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.
The former
Chairman of Microsoft Corporation, Bill Gates, is back on top after a four-year
hiatus, reclaiming the title of the world’s richest person from telecoms mogul,
Carlos Slim Helu of Mexico, who ranked number one for the past four years.
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 news.naij
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