Hi there, did you know Nigeria’s 66-year-old business magnate Aliko Dangote is the richest black man in Africa?
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Billionaire business mogul, Aliko Dangote has been the richest man in Africa for the 12th year in a row until now even after his fortune dropped by millions due to a decline in the value of one of his ventures; Dangote Cement.
Following your search for the richest black man in Africa, we are surely going to tell you who he really is by providing you with essential pieces of information including his biography, career, other activities, sources of income and exact net worth.
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| Popular Name: | Dangote |
| Real Name: | Aliko Mohammad Dangote (MFR,GCON) |
| Birth Date: | April 10th 1957 |
| Birth Place: | Kano, Kano State |
| Age: | 66 years old |
| Gender: | Male |
| Nationality/Citizenship: | Nigerian |
| Height: | 5ft |
| Weight: | 69 kg |
| Sexuality: | Straight |
| Marital Status: | Divorced |
| Spouse(s): | Previously married to Hajia Zainab, Mariya Muhammad Rufai, Sylvia Nduka |
| Children: | Fatima Dangote, Abdulrahman Fasasi, Halima Dangote, Mariya Dangote |
| Profession: | Business Magnate, Philanthropist |
| Years active: | 1977–present |
| Net Worth: | $14 billion |
| Last Updated: | 2023 |
Aliko Dangote’s Biography
Aliko Mohammad Dangote (MFR, GCON) is a 66-year-old Nigerian business mogul born on April 10th 1957, in Kano, Kano State. Dangote was born to Muslim parents, Mohammed Dangote, a businessman and associate of Sanusi Dantata (who eventually became his father inlaw) and Hajia Mariya Sanusi Dantata; daughter of one of Nigeria’s top powerful businessmen Sanusi Dantata.
Aliko Dangote is the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of the Dangote Group; the largest industrial conglomerate in West Africa. He stands 5 feet tall and weighs 69 kilograms.
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He had his education at the Sheikh Ali Kumasi Madrasa, and thereafter he proceeded to Capital High School, Kano. In 1978, Aliko Dangote graduated from the Government College, Birnin Kudu After which he bagged a bachelor’s degree in business studies and administration from Al-Azhar University, Cairo.
Regarding his family life, Aliko Dangote has been previously married to Hajia Zainab, Mariya Muhammad Rufai, and Sylvia Nduka, and has four children; Fatima Dangote, Abdulrahman Fasasi, Halima Dangote, Mariya Dangote. Aliko Dangote currently lives in Lagos, Nigeria.
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Aliko Dangote’s Business Career
In 1977, Aliko Dangote established the Dangote Group as a small trading firm, and in the same year, he moved to Lagos, Nigeria to expand the company. Aliko Dangote got a loan of five hundred thousand Nigerian Naira(₦500,000) from his uncle to begin trading in commodities including bagged cement and even agricultural goods such as rice and sugar.
Aliko Dangote in the 1990s approached the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) with the idea, more of a proposal that he believes it would be quite cheaper for the CBN to allow his transport company to manage their fleet of staff buses. Fortunately, Dangote’s proposal was approved.
Presently, the Dangote Group is not just one of the largest conglomerates in Africa but the largest in the whole of West Africa, with international operations in Benin Republic, Ghana, Zambia and as well Togo.
One of the major successes recorded by the 66-year-old magnate, Aliko Dangote is that the Dangote Group he founded as a trading company has moved from being a trading company to being the largest industrial group in Nigeria, West Africa, and one of the largest in Africa.
Dangote Group now encompasses divisions such as Dangote Sugar Refinery, Dangote Cement, and Dangote Flour and dominates the sugar market in Nigeria, with its refinery business as the main supplier covering 70 % of the market to Nigerian soft drink companies, breweries and confectioners. Dangote Group employs over eleven thousand (11,000) people in West Africa.
Aliko Dangote on a mission to expand his business further approached the Nigerian Ports Authority in July 2012 and tendered a proposal for the leasing of an abandoned piece of land at the Apapa Port and his request was approved.
Aliko Dangote eventually built facilities for his sugar company on the abandoned piece of land that had been approved for him at the Apapa Port, and this sugar company turn out to be the largest refinery in Africa and interestingly the third largest in the world by producing not less than eight hundred thousand (800,000) tonnes of sugar yearly.
Aliko Dangote’s company; Dangote Group has expanded so much through the years, it owns salt factories, and flour mills and is also a major importer of rice, fish, pasta, cement, and as well fertilisers.
Dangote Group exports cotton, cashew nuts, cocoa, sesame seeds, and ginger to several countries, and in addition, the company has major investments in real estate, banking, transport, textiles, oil, and gas, among others.
Aliko Dangote in February 2022 announced the completion of the Peugeot assembly plant in Nigeria following his partnership with Stellantis Group; the parent company of Peugeot, and as well the Kano and Kaduna state government.
Dangote’s new venture i.e. his new automobile company; Dangote Peugeot Automobiles Nigeria Limited (DPAN) factory based in Kaduna began operations with the roll-out of Peugeot models including Peugeot 301, Peugeot 5008, 3008, and 508 and Land Trek.
Aliko Dangote’s Other Activities Outside Business
Aside from business which takes the majority of his productive time, a Billionaire businessman, Aliko Dangote also engages in other activities like philanthropy, football and politics.
Philanthropy
Business magnate, Aliko Dangote has taken part in several philanthropic activities as a way of making society feel his impact outside business, in 2014, the Nigerian government announced that Aliko Dangote had donated one hundred and fifty million Naira (N150,000,000) which as of then equates to seven hundred and fifty thousand US Dollars ($750,000) to halt the spread of Ebola.
Aliko Dangote pledged ten million US Dollars ($10,000,000) to support Nigerians affected by the Boko Haram insurgency in 2016, and in March 2020, he donated two hundred million Naira (N200 000,000) which equates to five hundred thousand US Dollars ($500,000) towards the halting of COVID-19 in Nigeria.
In addition to the various philanthropic activities he either carries out or takes part in, Aliko Dangote has worked with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on public health issues.
Football
Aliko Dangote also picks interest in football, he and co-billionaire, Femi Otedola, pledged to give Nigeria’s Super Eagles seventy-five thousand US Dollars ($75,000) for every goal scored in the Africans Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2019.
Aliko Dangote is an enthusiastic fan of Arsenal F.C. in England and has shown interest in buying the club, however, he was turned down. Dangote has also donated money to the Nigerian ministry of sports for the renovation of the national stadium, Abuja.
Politics
Aliko Dangote does not take part in active politics, however, he had a prominent role in the financing of Nigeria’s former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo’s re-election bid in 2003. Dangote donated more than two hundred million Naira (N200,000,000) equivalent to two million US Dollars($2 million) as of then.
Aliko Dangote had contributed fifty million Naira (N50,000,000) equivalent to five hundred thousand US Dollars ($500 000) as of that time to the National Mosque under the sponsorship of “Friends of Obasanjo and Atiku”, and has also contributed two hundred million Naira (N200,000,000) to the Presidential Library.
In 2011, Aliko Dangote was appointed by Nigeria’s former president, Dr Goodluck Jonathan as a member of the presidential economic management team, and in 2017, there were rumours making rounds that Aliko Dangote was considering running for Nigeria’s president in the 2019 general elections.
Amidst the rumours, Aliko Dangote cleared the air that he does not have the intention to run for the office of the Nigerian president, he went further to serve on a special advisory committee for Nigeria’s outgoing president, Muhammadu Buhari’s reelection campaign.
Aliko Dangote’s Memberships And Honours
Aliko Dangote is a board member of the Corporate Council on Africa. He is a member of the steering committee of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Global Education First Initiative.
Dangote is a member of the Clinton Global Initiative and the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum. In September 2016, he was named co-chair of the US-Africa Business Center by the US Chamber of Commerce.
In April 2017, Aliko Dangote became a member of the board of directors of the Clinton Health Access Initiative and is also a member of the board of One Campaign. In August 2022, Aliko Dangote was appointed the founding Chairman of the Nigeria End Malaria Council by Nigeria’s outgoing president, Muhammadu Buhari.
Aliko Dangote is also a member of the Global End Malaria Council, alongside other leaders including Bill Gates, Ray Chambers, and former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
Aliko Dangote was named the Forbes Africa Person of the Year, 2014, and for six uninterrupted years, covering 2013 to 2018, Forbes listed him as the “Most Powerful Man in Africa”. Aliko Dangote was listed in CNBC’s “Top 25 Businessmen in the World” who changed and shaped the century in 2014.
Aliko Dangote holds national honours in Nigeria including Member Federal Republic (MFR), and Grand Commander of the Order of Niger(GCON).
Why Aliko Dangote Is The Richest Man, Net Worth
In 2007, Aliko Dangote emerged as Nigeria’s first billionaire and reportedly added $9.2 billion to his fortune in 2013, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, making him the 30th-richest person in the world at the time, and the richest person in Africa.
In 2015, the HSBC leaks made a revelation that Aliko Dangote was an HSBC client and that he had assets in a tax haven in the British Virgin Islands. As of June 2022, Aliko Dangote is the Richest person in Africa, with an estimated net worth of US$20 billion.
Following Bloomberg Billionaires Index’s reports, Aliko Dangote’s net worth is estimated at US$18.7 billion as of January 2023, due to a decline, however, with the figure mentioned, Aliko Dangote remains the richest black man in Africa.
Conclusion
You were searching for the richest black man in Africa, we promised to tell you exactly who he is and further provide you with essential pieces of information including his biography, career, other activities and his net worth, yes, we did just as promised.
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