Net Worth: $1.6 Billion

Location: Nigeria

Born in Kano state (in the North-Western part of Nigeria), Abdul Samad set up his own business in 1988 importing iron, steel and chemicals. That year he founded BUA International Limited. Now the BUA Group has emerged as a Nigerian conglomerate active in cement production, sugar refining and real estate.

Rabiu recently made headlines due a merger of his BUA cement with the publicly traded Cement Company of Nigeria (CCNN). This merger, valued at $650 million, moves BUA cement as the second largest cement company in the Nigerian right behind the African behemoth, Dangote Cement.