Who You Know Is Only Half The Story In Business - Forbes

Who You Know Is Only Half The Story In Business - Forbes

November 13, 2026 Malcolm Knoll Business

Why Africa’s Richest Man Aliko Dangote Is Now Worth Over $50 Billion

An oversubscribed private placement pushed the net worth of Nigeria’s Aliko Dangote over $50 billion. Now his refinery is selling shares to individual investors.

PROFILE

CEO, Dangote Group

$55.9B as of 11/12/26 Reflects change since 5 pm ET of prior trading day.

Wei Leng Tay/Bloomberg

In Summary

  • Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest person, founded and chairs Dangote Cement, the continent's largest cement producer.
  • He owns 85% of publicly-traded Dangote Cement through a holding company.
  • Dangote Cement has the capacity to produce 48.6 million metric tons annually and has operations in 10 countries across Africa.
  • After years of development, Dangote's fertilizer plant in Nigeria began operations in March 2022.
  • Dangote Refinery, which began construction in 2016, started refining operations in early 2024.

Wealth History

Hover to reveal net worth by year

List of appearances

  • Age: 69
  • Source of Wealth: Cement, sugar, Self Made
  • Residence: Lagos, Nigeria
  • Citizenship: Nigeria
  • Marital Status: Divorced
  • Children: 3
  • Education: Bachelor of Arts/Science, Al-Azhar University

Did you know?

"In Their Own Words"

Nigeria is one of the best-kept secrets. A lot of foreigners are not investing because they're waiting for the right time. There is no right time.

Aliko Dangote

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