Nigerian billionaire Abdul Samad Rabiu lost $255 million in the first 2 weeks of 2023, causing his net worth to decline to $7.8 billion.
The decline, according to Forbes, is due to the reassessment of several of his unlisted companies that are part of the rapidly expanding manufacturing and industrial conglomerate, BUA Group.
However, despite the setback, the billionaire cement tycoon is still ranked the second wealthiest person in the country.
The billionaire has stakes in cement production, real estate, and infrastructure construction.
He is one of the top four wealthiest billionaires in Africa with a net worth of more than $7.8 billion.
He recently surpassed Nassef Sawiris, the richest person in Egypt, who has a net worth of $7.1 billion.
Rabiu’s net worth rose from $4.9 billion to $8.1 billion when the shares of his unified food company BUA Foods Plc were listed a year ago.
The steady rise in his net worth over the previous year can also be ascribed to the rise in the market value of his 92 per cent ownership stake in BUA Cement.
The cement company recorded a 12.3% increase in profit in the first nine months of 2022, going from N65.9 billion ($145 million) in the same period of 2021 to N74 billion ($168.4 million).
Aside his investments and business ventures, Rabiu is renowned for his philanthropic works. He has contributed significantly to numerous humanitarian causes, especially those related to healthcare and education.
His charitable organisation, the Abdul Samad Rabiu Africa Initiative, ASR Africa, recently unveiled a N10 billion ($23.8 million) Nigeria Security Support Fund in 2022 to bolster local infrastructure and provide security equipment, medical supplies, and other supplies to families of soldiers fighting terrorists in north eastern Nigeria.
Following the $3 million development project he started in Niger, this donation is the largest ever made by a Nigerian businessman to a charitable cause.
The net worth of Abdul Samad Rabiu, Chairman of BUA Cement Plc, had earlier jumped to $7.3 billion thanks to the positive performance of his publicly traded assets on the Nigerian Exchange( NGX).
Rabiu’s net worth had risen from $4.9 billion earlier in 2022, thanks to the positive performance of his cement company, BUA Cement Plc, and the increase in the market capitalization of his food company, BUA Foods, since listing on the Nigerian Exchange on January 5.
The 62-year-old billionaire, who derives the majority of his wealth from his publicly listed companies on the Nigerian Stock Exchange BUA Cement Plc and BUA Foods Plc, saw his net worth increase by $300 million in the first week of December, 2022 from $7 billion as of November 27. Rabiu owns 98.5% of BUA Cement Plc.
The increase in the market value of his stake further solidifies his position as Nigeria’s second-richest man and one of Africa’s richest billionaires, narrowing the wealth gap between him and Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote.
During the period under review, the leading cement manufacturer opened a 3-million-metric-tonne cement factory in Sokoto, a state in northwestern Nigeria, as part of its expansion plans to meet the country’s ever-increasing cement demand as well as regional exports to other countries.
Also Africa’s leading foods, mining, and infrastructure conglomerate, BUA Group, and its Chairman, Abdul Samad Rabiu, last year clinched several awards at the just concluded 16th edition of the Sustainability, Enterprise, and Responsibility (SERAS) CSR Awards in Lagos.
BUA Group won 3 awards for Best Company in Infrastructure Development, Best Company in Social Impact/Human Capital Development and Impact Investor of The Year for its economic and human capital development across Africa while Abdul Samad Rabiu, founder and chairman of BUA Group bagged the CEO of the Year award for his exemplary leadership role, philanthropy, and positive impact across Sub- Sahara Africa.
SOURCE:https://casefileng.com/
Damilola is a seasoned journalist and media practitioner with over 2 decades of practice as a teacher, reporter and writer. He has also served as the editor of different publications in Nigeria.
Aside being an editor, Damilola also writes on Politics, Economy, Oil and Gas for Media Africa
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