Abdul Samad Rabiu, founder and chairman of BUA Group, has emerged as Africa’s third-richest man after his net worth rose to $18.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index (BBI) seen by Datavox Media on Friday.
The Bloomberg ranking, which is updated daily to reflect real-time changes in global wealth positions, placed Rabiu 152nd among the world’s richest individuals.
The report showed that Rabiu now trails only Aliko Dangote and Johann Rupert on the African wealth chart, marking a major shift in the continent’s billionaire rankings driven by gains across the BUA industrial empire.
Rabiu’s rise follows one of the strongest wealth surges recorded globally this year, with his fortune increasing by about $8.47 billion year-to-date.
Bloomberg data indicated that the BUA chairman’s wealth was recently estimated at about $15.9 billion, underlining the rapid pace of accumulation in recent months. The latest valuation of $18.5 billion places him among billionaires clustered around the 150th position globally.
According to the index, Rupert’s net worth stood at $18.9 billion, placing him 144th globally.
The BBI data further identified Rabiu as one of Africa’s best-performing billionaires in 2026, largely driven by gains in cement, food processing, and manufacturing businesses under the BUA Group umbrella.
Despite Rabiu’s rapid ascent, Dangote retained his position as Africa’s richest man, with a net worth of $34.9 billion, ranking him 67th globally after gaining about $4.38 billion this year.
The latest Bloomberg ranking also showed that, as of May 8, no other Nigerian billionaire featured among the world’s top wealth rankings.
In contrast, other African billionaires such as Mike Adenuga and Femi Otedola were absent from the current global top 500 list.
Globally, the wealth index remained dominated by American technology and investment billionaires, with Elon Musk leading the chart at $673 billion, followed by Larry Page, Sergey Brin, Jeff Bezos and Larry Ellison.
Others in the global top 10 include Mark Zuckerberg, Michael Dell, Jensen Huang, Bernard Arnault and Jim Walton.
Rabiu’s 152nd-place ranking puts him alongside billionaires including Adam Foroughi, Thomas Kwok, John Menard Jr. and Harold Hamm, whose fortunes are estimated around the same range.
