How Abdul Samad Rabiu Gained 2.4 Billion Dollars To Become The Fourth Richest man in Africa?

Abdul Samad Rabiu, the Founder and Chairman of BUA Group has become the fourth-richest man in Africa. This latest development announced by Forbes, displaced Egypt’s richest person,  Nassef Sawiris. 

In a report, Forbes revealed that Rabiu made over $ 2.4 billion in 2022 to kick out Sawiris from that position. This means that Rabiu rose from $4.9 billion to $7.6 billion.

Rabiu’s source of wealth

Rabiu’s fortune and recent height can be traced to his manufacturing company, BUA Group. This group specialises in cement production, sugar refining, and real estate. Popularly known as one of Africa’s fastest-growing manufacturing conglomerates, Rabiu owns a large percentage of both BUA Foods and BUA Cement.

Rabiu’s rise to Fourth Richest Man in Africa

A closer look at Rabiu’s growth revealed that in January 2022, Rabiu recorded a significant boost when BUA Foods gained N420.49 billion in a single week. Reports by Nairametrics showed that BUA Foods share price increased by 65% in one week. This was a good start-off for Rabiu in 2022. This win continued till the end of the outgone year, as a report revealed in  November 2022 that BUA Foods revenue rose by 20.2 percent to N289.8bn within the duration of the first nine months of 2022. 

BUA Foods which controls the operation of BUA Sugar Refinery Limited, BUA Oil Mills Limited, IRS Flour, IRS Pasta, and BUA Rice Limited became popular in 2022. This development hugely contributed to Rabiu’s climb on the ladder of Africa’s richest men.

Also, BUA Cement, a subsidiary of BUA Group recorded massive progress in the sector as its earnings rose to a whooping N257.3 billion. The cement company recorded a 12.3% increase in profit in the first nine months of 2022, going from N65.9 billion in 2021 to N74 billion in 2022. Furthermore, reports say Rabiu’s net worth grew, following the enlistment of the company’s shares on the Nigerian Exchange. 

Rabiu and BUA Groups: How it started

Established in 1988, by Abdul Samad Rabiu,  BUA International Limited existed solely for commodity trading. However, in 1990, BUA expanded into steel production, and years later based on several acquisitions it became a big household name, BUA Group.

Some of those acquisitions include the purchase of Nigerian Oil Mills Limited, the largest edible oil processing company in Nigeria, and the acquisition of a controlling stake in a publicly-listed Cement Company in Northern Nigeria in 2009.

Recall that Nigerian billionaire Abdul Samad Rabiu in the first 12 days of 2023 lost $255 million. The loss, according to Forbes, is attributed to the reassessment of several of his unlisted companies.

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