Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man‘s net worth has reached a total of $15.3 billion according to data collated from the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.
Dangote has seen a phenomenal rise in fortune coinciding with the comeback of the Nigerian naira on both official and unofficial markets.
Before now, Dangote’s fortune had gone through a turbulent era before its current boom, which represents a substantial turnaround for the company. His net worth fell below $13.5 billion earlier this month, indicating a loss of several billion dollars in a matter of weeks.
But Dangote’s wealth has now been revived thanks to the naira’s recent gain. Investors and market watchers have applauded the rise of the Nigerian Naira versus the US dollar, which has fueled renewed confidence in the local economy.
Of significance note is the fact that, since the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced that it has cleared all foreign currency (FX) backlog, the naira has continued to appreciate steadily, gaining more than 4% of its value against the dollar due to increases in dollar availability, to trade below N1400/$.
Also, to boost trust and confidence in the Nigerian economy, the CBN Governor stressed how critical it is to resolve the foreign exchange backlog.
The CBN recently disclosed it successfully paid off $7 billion in inherited claims and cleared all valid foreign exchange backlogs.
However, analysts at Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc., and Standard Chartered Plc, said the naira could appreciate up to 25% versus the dollar this year.
This is because of large interest rate rises and other measures taken to draw in foreign money.
Recall that since June, when newly elected President Bola Tinubu abolished Nigeria’s long-standing practice of manipulating the exchange rate in addition to other measures aimed at luring foreign capital and bolstering the country’s economy, the value of the naira has declined twice.
Investors are hanging onto Dangote Cement, the billionaire family’s highly valued company that has endured price wars, inflation, and the currency crisis.
For instance, Dangote Cement recorded a 36% increase in sales year over year, reaching $1.44 billion for; last year.
The producer’s profit after taxes increased to US$300 million, a 19% increase. Dangote Cement’s market share gain in Africa persisted, as pan-African volumes increased by 13% to 11.3 metric tons. As of now, Dangote Cement’s stock has increased by 114.7%.
Aliko Dangote also intends to establish an oil trading company, perhaps headquartered in London, to manage the supply of crude and other goods for his new refinery in Nigeria.
Such a move will tame the reliance on the world’s largest trading companies, after negotiating for months with them to give the refinery funding and crude oil in exchange for product exports.
With its massive 650,000 barrel-per-day refinery, the world’s oil and gasoline flows are about to be redirected, and the trading community is closely monitoring its operations.
Consequently, the 66-year-old entrepreneur announced the free distribution of one million ten-kg rice bags throughout Nigeria in support of the Federal Government’s Palliative Program, which aims to fight hunger and ensure food security for Nigerians.
One million bags of rice are reportedly being distributed to Nigerians by Dangote as part of the company’s intervention to address the growing socioeconomic hardship that most Nigerians face.
The Kano-born billionaire stated that the Dangote Group spent N5billion to secure one million bags of 10 kg rice for Nigerians, as he simultaneously kicked off the rice distribution on Saturday in Lagos, the group’s headquarters, and Kano State, the man’s native land.
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