Nigerian billionaire, Aliko Dangote has seen his wealth increase massively to stay ahead of South Africa’s Johann Ruppert, a close counterpart.

The Nigerian industrialist gained $75.1 million according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index, as his total net worth closed at $13.1 billion as of 16 September 2024. The index ranked the Nigeran businessman at 163 on the global billionaire list, with his close counterpart Ruppert at 166th position.

However, on a year-to-date basis, the tracker shows that Dangote lost $1.94 billion in 2024 as the billionaire continued to be impacted by the naira crisis amid economic turbulence. The currency fluctuation has impacted businesses operating in the country and caused manufacturers to suffer significant losses.

Legit.ng earlier reported that eight manufacturers, including Dangote, BUA, and Lafarge, experienced foreign exchange-related losses of N627.7 billion in the first quarter of this year based on the examination of the companies' financial accounts made available on the Nigerian Exchange Limited.

Similar to the Bloomberg report, Forbes also estimated Dangote’s real-time net worth at $11.7 billion as of 16 September 2024. The increase in wealth comes after the billionaire’s refinery embarked on its first petrol distribution on Sunday, September 15, 2024, to exclusively supply Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

This significant move marks a milestone in Nigeria's energy sector, which has grappled with petrol issues for decades, as none of its state-owned refineries are currently operational.

Since the removal of the fuel subsidy in May 2023, petrol prices have surged threefold, exacerbating difficulties for those who depend on petrol for their vehicles and generators amid a persistently unreliable electricity supply.

On Saturday, September 14, the NNPC announced the deployment of over 100 truck fleets to the Dangote Refinery ahead of petrol loading.