By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
Aliko Dangote has been ranked as the world’s sixth richest person in the manufacturing industry.
Dangote whose net worth is put at $14.3 billion is the founder of Dangote Cement, the leading cement producer in Africa, in which owns about 85 percent stake, as well as Dangote Fertilizer and Refinery, the world’s largest single-train refinery.
The ranking was carried out by Insidermonkey.com, an American firm that uses a hybrid evaluation system to track insider transactions and other market anomalies, and educate investors about the intricacies of investing.
Dangote is the only African among the top 25 billionaires ranked.
The world’s richest billionaire in the manufacturing industry is Reinhold Wuerth with a net worth of $35.3 billion.
Wuerth joined his father’s wholesale screw business in 1949 and retired from the firm in 1994.
The second ranked billionaire in manufacturing is He Xiangjian, worth $26.1 billion.
Xiangjian created one of the world’s leading appliance makers, Midea Group Co. Ltd. In 2012, he stepped down from Midea Group operations.
Michael Hartono was ranked the third richest person in manufacturing, with a net worth of $23.1 billion.
Hartono and his family made a huge fortune from the tobacco business and are still one of the biggest clove cigarette makers in Indonesia. He also has investment in the Bank of Central Asia (BCA).
Takemitsu Takizaki was named the world’s fourth richest billionaire in manufacturing with a net worth of $20.7 billion.
Takizaki founded Keyence Corporation, a company that manufactures sensors and electronic components for factory automation systems.
The fifth richest billionaire, according to the rankings, is James Ratcliffe worth $16.2 billion
Ratcliffe is the founder, chairman, and majority owner of the chemical powerhouse, Ineos Group.