Ventures Africa launches list of Africa's Richest People for 2014

Ventures Africa, an African business magazine
and news service, has today launched its
second annual ranking of Africa’s wealthiest
people. The Richest People in Africa list
remains the most comprehensive compilation of
the continent’s wealthiest individuals.
In 2014, Ventures Africa counted 55 African
billionaires with a net worth totalling $161.7
billion, a 12.4% rise from $143.8 billion in
2013.
This year Nigeria remains the continent’s top
contributor to the Rich List. Of the
55billionaires, 23 are Nigerian. Their collective
wealth is $77.7 billion. This is 48 percent of the
total Rich List wealth, almost as much as the
other countries combined.
Other key findings from the research include:
· Nigeria has four new billionaires. Cletus
Ibeto, founder of multi-business
conglomerate, Ibeto Group, leads the list of
newcomers with a net worth of $3.7 billion.
He is followed by Benedict Peters, an oil
magnate valued at $2.7 billion. Well-known
financier and philanthropist Tony Elumelu,
valued at $1.6 billion, and Akanimo Udofia,
worth $1 billion, complete the list.
· AlikoDangote, founder of Africa’s largest
industrial conglomerate Dangote Group,
remains the continent’s richest man. His
net worth has grown to $25.7 billion, a 21%
rise from his $20.2 billion valuation in
2013.
· Igho Sanomi, a Nigerian oil trader,
shares the position of Africa’s youngest
billionaire with Mohammed Dewji,
Tanzania’s richest man. At 39, Igho Sanomi,
the founder of oil conglomerate Taleveras
Group, is worth $1.3 billion.
· FolorunshoAlakija, the richest black
woman in the world, is worth $7.3 billion
dollars.
· Almost 40% of Nigeria’s billionaires’
wealth is tied to its oil and gas industry.
Chi-Chi Okonjo, Founder of Ventures Africa,
said:
"The Ventures Africa Rich List is the most
authoritative accounting of individual
African wealth. We have been able to do
so because of our on-the-ground
experience and detailed knowledge of the
local African business landscape.”
The list has been compiled using financial
reports, by tracking equity holdings around
stock markets and identifying specific
shareholding structures in large, privately-held
companies. The results have been corroborated
with investment bankers, realtors and financial
analysts to determine proper valuations.
To view the full Ventures Africa Rich List please
visit: richlist.ventures-africa.com /2014