Some observers are surprised that Nigerian billionaire, Aliko Dangote, who just invested in the building of a huge refinery in Lagos, would today fall from his perch as Africa’s richest person to a second position.

Dangote had held to the title of Africa’s Richest Man for over a decade.

The formal report on Dangote’s fall and Rubert’ s ascension said:
“The continent’s new number one, according to Forbes’ calculations, is Johann Rupert of South Africa, who built a fortune in luxury goods and more.

Rupert overtook Dangote on Thursday, June 15 and has an estimated net worth of $11.7 billion, according to Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires ranking at 10 a.m. ET on June 21.

This marks the first time that Rupert ranks as the richest person in Africa.

He has been on Forbes’ list of billionaires since at least 1997.

Dangote, 66, stands in second place behind Rupert, 73, among African billionaires with a fortune estimated at $10.4 billion.

That’s a $3.7 billion drop from the $14.1 billion net worth Dangote had on Wednesday, June 14.”