For the fourth year running, Dangote retained his position in Africa as the richest man on the continent. Dangote ,who was number 43 on the top 100 world billionaire list in 2013, took a quantum leap,as he moved up 20 spots, to retain his position in Africa and also number 23 in the world.
Bill Gates is back on top after a four-year hiatus, reclaiming the title of world’s richest person from telecoms mogul, Carlos Slim Helu of Mexico, who ranked number one for the past four years. Gates, whose fortune rose by $9 billion in the past year, has held the top spot for 15 of the past 20 years. Spanish clothing retailer Amancio Ortega (best known for the Zara fashion chain) retains the number three spot for the second year in a row, extending his lead over Warren Buffett, who is again number four.
In Nigeria, Mike Adenuga was next to Dangote on the list with a wealth of $4.6 billion, maintaining 325 position in the world, while Folorunsho Alakija ,with $2.5 billion, was 687 in the world and Abdulsamad Rabiu ranks 1372 in the world with $1.2 billion.
The year’s biggest dollar gainer was Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, whose fortune jumped $15.2 billion, to $28.5 billion, as shares of his social network soared. Tech, and more specifically Facebook, helped propel numerous fortunes lately.
The company’s COO, Sheryl Sandberg, joins the ranks for the first time, just like Facebook’s long time vice president ,Jeff Rothschild. Also, thanks to a $19 billion deal (including restricted stock) with Facebook, WhatsApp founders Jan Koum and Brian Acton join the ranks of Silicon Valley’s wealthiest for the first time.
They are four of 26 newcomers whose fortunes come from technology, 10 of whom are American, including Dropbox CEO Drew Houston and Workday cofounder Aneel Bhusri.
U.S. once again led the world with 492 billionaires, as a result of the tech boom, and strong stock market, then followed by China with 152 and Russia with 111. But wealth is spreading to new places.
Also for the first time in the history of Forbes rating, billionaires were found in Algeria, Issad Rebrab, who is into food business with $3.2bn worth, Rostam Azizi from Tanzania with $1 billion and Sudhir Ruparelia from Uganda with $1.1 billion worth.