Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote loses US$400 million in September

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, saw his net worth fall significantly in September due to a market-wide sell-off of shares on the Nigerian Exchange.

The sell-off was prompted by monetary tightening policies implemented by Nigeria’s Central Bank.

According to data from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which tracks the fortunes of the world’s 500 wealthiest people, Dangote, who presently ranks 68th on the list, saw a $400-million drop in his net worth in September.

Dangote is one of the few African billionaires whose net worth has decreased noticeably since the start of the year, joining Johann Rupert, Patrice Motsepe, Strive Masiyiwa, and Mohammed Al-Amoudi.

Dangote’s net worth plunged from $19.1 billion at the start of the month to $18.7 billion at the end of the month, bringing his year-to-date wealth loss to $420 million.

The multimillion-dollar drop in his net worth since the year began can be attributed to a sustained sell-off of equities on the Nigerian bourse, which affected the share price of his cement company, Dangote Cement, as well as the market value of his equity stake in the cement maker.

Dangote’s 86-percent stake in Dangote Cement, which accounts for the majority of his net worth, has been severely impacted by the company’s recent share price decline after the stock price reached an all-time high of N300 ($0.72) per share on May 19.

The drop in the share price of the cement manufacturer can be attributed primarily to investor reactions to its half-year earnings figures, which revealed a double-digit drop in profit in the first half of 2022 due to higher energy costs and unrealized foreign exchange losses.

According to the group’s most recent financial results, its profit fell by more than 10 percent in the first half of 2022, from N191.63 billion ($460.8 million) to N172.1 billion ($413.8 million).