MR ABDULSAMAD Rabiu’s wealth soared by 86.3 percent in 2025, the fastest billionaire wealth growth in Africa, pushing the combined net worth of Nigeria’s billionaires ahead of their South African counterparts for the first time in years.

Forbes World’s Billionaires wealth tracker shows that Mr Rabiu, who is the founder of BUA Group, saw his net worth rise from $5.1 billion in March 2025 to $9.5 billion in December 2025, making him the fourth richest person in Africa out of 22 billionaires.

His remarkable wealth surge was powered largely by the strong market performance of his listed companies, BUA Foods and BUA Cement, both of which posted strong earnings and rising valuations through the year.

The rise in Mr Rabiu’s fortune came as the combined net worth of Nigeria’s four listed billionaires — Aliko Dangote, Abdulsamad Rabiu, Mike Adenuga and Femi Otedola — climbed to $43.1 billion as of December 30, 2025. This figure overtook the $42 billion held by South Africa’s seven billionaires, signalling a rare shift in Africa’s billionaire wealth hierarchy, BusinessDay analysis shows.

BUA companies drive investor confidence

Mr Rabiu’s wealth momentum tracked the performance of his companies on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX). In August, BUA Foods became the most valuable listed firm in Nigeria, surpassing MTN Nigeria as its market capitalisation hit N10.4 trillion. By January 2, 2026, BUA Foods’ valuation had risen further to N14.4 trillion, with its share price nearing N800.

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BUA Cement also posted standout results, with market value at about N6.04 trillion and the strongest earnings growth among major cement firms in the third quarter (Q3) of 2025. The company’s after-tax profit rose 640.8 percent year-on-year, far exceeding the gains recorded by Dangote Cement and Lafarge Africa.

Nigeria’s billionaire wealth expands

Overall, Nigeria’s billionaire wealth rose 15.6 percent between March and December 2025 to $43.1 billion, supported by a strong equities rally. The NGX ranked the fourth best-performing stock market globally in 2025, as the All-Share Index advanced 51.2 percent year-on-year to a record 155,613.03 points, marking its best annual performance since 2007.

Dangote still Africa’s richest

Aliko Dangote retained his position as Africa’s richest man with an estimated $25.6 billion, supported by his cement dominance and rising valuation of the Dangote Refinery, which continues its ramp-up to full capacity.

Femi Otedola’s wealth rose to $1.6 billion, while Mike Adenuga’s net worth slipped to $6.4 billion due to telecom-sector valuation pressures.

A changing billionaire landscape

South Africa still leads the continent in billionaire count, with seven individuals, compared with Nigeria’s four, but Nigeria now leads in combined net worth. Egypt’s five billionaires saw their total wealth dip to $19.6 billion.

Africa’s total billionaire wealth rose to $116 billion in 2025, up from $82.4 billion a year earlier.

But the standout story of the year was Mr Rabiu, whose soaring fortune reshaped the balance of billionaire wealth on the continent and underscored the growing clout of Nigeria’s industrial and consumer-goods sector.

Future plans

Mr Rabiu told The Africa Report in 2024 that, “By 2026, we are going to be the biggest in the country in terms of production. We will have around 10,000tn of flour milling, and 20 lines of pasta.”

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In September 2025, BUA Foods Plc, one of the subsidiaries of BUA Group, announced plans to expand its production capacity as part of efforts to boost food sufficiency.

 “As part of our strategic growth roadmap, we have initiated a significant expansion of our pasta production facility. This expansion will introduce nine new long-cut pasta lines, effectively doubling our annual capacity. We have also planned a major capacity expansion for our flour division with four state-of-the-art wheat milling plant,” Mr Rabiu disclosed.

“This initiative will boost our milling capacity significantly. Furthermore, our sugar agricultural project is on track for delivery given the need to accelerate its completion.Upon delivery, these projects will not only strengthen our manufacturing capabilities and reinforce our market leadership but will also create new job opportunities, contributing positively to national economic development.”