The jump followed reports that Meta is developing a full suite of AI tools tailored for advertisers. Investors clearly liked what they heard. By the end of trading, Meta shares had gained $23.41, closing at $670.90, far outpacing the S&P 500, which rose by just 0.4%.

Zuckerberg’s new total, according to Forbes, is $231.6 billion. That places him squarely in second place on the global billionaires’ list, nudging Amazon’s Jeff Bezos down a notch. Elon Musk still leads, with a net worth of $420.6 billion, despite shedding $2.1 billion the same day.

To put this in perspective: Jeff Bezos added $1.5 billion on Monday. Oracle’s Larry Ellison gained nearly $1 billion. Steve Ballmer inched forward by $359 million. Meanwhile, others saw red. Bernard Arnault and his family lost $2.9 billion.

Google’s Larry Page and Sergey Brin slipped by $2 billion and $1.9 billion respectively. It was a mixed day for billionaires, but Zuckerberg emerged the biggest winner.

Meta’s renewed focus on artificial intelligence is a calculated pivot. While the company has poured years, and billions, into its metaverse project, returns have been elusive. Now, it appears Mark Zuckerberg is betting on a more immediate driver of growth: AI. And it’s paying off.

He still owns around 13% of Meta and controls its decision-making through a dual-class share structure. Despite years of issues over privacy, content moderation, and monopolistic practices, Meta remains strong, with Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp reaching billions of users daily.

It’s also worth remembering: in 2015, he and his wife Priscilla Chan committed to giving away 99% of their Meta holdings during their lifetimes through the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

The Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List updates constantly, reflecting the unbalanced nature of tech wealth. Seven of the top ten fortunes are still rooted in technology. And as this week proves, one product announcement, or even a rumour of one, can dramatically shift the order.

Coming closely behind him are the Chairman of Globalcom  Dr, Mike Adenuga, and Abdul Samad Rabiu of BUA Group, maintaining Number 5 and 6 spots with a net worth of  $6.9 billion and $5.9 billion respectively.

Dangote’s ally, Femi Otedola, who is Chairman of Geregu Power Plc, ranked among the 20 richest persons in Africa.

Otedola last appeared on the Forbes Africa list in 2017 when he held a controlling stake in Forte Oil.

Forbes in its list released yesterday said the fortunes of Africa’s wealthiest people rebounded slightly in the past 12 months, reversing the decline in their fortunes from a year ago.

On Otedola, Forbes said, “Otedola phased out his oil investments during a government push to privatise the country’s energy business in 2013, using a Forte subsidiary to purchase Geregu, a public power generation plant.

“He owned about 90 per cent 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.

“His 73 per cent 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.

“After taking Otedola’s comeback into account, Africa’s billionaires dipped slightly, but still fared better than the decline of four per cent 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 per cent in the final two months of 2023 but still ended down more than 9% in the 12 months through January 8, 2024,” Forbes stated.

Below is the list of the top 20 richest billionaires in Africa

1. Aliko Dangote – $13.9 billion
2. Johann Rupert & family – $10.1 billion
3. Nicky Oppenheimer & family – $9.4 billion
4. Nassef Sawiris – $8.7 billion
5. Mike Adenuga – $6.9 billion
6. Abdulsamad Rabiu – $5.9 billion
7. Naguib Sawiris -$3.8 billion
8. Mohammed Mansour – $3.2 billion
9. Roos Bekker – $2.7 billion
10. Patrice Motsepe – $2.7 billion
11. Issad Rebrab & family – $2.5 billion
12. Mohammed Dewji – $1.8 billion
13. Strive Masiyiwa – $1.8 billion
14. Aziz Akhannouch & family – $1.7 billion
15. Othman Benjelloun & family – $1.4 billion
16. Youseff Mansour – $1.3 billion
17. Yassen Mansour – $1.2 billion
18. Christoffel Wiese – $1.2 billion
19. Michiel Le Roux – $1.1 billion
20. Femi Otedola – $1.1 billion