Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, Femi Otedola, chairman of First HoldCo, and four other Nigerians, have been named among the World’s Black Billionaires for 2025 by Forbes Magazine.

In its annual World’s Billionaires list released recently,  Forbes said out of 3,028 billionaires around the world, only 23 are Blacks.

“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.”

Forbes said out of the 23 billionaires, only six of them are Nigerians.

Based on the magazine’s ranking, Dangote, chairman of Dangote Group, topped the list with a net worth of $23.9 billion.

Forbes said the billionaire’s fortune skyrocketed after the Dangote refinery finally began operating in early 2024, boosting businessman’s fortune by $10.5 billion since last year’s list.

With $6.8 billion net worth, Forbes said Mike Adenuga, owner of Globacom, a telecommunications firm, is the second Nigerian, ranking fifth on the list.

Abdulsamad Rabiu, founder of BUA Group, is ranked sixth on the publication’s world Black billionaire list. With $5.1 billion net worth, the billionaire is the third Nigerian on the list.

Another Nigerian on the list is Adebayo Ogunlesi, chief executive officer (CEO) of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) with $2.2 billion net worth.

In October 2024, GIP was acquired by BlackRock for $12.5 billion in cash and shares. Ogunlesi is said to be the 11th Black billionaire in the world according Forbes.

Following closely in the 12th position is Otedola, chairman of Geregu, with a net worth of $1.5 billion.

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,” Forbes said.

The last Nigerian on the World’s Black Billionaires 2025 list is Tope Awotona. 

Forbes said Awotona in 2013, founded Calendly, a scheduling software startup, which private investors valued at $3 billion in 2021.

The media company said Awotona, ranking 14th on the list, has a net worth of $1.4 billion