Aliko Dangote

Aliko Dangote
Born	10 4 1957 (age 69 years old (as of 2026) ) Kano, Nigeria
Occupation	industrialist
Known for	Founder of the Dangote Group; Dangote Cement; Dangote Petroleum Refinery
Education	Al-Azhar University, Cairo

Nigerian industrialist; founder and chairman of the Dangote Group, Dangote Cement and the Dangote Petroleum Refinery

Aliko Dangote (born 10 April 1957) is a Nigerian industrialist who founded the Dangote Group. Forbes describes him as Africa's richest person and says he founded and chairs Dangote Cement, the continent's largest cement producer. His group also built the Dangote Petroleum Refinery in Lagos.^[1]^[2] On 20 October 2026 the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires list ranked Aliko Dangote 35th in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$51.01 billion; Forbes lists the source of wealth as Cement, sugar.^[1]^[3] In the annual World's Billionaires list published in 2026, Forbes had ranked Aliko Dangote 86th, at US$28.5 billion.^[4]

Early life and education

Encyclopaedia Britannica records his birth in Kano on 10 April 1957. It says his grandfather, the commodities trader Alhaji Sanusi Dantata, was closely involved in his upbringing.^[2] Forbes reports that his grandfather traded rice and oats in Kano and that, as a boy, Dangote bought sweets, had others sell them, and kept the profits.^[1] He studied business at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, completing in 1977.^[2]

Business career

After returning to Nigeria in 1977, Dangote borrowed from his uncle to set up a firm trading commodities and supplies, mainly cement. By 1981 he had incorporated further businesses and formed the Dangote Group.^[2] The group grew into foodstuffs (pasta, sugar, salt, flour), cement and haulage, with listed subsidiaries including Dangote Cement, Dangote Sugar Refinery, Dangote Flour Mills and Nascon Allied Industries.^[2] The Guardian reported in 2012 on the opening of the US$1 billion Ibese cement plant in south-west Nigeria, then described as Africa's largest. It quoted Dangote's stated aim of ending cement imports into Nigeria.^[5]

Forbes reports that Dangote owns 85% of Dangote Cement through a holding company. It says the company can produce 48.6 million tonnes a year and operates in ten African countries, and that Dangote's fertiliser plant in Nigeria began operating in 2021–22.^[1]

Dangote Petroleum Refinery

Britannica says Dangote launched the refinery project in Lagos State in 2013 to address Nigeria's reliance on imported refined fuel, and built a fertiliser plant and power station on the same site.^[2] President Muhammadu Buhari inaugurated the refinery at Ibeju-Lekki on 22 May 2023 and called it a "game changer".^[6] The Associated Press described it as a US$19 billion facility with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day.^[7] Al Jazeera reported that the state oil company NNPC held a 20% stake and had agreed to supply crude to the refinery, and that Nigeria had spent US$23.3 billion on imported petroleum products the year before.^[8] Forbes says refining began in early 2024.^[1] Britannica reports that the refinery reached full capacity in 2026 and that an initial public offering for it opened on 14 September 2026.^[2]

Wealth

Forbes gives the source of his wealth as cement and sugar.^[1] Britannica notes that he first appeared on the Forbes billionaires list in 2008, and that he took first place in 2011 when Forbes began its list of Africa's 40 richest people.^[2]

Wealth history

Forbes has included this entry in its annual World's Billionaires list in 19 of the editions from 2001 to 2026 checked for this profile, starting with 2008. The table gives the rank and estimated net worth in each annual list.^[4]^[1]

Forbes estimates by list year
Year	World's Billionaires rank	Net worth (US$ bn)
2008	334	3.3
2009	261	2.5
2010	463	2.1
2011	51	13.8
2012	76	11.2
2013	43	16.1
2014	23	25.0
2015	67	14.7
2016	51	15.4
2017	105	12.2
2018	100	14.1
2019	136	10.4
2020	162	8.3
2021	191	11.5
2022	130	14.0
2023	124	14.2
2024	144	13.4
2025	83	23.9
2026	86	28.5

Philanthropy

Britannica says the Dangote Foundation was incorporated in 1994 and renamed the Aliko Dangote Foundation in 2018. It reports that the foundation has concentrated on childhood malnutrition and has contributed to campaigns against polio, Ebola and COVID-19, as well as to disaster relief.^[2] In January 2016 Dangote, as chair of the Dangote Foundation, joined Bill Gates and the US Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle, at Kaduna State Government House to launch agreements with the governors of Kaduna, Sokoto, Yobe and Borno to fund routine immunisation.^[9] In 2018 Gates and Dangote again appeared together in Sokoto state to support polio eradication.^[10]

Political activity

The Guardian reported in 2012 that Dangote had built close relationships with successive Nigerian governments. It said he played a prominent part in funding former President Olusegun Obasanjo's 2003 re-election campaign, donating millions of dollars, and it noted that he had denied speculation that he would run for office.^[5] The paper also reported that critics accused him of using his political influence to shut out competitors, and that he was the first person outside government to receive the GCON honour, from President Goodluck Jonathan's government in November 2011.^[5] The refinery was inaugurated by President Buhari, with the state oil company holding a minority stake.^[6]^[8]

Controversies and legal issues

Britannica reports that Dangote's name appeared in the 2016 Panama Papers. It says he was personally linked to four offshore companies and that family members and business associates were linked to at least 13.^[2] Being named in the Panama Papers does not in itself indicate wrongdoing. For the 2012 criticism of his political influence, see Political activity.^[5]

International and political links

This section uses the same ten headings for every profile in this series. Only specific, sourced actions are included; company-level and foundation-level actions are labelled as such. Where nothing was found, the entry reads "No documented involvement found in sources checked."