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Nigerian billionaire Abdul Samad Rabiu has seen his fortune take a sharp hit, with a $301 million decline in just 24 hours following a revaluation of his debt obligations. The recalculation, which also factored in the value of his holdings across publicly listed companies, has trimmed his net worth to $7.5 billion from $7.8 billion, according to Forbes’ real-time billionaires index.
The adjustment reflects the pressures facing some of Africa’s billionaires as rising borrowing costs weigh on their balance sheets. For Rabiu who has relied on financing to scale his business empire, the recalculation is a reminder that wealth gains can be tempered by the burden of debt. Bloomberg estimated his miscellaneous liabilities at $2.98 billion in October 2023 highlighting the scale of his financial obligations even as his businesses expand.
Rabiu gains $2.4 billion on cement, food
Rabiu is the founder and chairman of BUA Group, one of Africa’s largest industrial conglomerates with interests spanning cement, food processing and agriculture. Despite the recent decline, his net worth has risen by more than $2.4 billion since January, climbing from $5.1 billion to $7.5 billion, thanks to his two flagship companies, BUA Cement and BUA Foods.
His 97.66 percent stake in BUA Cement, Nigeria’s second-biggest cement maker, is now worth N5.2 trillion ($3.6 billion), reflecting a 72 percent gain this year. Investors have pushed up the company’s value on the back of steady earnings and demand for building materials.
Meanwhile, his 92.63 percent holding in BUA Foods is valued at N10.5 trillion ($7.15 billion) after its stock rose 51.7 percent in 2025. The company’s portfolio spans sugar, flour, rice, pasta and edible oils, making it a critical part of Nigeria’s food supply chain.
Rabiu gets $144 million dividend from BUA Foods
Rabiu’s wealth is not just paper value. Last month, he received a dividend of N216.75 billion ($144.4 million) from his majority stake in BUA Foods. The payout followed strong earnings, with net profit nearly doubling in the first half of 2025 to N260 billion ($169.8 million).
The $301 million drop in a single day highlights the fragile balance between growth and debt in building large-scale businesses. For Rabiu the swings in his fortune show both the opportunities in Africa’s fast-growing consumer and infrastructure markets and the financial strains that come with sustaining one of the continent’s largest manufacturing and industrial conglomerates.
