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Abdul Samad Rabiu has climbed to become Africa's fourth-richest person as surging earnings from his flagship company, BUA Foods Plc, sharply increased his net worth.
The Nigerian industrialist is now worth an estimated 11.3 billion dollars, according to the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The ranking places him ahead of Egyptian businessman Naguib Sawiris and around 302nd globally.
Rabiu began 2026 with a net worth of about 10.4 billion dollars, ranking fifth on the continent at the time. A strong run in the shares and performance of BUA Foods has since added roughly 1.21 billion dollars to his fortune this year, outpacing Sawiris, whose gains were estimated at 700 million dollars over the same period.
The sharp rise in wealth mirrors a standout financial year for BUA Foods. The company reported a 91 percent increase in profit after tax for the 2025 fiscal year, based on its unaudited results. Profit climbed to 507.73 billion naira from 265.99 billion naira the previous year.
Revenue also moved higher, rising 18 percent to 1.80 trillion naira.
BUA Foods has steadily expanded its footprint across Nigeria's food sector, with operations spanning sugar refining, flour milling, pasta production and rice processing. The company has invested heavily in scaling up production capacity, a move that has begun to reflect in both output and bottom-line performance.
Industry analysts say the company has benefited from strong domestic demand for staple foods and improved operational efficiency across its plants. Strategic partnerships have also played a role, particularly in plans to develop large-scale rice processing and animal feed facilities in northern Nigeria.
Rabiu business interests extend beyond food. He also controls BUA Cement Plc, one of Nigeria largest cement producers, further anchoring his position in the country's industrial sector.
His rise in the billionaire rankings underscores the growing influence of homegrown manufacturing groups in Africa's largest economy. While global commodity price swings and currency pressures continue to test Nigerian businesses, companies with strong local production capacity have shown resilience.
Rabiu, known for maintaining a relatively low public profile compared with some of his peers, has quietly built BUA Group into a major conglomerate spanning food, cement and infrastructure. His strategy has largely centred on backward integration, local sourcing and large-scale industrial projects designed to reduce reliance on imports.
