Billionaire Aliko Dangote has seen his wealth nearly double to $23.9 billion, according to Forbes, which ranked the entrepreneur as the wealthiest person in Africa and 86th in the world.
In 2024 and with $13.4 billion, Forbes ranked Dangote the 144th richest person in the world.
In the latest ranking, Forbes estimated Dangote’s net worth at $23.9 billion, primarily due to his 92.3 per cent stake in Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals.
Dangote, 67, is back as one of the top 100 richest individuals worldwide, a position he has not held since 2018, according to the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List.
This places him significantly ahead of South African Johann Rupert, who is ranked 161st in the world with an estimated wealth of $14.4 billion and very far above Mike Adenuga, who is the second richest in Nigeria and 481, in the world, with a net worth of $6.8 billion.
Dangote built a $23 billion refinery, the largest in Africa, which began operations last year. Located on a vast 6,200-acre site in the Lekki Free Zone, the refinery, at full capacity, will process a remarkable 650,000 barrels per day (b/d), making it the seventh-largest refinery in the world and the largest in Africa. Additionally, the refinery’s adjacent petrochemical complex has an annual production capacity of 3 million metric tons of urea, making it Africa’s largest fertiliser producer.
Dangote sees the refinery as part of a larger vision to transform Nigeria, one of the world’s largest crude oil producers, into a major producer of refined petroleum products. This would enable Nigeria to compete with European refineries and supply gasoline to Nigerian consumers.
“I want to provide a blueprint for industrialisation across Africa,” he told Forbes in an interview.
“We have to build our nation by ourselves. We have to build our continent by ourselves, not [rely on] foreign investment.”
Dangote said the refinery is the biggest risk of his life and without success, it would have affected him greatly.
