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Four Nigerians Make Forbes List Of 13 Black Billionaires For 2019

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No fewer than 13 black persons made up the 2,153 people who made the Forbes list of the World’s Billionaires for 2019. The list of black persons improved from 11 a year ago.

Nigerian Cement tycoon, Aliko Dangote is still the richest black person in the world with a fortune estimated at $10.9 billion. He’s closely followed by Nigerian oil and telecoms mogul, Mike Adenuga.

American businessman, David Stewart, who is the majority owner of World Wide Technology, an $11.2 billion (sales) IT provider, whose customers include Citi, Verizon and the federal government, joins the Black Billionaires Club with a fortune Forbes estimates at $3 billion.

Nigerian businessman Abdulsamad Rabiu, who made his fortune in cement, flour, edible oils and real estate, returns to the 3-Comma club after a multi-year hiatus. He last featured on the Forbes list of the World’s Billionaires in 2014. In December 2018, Rabiu merged his privately owned Kalambaina Cement Company with listed firm Cement Co. of Northern Nigeria, which he controlled.

The new, larger company has a market capitalization of more than $800 million, with Rabiu owning more than 90% of the company’s stock. The value of his shares in the new Cement Co. of Northern Nigeria provided a shot in the arm to his fortune, which Forbes estimates at $1.6 billion.

Nigeria’s Folorunsho Alakija, American TV mogul Oprah Winfrey and Angolan investor Isabel dos Santos still remain the only black female billionaires in the world.

These are the 13 richest black people on earth:

Aliko Dangote, $10.9 billion

Nigerian, Sugar, Cement, Flour

The Cement and commodities tycoon retains his title as the world’s richest black man this year. After building his fortune in sugar, flour and cement, the Nigerian tycoon is embarking on his most ambitious project to date- a private oil refinery in Nigeria which will have a refining capacity of 6500,000 barrels a day and is expected to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on oil imports. Dangote started out in business more than 3 decades ago by trading in commodities like cement, flour and sugar with a loan he received from his maternal uncle and went on to build the Dangote Group, the largest industrial conglomerate in West Africa.

Mike Adenuga, $9.1 billion

Nigerian, Oil, Telecoms

Nigerian-born Mike Adenuga, the world’s second richest black person, built his fortune in oil and mobile telecoms. His Conoil Producing Company was one of the first indigenous Nigerian companies to be granted an oil exploration license in the early 90s. The company is the operator of six blocks in the Niger Delta and also owns a25% stake in the Joint Development Zone (JDZ) Block 4. He is also the founder and sole owner of Globacom, a Nigerian mobile phone network that has more than 40 million subscribers in Nigeria and neighbouring African countries. His property company, Cobblestone Properties, owns hundreds of prime residential and commercial property all over Nigeria.

Robert Smith, $5 billion

American, Private Equity

Robert Smith, a former Goldman Sachs executive, is the founder of private equity firm Vista Equity Partners that focuses exclusively on investing in software companies. The firm has more than $30 billion in assets and is one of the best-performing private equity firms, posting annualized returns of 22% since inception.

David Steward, $ 3 billion

American, Tech

David Steward is the co-founder and chairman of IT provider World Wide Technology, World Wide Technology, an $11.2 billion (sales) IT provider, whose customers include Citi, Verizon and the federal government.

Oprah Winfrey, $2.5 billion

American, Television

Oprah is still the richest African-American person in the world thanks largely to the 25 years of her profitable daytime TV show and earnings from her Harpo production company. Her cable channel, OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) is also cash flow positive for the first time and is enjoying favorable ratings as a result of securing exclusive TV interviews with headline-grabbers like disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong, Beyonce and gay NBA player Jason Collins. One of America’s most generous philanthropists, Oprah continues to give to education causes and has spent about $100 million on the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.

Strive Masiyiwa, $2.4 billion

Zimbabwean, Telecoms

Masiyiwa, who is worth $2.4 billion, is the founder of Econet, one of the leading mobile telecoms companies in Africa. It has more than 10 million subscribers spread across Zimbabwe, Botswana, Burundi and Lesotho. In February, he pledged the sum of $100 million to establish a fund to invest in rural entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe.

Isabel Dos Santos, $2.3 billion

Angolan, Investments

The oldest daughter of Angola’s former president, Isabel dos Santos has built an impressive investment portfolio that includes a 25% stake in Angolan mobile phone company Unitel and a 25% stake in Angolan bank Banco BIC SA. Other holdings include a substantial stake in Nos SGPS, a Portuguese cable TV company and just under 20% of Banco BPI, one of Portugal’s largest publicly traded banks.

Patrice Motsepe, $2.3 billion

South African, Mining

South Africa’s first and only black billionaire is the founder of African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), a Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed mining company that has in platinum, nickel, chrome, iron, manganese, coal, copper and gold. He also owns a large stake in African Rainbow Capital, a private equity firm focusing on investments in the financial services sector.

Michael Jordan, $1.9 billion

American, Basketball

Basketball’s greatest player is the majority shareholder of Charlotte Bobcats and enjoys lucrative deals with the likes of Gatorade, Hanes and Upper Deck. His biggest pile comes from Brand Jordan, a $1 billion (sales) sportswear partnership with Nike.

Michael Lee-Chin, $1.9 billion

Canadian, Investments

Lee-Chin, a Canadian of Jamaican origin, made a fortune investing in financial companies. He owns a 65% stake in National Commercial Bank Jamaica, which makes up the bulk of his fortune.

Abdulsamad Rabiu, $1.6 billion

Nigerian, Cement, Sugar

Abdulsamad Rabiu is the founder of BUA Group, a Nigerian conglomerate with interests in sugar refining, cement production, real estate, steel, port concessions, manufacturing, oil gas and shipping. BUA Group’s annual revenues are estimated at over $2 billion. Abdulsamad got his start in business working for his father, Isyaku Rabiu, a successful businessman from Nigeria’s Northern region. He struck out on his own in 1988, importing rice, sugar, edible oils as well as steel and iron rods.

Folorunsho Alakija, $1.1 billion

Nigerian, Oil

Nigeria’s first female billionaire is the founder of Famfa Oil, a Nigerian company that owns a substantial participating interest in OML 127, a lucrative oil block on the Agbami deep-water oilfield in Nigeria. Alakija started off as a secretary in a Nigerian merchant bank in the 1970s, then quit her job to study fashion design in England. Upon her return, she founded a Nigerian fashion label that catered to upscale clientele, including Maryam Babangida, wife to Nigeria’s former military president Ibrahim Babangida.

Mohammed Ibrahim, $1.1 billion

British, Mobile Telecoms, Investments

Sudanese-born Mohammed “Mo” Ibrahim founded Celtel International in 1998, one of the first mobile phone companies serving Africa and the Middle East. He sold it to Kuwait’s Mobile Telecommunications Company for $3.4 billion in 2005 and pocketed $1.4 billion. In 2007 he founded the Mo Ibrahim Foundation which promotes good governance in Africa.

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Nigerians experience blackout as national grid collapses second time in 72 hours

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The national grid has collapsed for the second time in 72 hours, leaving Nigerians in total blackout.

Data obtained from the Nigerian system operator’s portal showed that the grid recorded zero megawatts (MW) as of Thursday.

TheCable observed that the generation power dropped from 3,743MW at 10am to 2,709MW at 11am.

As of noon, the grid only recorded 3.70MW and 4.10MW at 1pm.

The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) is yet to confirm the incident at the time of the report.

However, on its social media platform, Ikeja Electric Distribution Company (IKEDC) said it is experiencing a system outage affecting its supply.

“Please be informed that we experienced a system outage today 07 November, 2024 at 11:29Hrs affecting supply within our network,” IKEDC said.

“Restoration of supply is ongoing in collaboration with our critical stakeholders.Kindly bear with us.”

On Tuesday, the grid experienced a collapse – the ninth time in 2024.

TCN had blamed a series of lines and generator trippings as the reason for the instability of the grid and a partial disturbance.

On October 17, Adebayo Adelabu, minister of power, said the frequent system failure at the national grid is inevitable due to the outdated infrastructure.

Adelabu also said the country will continue to experience grid disturbances until there is a complete overhaul of the system.

The minister said more investment in power infrastructure will prevent future collapses.

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For second time in 4 months, DisCos raise meter prices by 28.03%

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Electricity Distribution Companies, DisCos, have announced a rise in the price of various electricity meter models, making it the second price hike in four months.

According to the DisCos, the cost of a single-phase meter has risen from approximately N117,000 to as much as N149,800. This amount indicates an increase of 28.03 per cent or N32,800, depending on the distribution company and meter vendor.

The new prices posted on the official X handle of the Discos yesterday were scheduled to take effect on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. It also reflected the deregulation of meter asset providers as directed by the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC.

It was learned that the upward revision followed an earlier increase in August 2024, further amplifying concerns among electricity consumers about affordability and accessibility.

An analysis of the documents revealed that meter prices vary across DisCos, influenced by vendors and meter models (single-phase and three-phase).

Eko DisCo pegged the price of its Single Phase Metre between N135,987.5 and N161,035, while a Three Phase Metre was pegged between N226,600 and N266,600.

Ibadan DisCo said customers will pay between a range of N130,998 and N142,548 for a single-phase meter and N226,556.25–NN232,008 for a three-phase meter.

Customers under Abuja DisCo will pay N123,130.53–NN147,812.5 for single-phase meters and N206,345.65–NN236,500 for three-phase meters.

Kano Electricity Distribution said its customers will pay N127,925–N129,999 for a single-phase metre and N223,793–NN235,425 for a three-phase meter.

In April, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission introduced a significant policy shift by announcing the deregulation of meter prices under the Metre Asset Provider, MAP, scheme for end-user customers.

The move was targeted at addressing lingering issues surrounding meter supply and pricing transparency within the electricity sector.

According to NERC’s latest order, meter prices under the MAP scheme will now be determined through competitive bidding, rather than being centralised.

This shift is expected to foster greater competition among meter providers, ultimately improving cost efficiency and service delivery for end users.

The deregulation removes earlier operational restrictions, allowing MAP permit holders to provide metering services across all electricity distribution companies in Nigeria.

However, MAPs must meet specific regulatory requirements to ensure compliance and maintain quality standards in service delivery.

Recall that NERC regulated meter prices, which were often subsidised across all DisCos to reduce costs for customers. While this model aimed to make metering affordable, it inadvertently stifled competition and limited transparency in the supply chain.

As a result, DisCos and customers were unable to negotiate or explore better deals from meter vendors, contributing to inefficiencies in the system.

With deregulation now in place, NERC anticipates a more dynamic metering ecosystem where customers and DisCos can benefit from competitive pricing, improved service quality, and greater accountability among meter providers.

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Zenith Bank reassures customers following successful IT upgrade

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Zenith Bank Plc has assured its customers of exceptional service delivery and improved customer experience following the successful completion of its Information Technology (IT) infrastructure upgrade.

In a statement made available to Vanguard, the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive of Zenith Bank Plc, Dame Dr. Adaora Umeoji, expressed her immense gratitude to all customers of the bank for their patience and support during its recent IT infrastructure migration to a new and more robust operating system.

Emphasizing the bank’s commitment to delivering unparalleled service experience, Dame Adaora said: “We undertook such an extensive endeavor in other to better position Zenith Bank Plc for improved service delivery to all our valued customers and provide memorable banking experiences at all our touchpoints,” adding that the bank now has one of the best technology infrastructure in the Nigerian banking industry, and is well positioned to ensure customers experience exceptional service delivery going forward.

Zenith Bank has continued to distinguish itself in the Nigerian financial services industry through superior service offering, unique customer experience and sound financial indices. The bank has remained a clear leader in the digital space with several firsts in the deployment of innovative products, solutions and an assortment of alternative channels that ensure convenience, speed and safety of transactions.

The bank’s track record of excellent performance has continued to earn the brand numerous awards including being recognised as the Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital for the 15th consecutive year in the 2024 Top 1000 World Banks Ranking, published by The Banker Magazine.

The Bank was also awarded the Bank of the Year (Nigeria) in The Banker’s Bank of the Year Awards for 2020 and 2022; and Most Sustainable Bank, Nigeria 2023 and 2024 in the International Banker Banking Awards.

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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