South Africa’s Johan Rupert overtakes Dangote, becomes Africa’s richest man

South African billionaire and chairman of luxury goods conglomerate Richemont, Johan Rupert, has overtaken Aliko Dangote of Nigeria as the richest man in Africa.

This development comes after Dangote experienced a decline in his net worth exceeding $1 billion.

According to the latest data from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Rupert’s net worth now stands at $14.3 billion, surpassing Dangote’s $13.4 billion. The gain can be attributed to Rupert’s year-to-date increase of $1.87 billion.

In contrast, Dangote, the owner of the Dangote Group, has faced substantial losses, with his net worth declining by approximately $1.69 billion year-to-date. His conglomerate has been severely impacted by Nigeria’s challenging macroeconomic environment, where it primarily operates.

The group has faced setbacks at its refinery due to production delays and other industrial issues, further influenced by the steep depreciation of the Nigerian naira.