Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has lost about $3 billion in the last week following the devaluation of the nation’s currency, the naira.
The Nigerian billionaire is one of the most affected by the naira devaluation of the federal government, as he has lost about $7 billion since January.
Data from the Bloomberg Billionaire Index shows that Dangote’s net worth is now estimated at $14.8 billion, $3 billion less than his net worth in the second week of February 2024.
Dangote began climbing in the billionaire ranking in January, gaining a whopping $7 billion in weeks, ranked 82nd in the world, and later plummeted to 132nd wealthiest men after Nigeria devalued its currency to match up with the parallel market. Despite the excellent performance of Dangote Cement, his primary source of wealth, Nigeria’s richest man could not recoup the losses.
At the end of January 2024, Dangote’s wealth stood at a staggering $22 billion, his highest in 10 years.
Still, he lost almost a quarter of his wealth due to the policies of the Nigerian government, which eroded the gains made by the cement firm. Dangote Cement emerged as Nigeria’s most profitable company after gaining N13 trillion in market value in February 2024.
