Aliko Dangote, Africa's Richest Man, Loses U.S.$7.8 Bn As Naira, Stocks Plunge

A few weeks ago, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, announced a nearly 10 per cent devaluation of the naira, Nigeria's currency, after admitting that a plunge in world oil prices and dwindling dollar reserves were making it difficult to defend the value of the currency. The naira is now trading at N187 to $1 officially, compared to N165 in November. In the parallel market, the naira traded at N218 for a dollar Monday. In dollar terms, the devaluation has knocked more than $40 billion off the value of Nigeria's economy.

Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest man, is the biggest loser among Nigeria's richest people as the Naira's slump, coupled with falling stock prices, have erased more than $7.8 billion of his fortune since February, when FORBES locked in the values for its annual ranking of the world's billionaires. Dangote was worth $25 billion at the time; but at the close of market last Tuesday, his networth had dropped to $17.2 billion. More than half of the drop in his fortune has happened since early November. As of November 7, Dangote was worth $21.6 billion, $4.4 billion more than now.