Dangote, Otedola, Elumelu: Meet 17 Nigerian Billionaires Controlling $37.7bn in Shares on NGX
- Seventeen wealthy investors held NGX-listed shares worth at least $100 million, with combined holdings valued at $37.7 billion
- Abdulsamad Rabiu and Aliko Dangote dominated the ranking, controlling roughly three-quarters of the combined listed wealth
- Tony Elumelu, Femi Otedola and Mike Adenuga featured prominently, while private assets remained excluded from valuations
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Pascal Oparada is a journalist with Legit.ng, covering technology, energy, stocks, investment, and the economy for over a decade.
Seventeen wealthy investors, including Aliko Dangote, Femi Otedola and Tony Elumelu, controlled Nigerian Exchange (NGX) shares valued at $100 million or more each as of September 11, 2026.
A review by Billionaires.Africa, based on company shareholder registers and closing share prices, valued their combined NGX holdings at about $37.7 billion.
Source: Getty Images
However, the wealth is heavily concentrated at the top. BUA Group founder Abdulsamad Rabiu and Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, alone account for roughly three-quarters of the combined value.
Six investors have listed shareholdings worth more than $1 billion each, while the remaining 11 hold stakes valued between $106 million and $1 billion.
The valuations reflect the market value of listed shareholdings rather than investors’ total net worth and exclude debts, pledged shares, and privately held businesses.
Rabiu, Dangote dominate NGX billionaire ranking
Abdulsamad Rabiu leads the ranking with listed holdings valued at about $16.5 billion.
His 16.67 billion shares in BUA Foods were worth approximately $9.58 billion, while 33.08 billion BUA Cement shares were valued at $6.95 billion.
Dangote follows with NGX investments worth about $12.1 billion spread across Dangote Cement, Dangote Sugar Refinery, NASCON Allied Industries and Jaiz Bank.
His Dangote Cement stake alone was valued at approximately $11.44 billion, accounting for about 94% of his listed holdings.
The calculation excludes Dangote Petroleum Refinery because the business was privately held at the valuation date.
Elumelu, Otedola join billion-dollar club
Tony Elumelu ranks third with NGX holdings valued at $1.39 billion.
His biggest listed investment is in Seplat Energy, where 120.4 million shares were valued at about $1.03 billion. He also has interests in UBA, Transcorp, United Capital and Africa Prudential.
Femi Otedola follows with $1.27 billion, with his entire listed position concentrated in First HoldCo, parent company of First Bank of Nigeria.
Otedola held about 12.34 billion First HoldCo shares valued at approximately $1.27 billion.
Beninese businessman Samuel Dossou-Aworet ranks fifth with $1.26 billion in Seplat Energy and Aradel Holdings. In comparison, former Zamfara governor Abdulaziz Yari and his family held a $1.20 billion stake in Geregu Power.
Ovia, Adenuga, Tinubu make NGX list
Rasheed Sarumi occupies seventh position with a $956 million Presco stake, followed by Victor Odili, whose MTN Nigeria shares through Hermitage Overseas Corporation were valued at $555 million.
Zenith Bank founder Jim Ovia ranks ninth with shares worth about $549 million, while Seplat co-founder Augustine Avuru completes the top 10 with $429 million.
Other prominent investors include Kesington Adebutu, with $295 million in Wema Bank and Vitafoam; Isiyaku Rabiu Jnr, with $272 million in BUA Foods; and GTBank co-founder Fola Adeola, whose Aradel Holdings stake was valued at $256 million.
Ladi Jadesimi follows with about $247 million, mainly from Aradel Holdings.
Adenuga ranks 15th despite massive private wealth
Billionaire businessman Mike Adenuga ranks 15th with listed holdings worth about $198 million across Julius Berger Nigeria, Sterling Financial Holdings and Conoil.
His relatively low position highlights the ranking’s focus exclusively on NGX-listed assets.
Source: Getty Images
Major businesses linked to Adenuga, including Globacom and his upstream oil interests, are privately held and therefore excluded.
Oando chief executive Wale Tinubu ranks 16th with shares worth approximately $122 million, while SIFAX Group founder Taiwo Afolabi completes the 17-member club with a $106 million stake in Skyway Aviation Handling Company.
The ranking remains a snapshot of NGX prices on September 11. Changes in share prices and the naira-dollar exchange rate could quickly reshape the order even without investors buying or selling shares.
6 Nigerian Billionaires’ Companies Join FTSE Frontier Index
Legit.ng earlier reported that Nigeria’s return to the global frontier-market map is putting some of the country’s biggest publicly listed companies in the spotlight, with firms linked to six Nigerian billionaires among 10 companies entering the FTSE Russell frontier index series.
The inclusion is significant because investment funds that track the FTSE index series typically buy constituent stocks, potentially creating fresh demand for Nigerian equities and increasing their visibility among international investors.
Source: Legit.ng
