Aliko Dangote, whose net worth has fluctuated since the beginning of the year, is back to being Africa’s richest man. His net worth has surged in the past few days from around US$13 billion to now US$27.8 billion.
This follows months of back-and-forth between him and South Africa’s Johann Rupert for the title of Africa’s richest man.
A report by Bloomberg highlighted that the Nigerian billionaire, Aliko Dangote, is now wealthier than ever, despite his disdain for the process that got him there. “I didn’t know what we were building was a monster,” the Nigerian billionaire stated during a recent visit to New York. “The pressure was coming from different directions, with people confusing us and disturbing us every day with different media stories that it will never work.”
According to Bloomberg’s real-time billionaire index, Dangote is now worth US$27.8 billion, making him the world’s 65th richest persona significant leap from the 175th position he occupied a few weeks ago with a net worth of US$13.2 billion. The index shows that Dangote’s last change in valuation came in at an impressive +US$15.1 billion, while his year-to-date change is +US$12.7 billion.
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Dangote, who inaugurated his oil refinery in Nigeria at the end of last year, has been at the center of several controversies involving the refinery and the Nigerian government. Since the Dangote refinery commenced operations, various disputes concerning the sale of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, have slowed its progress.
For starters, there was an issue with the sale of crude to the refinery by the Nigerian government, which Dangote complained was too expensive and sold in dollars rather than in the local currency. This forced the refinery to source fuel from other markets, even as far as Brazil. This issue was resolved when, effective October 1, 2024, the Nigerian government began selling crude to the Dangote Refinery in Naira.
Additionally, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) designated itself as the sole distributor of Dangote petrol, granting exclusive purchasing rights that limited flexibility in determining prices.
