Nigerian industrialist Abdulsamad Rabiu added $2.2 billion to his net worth in under 30 days, driven by a sharp rally in shares of BUA Cement Plc and BUA Foods Plc, according to data from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Rabiu’s fortune rose from $11.8 billion on March 1, 2026, to $14 billion as of the time of filing this report on March 30, 2026, reflecting sustained investor demand for his listed companies and broader bullish sentiment on the Nigerian equities market.
The surge is primarily linked to the performance of BUA Cement, which closed at 326.70 per share on March 27, 2026, on the Nigerian Exchange. The stock has gained about 83 percent year to date, rising from 178.50 at the start of the year. Over four weeks ending March 27, it advanced roughly 49 percent, placing it among the top-performing stocks on the exchange during that time.
Rabiu’s significant exposure to the cement maker amplified the impact of the rally on his wealth. According to the company’s 2025 financial disclosures, he controls about 98 percent of BUA Cement directly and through affiliated entities. The company remains Nigeria’s second-largest cement producer, making it central to his industrial portfolio.
BUA Foods Plc has also contributed to the increase, albeit more modestly. The stock closed at 798.00 per share on March 27, 2026. Trading activity in the counter has been relatively thin compared with other large-cap names, but it still recorded a cumulative volume of about 18 million shares valued at 13.8 billion between December 24, 2025, and March 27, 2026.
Within that period, the stock averaged about 285,000 shares per session and roughly 220 million in daily value across more than 56,000 deals, placing it lower on the exchange’s activity rankings. Rabiu holds a controlling 93 percent stake in the food business, which is a major player in Nigeria’s packaged food segment and one of the country’s largest pasta producers.
The latest gains extend an upward trajectory in Rabiu’s wealth seen earlier in the year. As of February 18, 2026, his net worth stood at 12.3 billion, supported by improving valuations in his publicly listed businesses.
The Bloomberg Billionaires Index calculation reflects market value changes in listed entities and incorporates estimates for liabilities, including acquisition costs, insider transactions, taxes, and philanthropy. Several privately held businesses within the BUA Group are not fully captured due to limited public financial disclosures, suggesting that fluctuations in listed subsidiaries remain the primary drivers of reported wealth changes.
The rally in BUA-linked equities aligns with a broader recovery in Nigerian stocks, where investor positioning has increasingly favored companies with strong pricing power, scale, and exposure to essential sectors such as cement and food manufacturing.
At the corporate level, attention is also turning to succession planning within the group. Rabiu’s son, Isyaku Abdulsamad Rabiu, known as Khalifa, has taken on expanded responsibilities and currently serves as Chief Officer for Global Procurement and Strategic Operations at BUA Foods, overseeing supply chain strategy and cost management.
BUA Group’s rise has been underpinned by strategic acquisitions and listings over the past decade. Its cement expansion began with the acquisition of the Cement Company of Northern Nigeria in 2009. BUA Cement was listed on the Nigerian Exchange in January 2020, followed by BUA Foods in January 2022, providing public market access that now plays a decisive role in valuing the group’s assets.