With the recent slump, Dangote, who derives the majority of his net worth from his 86.6-percent stake in Dangote Cement, joins a long list of African billionaires whose wealth has declined by more than $200 million since the beginning of this year. As of press time on Sept. 13, Bloomberg estimates his year-to-date wealth loss to be more than $210 million, as his net worth has declined from $19.1 billion at the beginning of the year to $18.9 billion at the time of drafting this report. Shares in Dangote Cement, Africa’s leading cement behemoth with a production capacity of 51.55 million tonnes per year across 10 countries, have fallen from N257 ($0.6) to N245 ($0.573) since the start of the year. On the other hand, the market value of Dangote’s 86.6-percent stake in the company has fallen by $410 million since the beginning of 2022, from $8.79 billion to $8.38 billion. The drop in the company’s stock can be attributed to investors’ reaction to its half-year earnings figures, which revealed a double-digit drop in profit in the first half of 2022 due to higher energy costs and unrealized foreign exchange losses. Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote has now dropped out of the list of the top 80 richest billionaires, as his net worth plummeted below the $19-billion threshold for the first time since Sept. 29, 2021, according to data obtained from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. With a net worth of $19.2 billion at the start of the year, Dangote ranked as the 97th wealthiest person in the world. On May 13, the Nigerian billionaire businessman and industrialist emerged as the world’s 61st richest man after his net worth surpassed $21 billion for the first time since 2014. Since then, despite receiving a total dividend from his publicly traded businesses of $725.2 million this year, a significant increase over the $639.5 million that he received last year, his net worth has gone on a downward trend, wiping out prior gains and pushing him back on the world’s richest list. The recent decline in his net worth, which has brought his wealth figures below $19 billion, can be attributed to the fall in the share price of his flagship company, Dangote Cement.
Ghana’s finance minister said on Friday that he was “truly sorry” for the country’s economic hardship but defended himself against accusations that he is unfit for the job. Minister Kenneth Ofori-Atta faced an inquiry from lawmakers for his financial management, as the government came under increasing pressure and President Nana Akufo-Addo faced growing criticism for what has become Ghana’s worst economic crisis in a generation. In the middle of the inquiry and crisis, the government has also been negotiating up to $3bn in credit from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to help shore up public finances. A top cocoa and gold producer, Ghana also has oil and gas reserves, but its debt service payments are high and like the rest of the continent it has been hit hard by fallout from the global pandemic and the Ukraine war. The Ghanaian cedi has plummeted more than 40 percent this year, straining importers of both raw and processed materials. Consumer inflation hit a 21-year high of 40.4 percent in October on the back of soaring import costs. Against this backdrop, Ofori-Atta has faced censure with lawmakers from both major political parties calling for his removal from office. Last week, parliament set up a committee to investigate opposition allegations that he has been benefitting from Ghana’s economic woes through illegal payments and unethical contracts, among other charges. In his first public comments on the matter, the embattled minister said he was concerned about the West African country’s woes, but added that the accusations were unfounded. “I acknowledge our economy is facing difficulties and the people of Ghana are enduring hardships,” he said. “As the person President Akufo-Addo has put in charge of this economy, I feel the pain personally, professionally, and in my soul.” He said that by the end of the hearing, the “unfounded doubts about my motives, my competence and my character would have been dispelled”. He also denied claims that he had misreported economic data to parliament and that his policies were to blame for the cedi’s steep decline. “The idea that the depreciation of the cedi is a result of fiscal risk and recklessness is not supported by the available facts,” said Ofori-Atta. The parliamentary committee will probe the allegations against the minister before deciding to present a motion of censure to the parliament, which is equally split between the governing NPP and the opposition NDC party. The president has the final word on whether to dismiss the minister. Earlier this week, Akufo-Addo fired the government’s junior finance minister, Charles Adu Boahen, over corruption allegations after he appeared in an expose. Earlier this month, protesters also called for the president’s resignation amid spiralling food and fuel costs.
