The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) entered a strong bull run that carried over from 2025 into 2026, significantly lifting equity valuations and trading liquidity.
Policy reforms, including adjustments to the naira exchange rate and removal of certain fuel subsidies, strengthened investor confidence and widened participation in the market.
As share prices climbed across major sectors, the paper net worth of Nigeria’s wealthiest individuals expanded sharply.
Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, saw his equity holdings on the NGX increase by several trillion naira as key stocks, such as Dangote Cement and related companies, appreciated.
Dangote’s net worth has been tracked near US $30 billion globally, with his business empire anchored in manufacturing, refinery operations, cement production, and other listed assets that benefit directly from the market rally.
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Other top Nigerian billionaires also saw substantial gains from market performance.
Abdul Samad Rabiu, whose holdings in BUA Group-associated stocks have been significant in value, was among those capturing large increases in listed wealth as his companies’ share prices surged amid the broader NGX uptrend.
Mike Adenuga and Femi Otedola were also beneficiaries of the rally through their stakes in telecom, oil, power, and financial sector equities, though individual gains varied with specific stock movements.
The cumulative effect of rising equity valuations and naira stability translated into multi-trillion naira increases in personal wealth estimates for the nation’s richest men in 2025 and extending into early 2026.
The article underscores that this phenomenon of wealth growth is tied less to new business generation and more to asset price appreciation driven by market dynamics and currency reforms, positioning stock market performance and naira trends as central factors in the expansion of billionaire net worth in Nigeria’s current economic cycle.
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Image Credit: Nairametrics
Source: Nairametrics
