Alhaji Aliko Dangote has
remained Africa’s richest man despite his losses to the devaluation of the
Naira and drops in the demand for cement his largest asset.
According to Forbes
margazine, Dangote was this “year’s biggest loser in dollar terms as his
fortune dropped to $14.7 billion from $25 billion last year, propelled downward
by a weaker Naira and shrinking demand for cement, his largest asset. He still
retains the title of Africa’s richest man.
The country that has lost the
most ground by far was Russia, which now has 88 billionaires down from 111,
less than not just the US and China but now also Germany and India.
According to Forbes’ Inside
The 2015 Forbes Billionaires List: Facts And Figures, Bill Gates is once again
the richest person on the planet, a title he’s held for 16 of the past 21
years.
His fortune grew $3.2 billion
since last year to $79.2 billion, despite a gift of $1.5 billion in Microsoft
MSFT +0.66 per cent shares to The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in
November 2014.
Carlos Slim Helu of Mexico
comes in again at number two while revered American investor, Warren Buffett,
took back the number three spot from Spain’s Amancio Ortega (now number four);
not even the largest IPO in history was enough to beat the Oracle of Omaha this
year.
Buffett was the list’s biggest
gainer, up $14.5 billion to $72.7 billion, thanks to Berkshire Hathaway’s
rising share price. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg moves up five spots to number
16, his first time ranked among the world’s 20 richest. Ma and three other
Chinese are among the the biggest gainers and appear among the 50 richest on
the list.
Zuckerberg is also the leader
in a youth revolution that has minted 46 billionaires under the age of 40.
Youngest billionaire
“The youngest billionaire on
the planet is Evan Spiegel, 24, co-founder of photo- messaging app Snapchat.
California, driven by Silicon Valley tech companies, has spawned 23 new
billionaires, including cofounders of car-hailing service Uber cofounders
Travis Kalanick and Garrett Camp, and their first employee Ryan Graves.
Elizabeth Holmes, who runs blood-testing firm Theranos, debuts on the global
list as the youngest self-made woman at age 31. The state now has 131
individuals with 10-figure net worths, more than any other country besides China
and the US.
Dangote
“The year’s biggest loser in
dollar terms is Aliko Dangote of Nigeria, whose fortune dropped to $14.7
billion from $25 billion last year, propelled downward by a weaker Nigerian
currency and shrinking demand for cement, his largest asset. He still retains
the title of Africa’s richest man.
The country that has lost the
most ground by far was Russia, which now has 88 billionaires down from 111,
less than not just the U.S. and China but now also Germany and India.
“One hundred thirty-eight
people from the 2014 list dropped out of the ranks altogether including fashion
designer, Michael Kors, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, Zulily’s Mark
Vadon and many Russians.
Guatemala has a billionaire
for the first time, and Iceland returns to the ranks after a five-year absence,
the result of a comeback by Thor Bjorgolfsson, who’s now the only billionaire
in Iceland’s history.
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