For practically a decade, the $10 billion line has stood as one of many hardest markers for Nigerian wealth. Aliko Dangote crossed it first, constructing a cement empire that reshaped manufacturing throughout Africa. In 2016, Mike Adenuga (now at $6.4 billion) adopted, briefly becoming a member of that uncommon circle with a web price above $10 billion, in response to U.S. enterprise journal Forbes.
Since then, Dangote has stood alone, along with his fortune climbing effectively past that stage and not too long ago rising above $20 billion, making him the primary and solely African to achieve that mark. Bloomberg pegs his net worth at $30.4 billion, reinforcing his place as Africa’s richest individual.
That exclusivity could quickly finish. Abdul Samad Rabiu, the chairman and founding father of BUA Group, is closing in on the identical milestone. Forbes estimates his net worth at $9.8 billion on the time of drafting this report, up from $9.5 billion on Jan. 1, 2026, after a $400 million enhance this yr. The hole between Rabiu and the $10 billion mark has narrowed to about $200 million, placing him on the verge of changing into the third Nigerian to ever attain that stage of wealth.
Market rally lifts BUA shares
Rabiu’s rise follows a well-recognized Nigerian sample. Like Dangote, he constructed his fortune in cement, sugar, meals processing and infrastructure, sectors tied carefully to inhabitants development and on a regular basis consumption. However the timing of his current positive factors displays one thing extra rapid: a robust rally on the Nigerian Change that has lifted share costs throughout the board and pushed the bourse’s market capitalization above the N100 trillion mark.
The surge in Rabiu’s web price is rooted virtually totally in his fairness holdings. His wealth is carefully linked to the efficiency of BUA Cement and BUA Foods, the 2 publicly listed pillars of his enterprise empire. BUA Cement’s shares rose 2.5 % not too long ago, extending a rally that has delivered positive factors of about 96 % over the previous yr. The cement big produces 11 million tonnes yearly and ranks as Nigeria’s second-largest producer. Rabiu owns 97.66 % of the corporate, a stake now valued at N5.9 trillion, or about $4.1 billion.
A fair bigger driver has been BUA Meals. Shares of the meals producer have climbed 92.5 % year-on-year, lifting the worth of Rabiu’s 92.63 % holding to N13.32 trillion, roughly $9.28 billion. Debt has tempered these positive factors. Bloomberg estimates Rabiu’s miscellaneous liabilities at about $2.98 billion, a determine that continues to weigh on his web price and retains it just under the $10 billion line. Even so, the route of his fortune displays the energy of his core companies reasonably than monetary engineering or one-off asset gross sales.
BUA Meals, BUA Cement earnings leap
Sturdy working efficiency has accompanied the rise in Rabiu’s wealth. BUA Meals reported a profit of N405.2 billion ($283.5 million) for the 9 months ended Sept. 30, 2025, greater than double the determine a yr earlier. Income climbed to N1.42 trillion ($987 million), helped by increased gross sales and tighter value administration regardless of inflation and provide chain pressures.
BUA Cement also posted sharp gains. Revenue rose to N289.86 billion ($200 million) for a similar interval, in contrast with N48.97 billion a yr earlier, pushed by increased costs and regular demand. Income elevated to N858.7 billion ($590 million), whereas belongings and fairness expanded. Collectively, the outcomes level to companies that aren’t solely benefiting from rising share costs however are additionally producing money and earnings at a sooner tempo.
Industrial empire propels Rabiu’s web price
For Rabiu, the numbers inform a narrative of scale constructed patiently over years. His group has grown into one in every of Africa’s most diversified manufacturing and industrial conglomerates, with operations that contact building websites, meals factories and family kitchens. The market rally has amplified the worth of these belongings, turning operational energy into a visual leap in wealth.
If Rabiu crosses the $10 billion mark, he would be part of Dangote and Adenuga in a membership that has remained strikingly small for Africa’s most populous nation. It could even be the primary time in years that multiple Nigerian is above that threshold. Dangote, now price greater than $20 billion and, by Bloomberg’s estimate, $30.4 billion, would stay far forward.
