Foremost Nigerian industrialist, Aliko
Dangote, on Monday made history by becoming the first black man to break
into the rank of top 25 richest people in the world. His wealth jumped
to $25bn from $16.1bn in 2013, according to Forbes magazine’s list of the richest people on earth.
Dangote, who was number 43 in the top
100 world billionaire list last year, moved up 20 spots to retain his
position as the richest person in Africa and also number 23rd in the
world.
The Chairman, Globacom, Chief Mike
Adenuga, was the next Nigerian on the list with a wealth of $4.6bn to
maintain the 325th position in the world.
The Executive Vice Chairman, Famfa Oil
Limited and fashion icon, Mrs. Folorunsho Alakija, retained her position
as the world’s richest black woman and the 687th in the world with a
fortune of $2.5bn; while the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, BUA Group
of Companies, Alhaji Abdulsamad Rabiu, was ranked 1372th in the world
with $1.2bn.
Gates, whose fortune rose by $9bn in the past year, has held the top spot for 15 of the past 20 years.
Spanish clothing retailer, Amancio
Ortega, best known for the Zara fashion chain, retains the No. 3 spot
for the second year in a row, extending his lead over Warren Buffett,
who is again in the fourth position.
The year’s biggest dollar gainer was the
Facebook’s founder, Mark Zuckerberg, whose fortune jumped by $15.2bn to
$28.5bn, as shares of his social network soared.
Technology, and more specifically Facebook, helped to propel numerous fortunes lately.
The company’s Chief Operating Officer,
Sheryl Sandberg, joins the ranks for the first time, as does the
Facebook’s long-time vice-president, Jeff Rothschild.
Also, thanks to a $19bn deal (including
restricted stock) with Facebook; WhatsApp founders, Jan Koum and Brian
Acton, join the ranks of Silicon Valley’s wealthiest for the first time.
They are four of 26 newcomers whose
fortunes come from technology; 10 of whom are American, including
Dropbox CEO, Drew Houston, and Workday cofounder, Aneel Bhusri.
The United States once again leads the
world with 492 billionaires as a result of the technology boom and
strong stock market, followed by China with 152 and Russia with 111. But
wealth is spreading to new places.
For the first time in the history of the
Forbes rating, billionaires were found in Algeria with Issad Rebrab,
who is into food business with $3.2bn worth of fortune; Rostam Azizi
from Tanzania with $1bn; and Sudhir Ruparelia from Uganda with $1.1bn.
SOURCE: www.punchng.com
No comments:
Post a Comment