As it’s the tradition every year, Forbes has released the 2017 list of world billionaires.
We’ve had a few Nigerians making the list year-in-year-out, and 2017 is not an exception.
Here are the 3 renowned Nigerian business people on the 2017 Forbes list of world billionaires.
Aliko Dangote
Ranked 105 on the list of world billionaires, and richest man in Africa, Dangote founded and chairs Dangote Cement, the continent’s largest cement producer. The company produces 44 million metric tons annually and plans to increase its output 33% by 2020. He owns about 90% of publicly-traded Dangote Cement through a holding company, and also owns stakes in publicly-traded salt, sugar and flour manufacturing companies. He has a net worth of $12B.
Mike Adenuga
Ranked 250th richest in the world, and 2nd richest in Nigeria, Mike Adenuga built his fortune in telecom and oil production. His mobile phone network, Globacom, is the second largest operator in Nigeria with 36 million subscribers.His exploration outfit, Conoil Producing, operates 6 oil blocks in the Niger Delta.
Adenuga studied in the United States, getting an MBA at Pace University in New York, where he worked as a taxi driver to support himself. He returned to Nigeria and made his first fortune trading lace and Coca-Cola. He has a net worth of $6.1B.
Folorunsho Alakija
Folorunsho Alakija is ranked 1290 on the Forbes list of world billionaires. She is the vice chair of Famfa Oil, a Nigerian oil exploration company that has a 60% participating interest in block OML 127, part of Agbami field, one of Nigeria’s largest deepwater discoveries. Its partners include Chevron and Petrobras. Her first company was a fashion label that catered to Nigeria’s elite women, including the wife of former military president, Ibrahim Babangida, who awarded Alakija’s company an oil prospecting license. She has a net worth of $1.61B.
