Aliko Dangote and Abdulsamad Rabiu, Nigerian billionaires listed among the 500 richest men in the world, have lost $5.85 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index (BBI).
The BBI is a daily ranking of the world’s richest people. It provides details on the calculations of net worth analysis on each billionaire’s profile page.
Data on the portal as at June 15, 2023, showed negative changes in the calculations of the wealth of the Nigerian businessmen.
The index revealed that Dangote, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Dangote Group, lost about $3.12 billion in the latest update.
Similarly, Rabiu, CEO of BUA Group, was said to have lost $2.73 billion from his wealth.
The losses occurred just 24 hours after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) floated the country’s currency.
It was observed that changes in the foreign exchange markets occasioned by the recent floating of the naira may have contributed to the billionaires’ losses.
The currency float exchange rate system allows the local currency to be set by the forces of demand and supply within the foreign exchange market.
In Nigeria, this means the elimination of a fixed price for forex trading within the country. This removes the direct intervention of the CBN from the forex market.
Meanwhile, the unification of the Nigeria’s FX system had a quick effect on the market.
On Wednesday, after trading between N700 to N755 to the greenback, the naira closed at N664/dollar at the investors and exporters (I&E) window, according to data from FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange.
The I&E foreign exchange (FX) window is the country’s official exchange rate trading platform. It is a segment for investors, exporters, and end-users, which allows for FX trades to be made at exchange rates determined based on prevailing market realities.