Nigerian billionaire Abdul Samad Rabiu loses $3.4 billion in under six weeks

Only a few weeks ago, Nigerian billionaire industrialist Abdul Samad Rabiu appeared to be within touching distance of a landmark that only one African had achieved. With his fortune nearing $20 billion, the BUA Group chairman was widely expected to become the second African billionaire after Aliko Dangote to cross that threshold. Instead, the story has taken a different turn. In less than six weeks, Rabiu’s fortune has fallen by $3.4 billion as Nigeria’s stock market gives back part of this year’s powerful rally.

Rabiu’s net worth hits $16.3 billion

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Rabiu’s net worth has dropped from $19.7 billion on May 19 to $16.3 billion at the time of writing. The decline comes just weeks after he took delivery of Bombardier’s Global 8000, the world’s fastest business jet, a purchase that underscored his standing among Africa’s wealthiest business leaders. While that milestone drew attention in early June, investors are now focused on the slide in the value of his listed holdings.

The sharp decline in Rabiu’s wealth has been driven largely by the performance of his stakes in BUA Cement and BUA Foods, two of Nigeria’s biggest listed companies. He owns 95.78 percent of BUA Cement, the country’s second-largest cement producer, and 92.64 percent of BUA Foods, whose operations span sugar, flour, pasta, and edible oils. The company has also stepped up its interest in Nigeria’s highly competitive rice market as it looks to expand its footprint.

Since May 19, shares of BUA Cement have fallen by over 26 percent on the Nigerian Exchange, while BUA Foods has lost nearly 3 percent. The decline has reduced the value of Rabiu’s stake in BUA Cement to $8.15 billion and his holding in BUA Foods to $11.3 billion. His estimated wealth is also adjusted for miscellaneous liabilities totaling $3.18 billion, reflecting factors including acquisitions, insider transactions, taxes, market performance, and charitable giving.

Traders lock in profits; capitalization drops

Rabiu’s losses have unfolded alongside a broader pullback across Nigeria’s equity market, where investors have locked in profits after one of the strongest starts to a year in recent memory. The selling has weighed on several of the exchange’s largest companies, with cement and power stocks among the sectors under the greatest pressure. After months of steady gains, the market has entered a period of consolidation as traders reassess valuations and secure profits.

That shift is becoming increasingly clear in the benchmark NGX All-Share Index. Its year-to-date return fell below 50 percent for the first time this year, ending trading on Friday, June 26, at 49.12 percent. Only weeks earlier, the benchmark had delivered gains of more than 60 percent, underscoring the scale of the recent retreat. It also marked the first time since April 30 that the index’s year-to-date return had slipped beneath the 50 percent threshold.

The benchmark index has now declined to 232,049.02 points, down more than 20,400 points, or about 8.1 percent, from the record high of 252,508 reached in May. Over the same period, the Nigerian stock market’s total capitalization has fallen to N148.91 trillion ($109 billion) from more than N160 trillion ($117 billion), wiping out more than N11 trillion in shareholder value.

For Rabiu, the market’s recent slide serves as a reminder that the fortunes of billionaires whose wealth is tied closely to listed companies can change quickly. While he remains one of Africa’s richest people and retains controlling stakes in some of Nigeria’s most valuable industrial businesses, the latest market correction has delayed what only weeks ago appeared to be an almost certain march toward the $20 billion milestone.