Otedola Joins Dangote on Forbes World’s Richest List- By Ayodele Aminu of This Day Magazine

President/CEO, Dangote Group and Dangote Oil, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has been joined on the Forbes list of world’s richest persons by shipping magnate, Mr. Femi Otedola, who is also the President/CEO of Zenon Petroleum and Gas as well as Chairman/CEO of African Petroleum Plc.

They are the only two Nigerians among the four black people worldwide who made the list. Oprah Winfrey comes first, Aliko Dangote second, Patrick Motsepe third and Femi Otedola fourth.

Winfrey, though the richest black person, is ranked the 234 in the world, while Dangote is ranked 261 with an estimated worth of $2.5 billion and Otedola 601 with $1.2 billion.

The Forbes 2009 Rich List witnesses a dramatic reduction from last year’s 1,125 billionaires to 793, owing to the global economic meltdown which has seen shares around the world plummet to record lows and wiped off N1.4 trillion from their aggregate wealth in one year.

Mircrosoft founder Bill Gates is back as the world's richest as Warren Buffet dropped to second with the stock market collapse. Gates’ fortune has however declined by $18 billion.

While Gates is worth $40 billion, Buffet’s fortune has declined by $25 billion to $37billion.

Last year, Buffet had ended Gates’ 13-year reign at the top as shares in his firm Berkshire Hathaway climbed to a record $150,000 per share.

Some billionaires of 2008 but did not make this year’s list, including former AIG chief executive Maurice “Hank” Greenberg, former Citigroup CEO Sandy Weill, and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.

Dangote had, last year, for the first time emerged as the world’s richest black African with a ranking of 334 and a fortune of $3.3 billion.

The value of his fortune may be $2.5 billion this year but he has risen 73 steps on the ladder.

With the meltdown in the stock exchange taking a toll on his quoted companies, Dangote Sugar, Dangote Flour Mills and BCC Cement, the slide in fortunes is not surprising.

Otedola is making the list for the first time. He is the biggest diesel supplier in Nigeria and currently holds the majority stake in AP Plc, and substantial shares in Chevron Texaco and Mobil Oil Service. He is the owner of Seaforce Shipping, FO Properties and FO Transport.

Dangote and Otedola had sometime last year been rated among Nigeria’s six most influential business men by the Financial Times of London. Last year, Otedola donated N1 billion to the ruling Peoples Democratic party (PDP), for the building of the party’s proposed new secretariat.

He and Dangote for long enjoyed a very warm relationship until recently when they fell apart on account of ChevronTexaco. Whether their “membership” of the “exclusive club” of world’s richest will provide an opportunity for reconciliation remains to be seen.

Their ranking is considered a plus for the growing list of Nigerians who have achieved success in their various endeavours: in science, literature and wealth creation.

Otedola told THISDAY he was happy to be alive but his primary concern was how to touch more lives, stating that his goal was to create jobs and alleviate suffering.
Dangote in reaction to his rating last year had predicted that more Nigerians would make the 2009 Forbes list.