Nigerian business mogul, Alhadji Aliko Dangote, with a net worth of $16.1 billion as at last month, retained his position as Africa’s richest man for the third consecutive year while ranking 43rd globally, according to the latest Forbes’s 2013 list of the world’s richest people; which includes 1,426 billionaires, a record number, with a total net worth of $5.4 trillion, up from $4.6 trillion in the previous ranking.
Mexican tycoon, Carlos Slim, who controls Latin American telecommunications firm, America Movil, and retail/industrial group, Grupo Carso, came in first among the mega-rich for the fourth straight year, with a fortune estimated at $73 billion, up $4 billion from a year ago.
Microsoft Chairman, Bill Gates a perennial top finisher in the list, came second with $67 billion, up $8 billion from 2012.
Zara fashion house owner, Amancio Ortega of Spain, whose Inditex fashion group includes the popular Zara chain, vaulted from the seventh position into the third spot. His wealth is now estimated at $57 billion, rocketing from $31 billion a year ago.
Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett ranked fourth with $53.5 billion, while Oracle’s Larry Ellison is fifth with $43 billion.
Asia’s richest man, Li Ka-shing, came eighth with $31 billion. He owes his fortune to his sprawling transportation, trading and energy businesses.
Dangote started building his fortune over three decades ago when he began trading in commodities like cement, flour and sugar with a loan he received from his maternal uncle.
