Dangote Loses Africa’s Richest Man’sTitle to a South African

The President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has lost the title of the richest man in Africa as his networth decreased by 20.7 percent. This decline was as a result of the devaluation of the Nigerian currency by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), according to the recently released Forbes Billionaire Ranking.

As a consequence, Dangote now holds the second position on the list of the wealthiest individuals on the African continent, with South African billionaire, Johann Rupert surpassing him to claim the number one spot.

The CBN’s decision to devalue the naira resulted in a 40.5 percent decrease in its value. This devaluation had an impact on the exchange rate between the naira and the dollar, which rose to N663.04/$1 during Friday’s trading, up from N471.67/$1 on Tuesday.

Dangote’s wealth declined by $2.80 billion, falling from $13.5 billion to $10.7 billion. As a result, he lost the position of the richest man in Africa for the first time, since his debut on the Forbes Billionaire Index in 2008.

Meanwhile, Johann Rupert became Africa’s wealthiest individual as his net worth increased from $10.7 billion to $13.5 billion, a gain of $1.3 billion.