerians on the list.
According to Forbes, The list revealed a record year for billionaires of the world recording the highest-ever number of billionaires with new faces joining the class of billionaires. At the same time, old members grew bigger and better shrugging off inflation, political unrest, and wars.
Forbes used stock prices and exchange rates from March 8 2024 to curate its latest list of billionaires. It also maintains a real-time index of these billionaires for more in-depth research.
From the 2024 list, The United States with a record 813 billionaires worth $5.7 trillion tops the list of the country with the most billionaires.
China comes second with a record number of 473 billionaires worth $1.7 trillion and finally, India comes third with a record 200 billionaires.
What the world’s billionaires are worth
The year 2024 recorded the highest number of billionaires with a total of 2,781 billionaires, 141 billionaires more than last year and 26 billionaires more than the 2021 record.
The world’s billionaires are worth a total of $14.2 trillion in all up by $2 trillion from 2023 and $1.1 trillion above the previous record of 2021.
Two-thirds of the billionaires on the list are worth more than a year ago only one-fourth are poorer.
The top 20 occupants on the list added a whopping $700 billion in wealth
Nigerians on the list
Four Nigerians made the list of 2,781 billionaires in the world from the latest annual ranking of billionaires by Forbes magazine. They are ranked below by their networth and position on the Billionaires Index.
Aliko Dangote
The Nigerian mogul who also happens to be the richest man in Africa is ranked at number 144 with a current networth of $13.4bn. Aliko Dangote is the chairman of Dangote Group Africa’s largest cement producer. He also has a significant investment in Sugar.
Mike Adenuga
The second Nigerian on the list is Globacom chairman Mike Adenuga ranked at number 409 with a current networth of $6.7bn. He built his wealth in Telecommunications and oil.
Abdulsamad Rabiu
The third Nigerian on the list is Abdulsamad Rabiu the founder of BUA group. He is ranked at number 581 with a current networth of $5.2bn. BUA Group is a Nigerian conglomerate involved in Cement production, sugar, refining, and real estate.
Femi Otedola
The fourth and the last Nigerian on the list is Femi Otedola who according to Forbes made his first fortune in commodities before selling his shares in Forte Oil to invest in the energy business. He is ranked at number 2152 with a current networth of $1.4bn.
The Forbes 2024 list featured a host of newcomers to the league from new-age sectors like AI and Cryptocurrency.
There was a total of 262 newcomers to the League of Billionaires with Taylor Swift, Christian Louboutin, and Magic Johnson being the most popular of them all.
Forbes magazine used stock prices and exchange rates in curating its latest list of billionaires in the world.
