The Forbes Real-Time Billionaire Index and the Bloomberg
Billionaire Index, both renowned measures
of global wealth, are currently at
odds regarding the identity of Africa’s richest individual.
According to the Forbes real-time billionaire index, Aliko
Dangote, the Chairman of the Dangote Group, has lost his status as Africa’s
wealthiest person. The index reveals that Dangote has been surpassed by South
African entrepreneur Johann Rupert and his family, who now claim the top spot
in Africa and rank 145th globally.
Forbes states that Dangote’s current net worth is $10.7 billion,
positioning him at 171st place worldwide and second in Africa, trailing behind
Rupert. In contrast, the Bloomberg index still designates Dangote as Africa’s
richest person, with a net worth of $16.8 billion, albeit declining from over
$20 billion. Bloomberg ranks Dangote 101st globally in its index. Meanwhile,
Rupert and his family are valued at $13.6 billion, securing 137th place
globally and second in Africa according to Bloomberg.
The decline in Dangote’s wealth can be attributed to the
depreciation of the Nigerian naira resulting from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s
decision to introduce a free float of the currency. Previously valued at N464
to the US dollar at the Investors’ and Exporters’ window, the naira has
plummeted to as low as N791 against the dollar, ultimately closing at N663.04
on Friday. This significant devaluation has had a substantial impact on the
valuation of Dangote’s traded stocks on the Nigerian Exchange Limited when
denominated in dollars.
Forbes and Bloomberg employ different methodologies to
calculate the real-time billionaires ranking. Forbes tracks and updates the net
worth and ranking of billionaires on a continuous basis. The values of
individuals’ public holdings are updated every five minutes while the stock
markets are open, with a 15-minute delay for stock prices. If an individual’s
net worth is predominantly tied to private companies, their wealth is updated
once per day. In such cases, if the individual’s stake in a private company
accounts for 20% or more of their net worth, the value of the company is
adjusted based on an industry- or region-specific market index provided by
their partners at FactSet Research Systems.
Bloomberg’s net worth calculations consider dividend income
and proceeds from the sale of both publicly traded and closely held shares.
They deduct taxes based on the prevailing rates in the billionaire’s country of
residence. The Bloomberg Billionaire Index is a dynamic measure that takes into
account changes in markets, the economy, and Bloomberg’s reporting. Each net
worth figure is updated daily after the close of trading in New York, and the
valuation of publicly traded companies’ stakes is based on the most recent
closing price. Valuations are converted to US dollars using current exchange
rates.
For closely held assets, if ownership cannot be verified,
they are excluded from the calculations. Specific valuation methodologies for
each closely held company are detailed in a billionaire’s profile. Additional
information on valuation notes and assets is available to Bloomberg
Professional Service subscribers. A standard liquidity discount of 5% is
applied to most closely held companies to account for potential difficulties in
selling assets. Different percentages are used in specific cases, and no liquidity
discounts are applied to publicly traded stakes. Country risk discounts may be
implemented based on the concentration of assets and the ease of selling them
within a particular geography, with assessments based on Standard & Poor’s
sovereign debt ratings.
In cases where a billionaire has pledged shares as collateral
or taken loans against them, the value of those shares or the loan amount is
subtracted from the net worth calculation. If reliable information is available
about the ultimate use of borrowed funds, that value is added back into the
calculation.
