How Rich Is Folorunsho Alakija?

When Ventures Africa broke the story — in November, that a Nigerian, Folorunsho Alakija, is the richest black woman in the world — worth $3.3 billion, the story was not taken too seriously, until it was reported in credible, international news websites — Daily Mail and Huff Po. The news that she outdid Oprah Winfrey was a plus to the profile of Nigeria, with Dangote as the richest man in Africa, and Nigeria to become the largest economy in Africa by mid-decade. Ventures Africa had calculations in the story, presenting that their sum was right. The story also became the most popular on their website. The buzz around the story, and reports on several Nigerian and African websites, should have prompted Forbes to update her profile on its website from $600 million, to the new worth or close. But Forbes didn’t. It was not until Monday that it was confirmed that Forbes could not ascertain Alakija’s wealth the way Ventures Africa did, after it released it’s 2013 list of world’s billionaires. It was expected that she would be the third Nigerian on the list, after Dangote and Adenuga, but her profile remained the same. It was great to see the first independent asset valuation, by a Nigerian media house, of an individual; but was surprising that it was ignored by the global chief — Forbes — in this regard. Neither the woman nor her family disputed Ventures Africa and its report, making it seem more credible — along with possibility of direct family source.  But Forbes says about its methodology that, “This is our 27th year publishing the Forbes Billionaires list. Though we’ve been at it a long time, it is never an easy task. Our reporters dig deep and travel far. To compile net worths, we value individuals’ assets–including stakes in public and private companies, real estate, yachts, art and cash–and account for debt. We attempt to vet these numbers with all billionaires. Some cooperate; others don’t. We also consult an array of outside experts in various fields.” It is possible that Forbes could not access some of what Ventures Africa assessed, but thoughts says that there is no reason for the family not to disclose to Forbes, and be fully confirmed, if already disclosed to Ventures Africa. Forbes could also have reached out to Ventures Africa, about its calculations and figures, but, maybe, it didn’t. Folorunsho Alakija is rich no doubt, with $600 million fortune, which Wikipedia still has. Forbes does acknowledge that there could be short-comings at times, but the disparity is too much, given November and now, and both being media houses. Bloomberg, like Forbes, has its billionaires rankings, but it is usually very close to Forbes’. Forbes has a real-time billionaire update, for those in the US — mostly, so there may not be an update on Alakija’s wealth until Forbes releases Africa’s richest, later in the year. Her worth maybe upped, or stay same, depending on oil price, but expectations would keep her around $3 billion, which Ventures Africa believes is true. Ventures Africa recently reported that Jim Ovia, former CEO of Zenith Bank, is a billionaire. Forbes still has him as a millionaire,  but the difference this time, of $175 million, is relatively marginal. Forbes has an African bureau, and now has competition in Ventures Africa, but maybe not yet, when it concerns net worth of individuals.

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This article was first published on 6th March 2013 and updated on April 10th, 2013 at 11:19 am

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