Forbes Releases New Billionaires' List For 2025, Dangote, 5 Other Nigerians Included
- Africa's richest man, Dangote, and five other Nigerians were named among the World's Black Billionaires for 2025 by Forbes
- Forbes' most current annual World's Billionaires list shows that only 23 Black people are among the 3,028 billionaires globally
- These 23 have accumulated $96.2 billion, mostly from the technology, energy, and financial industries
Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has 5-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.
Forbes Magazine named Femi Otedola, the chairman of First HoldCo, Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest man, and four other Nigerians among the World's Black Billionaires for 2025.
Only 23 Black people are among the 3,028 billionaires worldwide, according to Forbes' most recent annual World's Billionaires list.
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“Twenty-three of them are Black—just 0.8% of the list—but they’re a wealthy and impressive bunch,” the report said.
“Overall, these 23 have amassed $96.2 billion in wealth, mainly from the finance, energy, and technology sectors.”
According to Forbes, just six of the 23 billionaires are Nigerian.
Nigerians on Forbes' World's Black Billionaires for 2025
Here is a list of the Nigerian billionaires in order of Forbes’ ranking.
Dangote
With a net worth of $23.9 billion, Dangote, the chairman of the Dangote Group, topped the magazine's rating.
According to Forbes, the Dangote refinery's eventual opening in early 2024 caused the billionaire's wealth to soar, increasing by $10.5 billion since the previous year's list.
Mike Adenuga
Mike Adenuga, the owner of the telecom company Globacom, is the second Nigerian on the list with a net worth of $6.8 billion, according to Forbes.
Abdulsamad Rabiu
On the publication's list of Black billionaires worldwide, Abdulsamad Rabiu, the founder of BUA Group, comes in at number six. The billionaire is the third Nigerian on the list with a net worth of $5.1 billion.
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Adebayo Ogunlesi
Another Nigerian on the list is Adebayo Ogunlesi, the CEO of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), who has a net worth of $2.2 billion and is the 11th Black billionaire globally, according to Forbes. In October 2024, the businessman sold GIP to BlackRock for $12.5 billion in cash and stock.
Otedola
Otedola, the chairman of Geregu, who has a net worth of $1.5 billion, comes in at number twelve.
Forbes said the billionaire “made his first fortune in commodities before selling his shares in Forte Oil to invest in the energy business”.
“Today, he is the chairman and majority owner of Geregu Power, a power generation business whose other investors include the Nigerian government and the State Grid Corporation of China,” the magazine said.
Tope Awotona
Tope Awotona is the final Nigerian on the 2025 list of the World's Black Billionaires.
According to Forbes, Awotona established the scheduling software business Calendly in 2013, and in 2021, private investors valued it at $3 billion.
According to the media firm, Awotona has a net worth of $1.4 billion and is ranked 14th on the list.
Nigeria’s 4 richest men's net worth rises by 32%
Legit.ng earlier reported that the combined net worth of Nigeria's four richest men on the Forbes Billionaire List stood at $37.1 billion as of Thursday, March 13, 2025.
This represented a 32.9% increase from the $24.9 billion combined net worth recorded on February 12, 2025.
They included Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga, Abdulsamad Rabiu, and Femi Otedola.
Proofreading by James Ojo, copy editor at Legit.ng.
