Who Is Aliko Dangote? (2024)

Aliko Dangote isthe richestmanin Africa and the richest Black man in the world, with an estimated net worth of around $13.4 billion in 2024. His business empire, Dangote Group, is one of the largest private-sector employers in Nigeria as well as the most valuable conglomerate in West Africa.

Shortly after graduating from college at 21, Dangote borrowed $3,000 from his uncleto import and sell agricultural commodities in Nigeria, his native country. His business venture quickly became a success, and as a result, he managed to repay the entire loan within three months of starting operations. Ultimately, Dangote was able to turn a local commodities trading business into a multibillion-dollar corporation.

Today, he is one of Africa's leading industrialists and philanthropists.

Early Life and Education

Born in 1957, Dangote grew up in an entrepreneurial household in Kano State, Nigeria. He was raised Muslim and livedan upper-class life. Dangote’s grandfather, Sanusi Dantata, was once named one of the wealthiest people living in Kano. He made his fortuneselling commodities likeoats and rice. Dantata became Dangote’s guardian in 1965 afterthe death of his father.

Having spent much of his childhood with his grandfather, Dangote quickly became interested in the world of business, once saying, “I can remember when I was in primary school, I would go and buy cartons of sweets [sugar boxes] and I would start selling them just to make money. I was so interested in business, even at that time.”

Dangote attended Egypt's Al-Azhar University, considered one of Islam’s most prestigious universities. It was there the budding entrepreneur furthered his education in business, graduating at age 21.

Notable Accomplishments

Dangote's business interests encompass manyindustries, including oil and gas, consumer goods, and manufacturing. However, Dangote Cement makes up the majority of the conglomerate's revenue, of which Dangote owns 85%. According to Forbes magazine, the subsidiary produces 48.6 million metric tons of cement every year and operates in 10 African countries.

Dangotealso ownsthe world's third-largest sugar refinery. Dangote Cement Group reported annual revenue of 2.21 trillion Nigerian nairas for 2023, or approximately $1.39 billion USD.

An Empire Is Born

After graduating fromcollege in 1977, Dangote managed to convince his uncle to lend him moneyto start a business. The funds from the loan allowed him to import soft commodities at wholesale prices from international suppliers. Two of his main imports were rice from Thailand and sugar from Brazil. He then sold those items in small quantitiesto consumers in his village at a lucrative markup.

The venture quickly became successful and turned into a cash cow. In an interview with Forbes, Dangote claims that on his best days, he was realizing a daily net profit of $10,000. That allowed him to repay his uncle in only three months.

Cutting Out the Middleman

In 1997, Dangote realized that acting as a middleman was a very costly endeavor, so hebuilt a plant to produce whathe had been importing and selling for theprevious20 years: pasta, sugar, salt,and flour.

Around the same time, Dangote was awarded a state-owned cement company. Dangote significantly expanded the operations of the company in 2005 by constructing a multimillion-dollar manufacturing plant. The construction was financed with $319 million of Dangote's own money in addition to a $479 million loan from the International Finance Corporation, a sister organization of the World Bank.

Each of his manufacturing divisions has since been separated intopublicly traded companies: Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC., National Salt Company of Nigeria PLC., and Dangote Cement PLC.

Expanding the Empire

Dangote has always reinvested the majority of his profits back into his businesses—one reason the company has grown so much since its inception. During an interview with Al Jazeera News, Aliko Dangote explained, ‘‘We [Dangote Group] are not doing like other Africans who keep most of their money in the bank. We do not keep money in the bank. We fully invest whatever we have and we keep on investing (sic).’’

Unlike many wealthy Nigerians who made their fortune in oil, Dangoteinitially chose to go down a different path, but hehas sinceentered the oil and gas industry.In an effort to put some of his cash reserves to work, Dangote started building a massive oil refinery in Lagos, which finally began operations in early 2024 after years of construction delays. If successful, it could significantly reduce Nigeria's reliance on international suppliers for oil and gas and end the import of $7 billion in fuel a year.

The $20 billion refinery in Nigeria is the largest industrial project ever in Nigeria and is expected toproduce 650,000 barrels of oil per day.

Awards and Charity Work

Aliko Dangote is a leading philanthropist and founded his eponymous private charitable foundation in 1994. The Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) is dedicated to adding value to people's lives across Africa by supporting health, education, and economic empowerment initiatives. Now, the foundation is the largest private foundation in sub-Saharan Africa.

Notably, Dangote's Foundation began partnering with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundationin 2013 in order to eradicate polio and strengthen routine immunizations throughout the country. In August 2020, the entire African continent (of which Nigeria was last) celebrated its official certification as free of wild polio.

The Bottom Line

Aliko Dangote's journey to fortune is not a rags-to-riches story. He came from a wealthy family that was able to provide the financial assistance he needed to start his business. Over the years, Dangote has expanded into new business segments, including telecommunications, real estate,and steel manufacturing. Today his holding company, Dangote Group, is the largest conglomerate in West Africa. His title as "richest man in Africa" seems to be one he'll hold for years to come.