- Forbes recently released the list of the world’s billionaires
- There are only 23 blacks out of 3,028 billionaires on the list
- Dangote, Adenuga, Rabiu, and three other Nigerians were named on the Forbes 2025 World’s Billionaires list
Six Nigerians were among the billionaires named in the recently released annual Forbes World’s Billionaires list.
They include Aliko Dangote, Mike Adenuga, Abdulsamad Rabiu, Adebayo Ogunlesi, Femi Otedola, and Tope Awotona.
The annual ranking showed a record 3,028 billionaires worldwide, the highest since the list began in 1987.
Forbes disclosed that the world’s billionaires are collectively worth $16.1 trillion, $2 trillion more than a year ago.
Only 23 out of 3,028 world billionaires are blacks
The Forbes list also showed that only 23 out of the 3,028 billionaires in the world are blacks, representing 0.8 per cent of the total number of world billionaires.
Of this number, only six are Nigerians.
“Twenty-three of them are Black—just 0.8% of the list—but they’re a wealthy and impressive bunch.
“Overall, these 23 have amassed $96.2 billion in wealth, mainly from the finance, energy, and technology sectors,” Forbes stated.
Here are the six Nigerians on Forbes World’s Billionaires list
1. Aliko Dangote
According to Forbes’ ranking, Aliko Dangote, the Chairman of Dangote Group, is at the top of Nigeria’s billionaires.
The magazine said Dangote is worth $23.9 billion and occupied the 83rd spot on the Forbes’ ranking.
Forbes said that after the Dangote Refinery finally began operations in early 2024, Dangote’s fortunes recorded a $10.5 billion boost since last year’s list.
2. Mike Adenuga
Adenuga is the second among the list of Nigerians on Forbes 2025 World’s Billionaires list with a $6.8 billion net worth.
Adenuga, the owner of Nigerian telecommunications company, Globacom, ranked fifth on the list of black billionaires and 498th on the World’s Billionaires list.
3. Abdulsamad Rabiu
With a $5.1 billion net worth, Abdulsamad Rabiu, founder of BUA Group, is the third Nigerian on Forbes list.
Rabiu is ranked sixth on the publication’s world Black billionaires list and 700th on the World's Billionaires list.
4. Adebayo Ogunlesi
Adebayo Ogunlesi, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), is another Nigerian on the list.
With a net worth of $2.2 billion, Ogunlesi is the 11th Black billionaire in the world, according to Forbes.
In October 2024, Ogunlesi sold GIP to BlackRock for $12.5 billion in cash and shares.
He occupies the 1,626th position on the 2025 Forbes World's Billionaires list.
5. Femi Otedola
The Chairman of Geregu Power and Chairman of the Board of Directors of First HoldCo Plc, Femi Otedola, is the 12th Black billionaire on Forbes list.
Otedola boasts a net worth of $1.5 billion and occupies the 2,233rd position on Forbes World's Billionaires list.
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.”
6. Tope Awotona
The sixth Nigerian and 14th billionaire on the 2025 Forbes World’s Black Billionaires list is Tope Awotona.
Awotona has a net worth of $1.4 billion and is on the 2,356th position on Forbes World's Billionaires list.
Forbes said Awotona, in 2013, founded Calendly, a scheduling software startup, which private investors valued at $3 billion in 2021.
Elon Musk tops Forbes’ 39th World’s Billionaires list as Zuckerberg, Bezos, Ellison, Arnault follow
Meanwhile, TheRadar earlier reported that Elon Musk took the top spot on Forbes’ 39th annual World’s Billionaires list following a surge in his net worth, which skyrocketed by 75 per cent to $342 billion.
This is according to a statement released by Forbes on its website on Tuesday, April 1, which showed that Musk surpassed French luxury mogul, Bernard Arnault, to clinch the top spot.
