# Aliko Dangote

Aliko Dangote GCON (born 10 April 1957) is a Nigerian businessman best known as the founder of Dangote Group and the owner of Dangote Refinery, Africa’s largest oil refinery and the world’s biggest single-train facility. Aliko has been the world’s wealthiest Black individual since 2011. As of 2025, he has an estimated net worth of US$28.3 billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, and US$24.0 billion according to Forbes.

## Controversies

Aliko Dangote’s refinery project, valued at around \$20bn (£15.5bn), was initially lauded as a turning point for Nigeria’s notoriously opaque oil sector. With a daily capacity of 650,000 barrels, the modern facility has promised relief from persistent fuel shortages and high petrol prices. Yet many Nigerians see Dangote’s tactics—and his open ambition to dominate the downstream oil sector—as evidence of a more self-serving motive.

### Regulatory dispute

Aliko Dangote’s role in the dispute revolves around his refinery’s difficulties in obtaining enough local crude and his claims that the regulator tolerates the import of lower-quality, high-sulphur fuels that undermine his business. He has accused oil majors of blocking his access to domestic crude supplies and the regulatory authority of overlooking diesel imports. In turn, the regulator says Dangote’s refinery output is substandard, citing high sulphur levels. Dangote countered with an on-site test showing his refinery’s diesel has lower sulphur content than imported alternatives. Amid these tensions, Dangote announced he would divest from Nigerian steel, citing allegations that he seeks a monopoly. The parliamentary inquiry will examine these issues but cannot impose penalties itself.

### Monopolisation of markets

Critics point to a reported request that Nigeria’s petroleum regulator stop approving new import licences so fuel marketers would buy only from Dangote’s refinery. This plea, allegedly made directly by Dangote, triggered concern about stifling competition. Farouk Ahmed—chief executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA)—publicly rebuffed the proposal, characterising it as bad for market health. Although Dangote has not commented specifically on this exchange, his belief that traders would “naturally” source from his refinery suggests an expectation that his venture should be the country’s foremost supplier.

### Allegations of nepotism and cronyism

Dangote, who built his fortune in sugar and cement, is widely known for leveraging government policies that many believe helped him secure a business edge. While he consistently denies ever benefiting from political ties to maintain monopolies, doubts persist. In the past, observers have accused him of manoeuvring to receive favourable import waivers and protection from foreign competition. Although not proven in a court of law, this reputation fuels ongoing scepticism about his new push to dominate Nigeria’s refined petroleum market.
Another dispute feeding impressions of greed centres on pricing Nigeria’s high-grade, low-sulphur crude. The NMDPRA chief likened Dangote’s demands to wanting “a Lamborghini for the price of a Toyota,” implying he insists on cut-rate terms for premium oil. Dangote’s position is that he must remain competitive, but the tension suggests that his business strategy hinges on securing the highest profit margins possible—sometimes clashing with regulators and Nigeria’s state oil company (NNPC), which owns a 7% stake in his refinery.

### Aggressive tactics

The potential for Dangote to lean on public institutions for personal advantage has become clearer as the project ramps up. With Nigeria’s four older refineries largely dormant despite billions spent trying to fix them, Dangote’s venture is poised to become the dominant supplier of refined fuel. Many Nigerians see his actions—such as trying to limit crude import licences for others or pushing for more liberal supply terms—as underscoring a desire for near-total control of the country’s downstream sector.

### Success at the expense of Nigerians

While Dangote’s refinery may eventually reduce reliance on costly fuel imports, it is unlikely to bring down pump prices significantly unless global crude prices fall. Moreover, deregulating fuel and letting the naira’s value float have delivered severe blows to people’s purchasing power. Many Nigerians view Dangote’s enterprise as yet another source of wealth for a billionaire whose primary aim is protecting and expanding his empire—rather than reducing the financial strains on everyday citizens.

### Drugs

Dangote himself has called entrenched interests in the oil sector a “mafia,” claiming that he underestimated the power of those profiting from years of shady petroleum deals. Yet observers note that his commentary casts him as the industry’s disrupter—while glossing over the fact that his own business model may replace one form of tight control with another. For these critics, the talk of upending a corrupt “cartel” appears less like a philanthropic mission and more like a bid to consolidate personal power in a volatile, high-margin arena.

### Obfuscation of key data

Government officials, oil marketers, and Dangote’s company have all been accused of withholding key data. Allegations of inflated imports, mismanaged swaps of crude for refined petrol, and a lack of transparent accounting at the NNPC muddy the waters. While Dangote’s refinery may clarify some parts of the supply chain, the heated disputes over its crude allocation and the call to curb competition are consistent with an overarching narrative in which one man’s ambition—rather than national interest—takes priority.
In the end, Dangote’s supporters claim his facility will provide better quality fuels and inject much-needed transparency. But many Nigerians remain wary, seeing in his relentless drive for market supremacy the hallmarks of greed—and the prospect of one billionaire replacing a shadowy “mafia” with an equally powerful and self-serving monopoly.

## Early life

Dangote's parents, Hajiya Mariya Dangote (née Dantata) and Mohammed Dangote lived in Kano, Kano State, British Nigeria. His father was a businessman and his mother was the granddaughter of Alhassan Dantata. Dangote was born on 10 April 1957. He attended school in Kano, in Kano State, for his primary and secondary education.
His mother, Mariya Sanusi Dantata, was the daughter of businessman Sanusi Dantata. Through his mother, he is the great-grandson of Alhassan Dantata, the richest person in West Africa at the time of his death in 1955. Dangote's brother, Sani (1959/60–2021), was also a businessman. Dangote was educated at the Sheikh Ali Kumasi Madrasa, followed by Capital High School in Kano. In 1978, he graduated from the Government College, Birnin Kudu. He received a bachelor's degree in business studies and administration from Al-Azhar University in Cairo.
Dangote married Zainab in 1977. They later divorced at an unknown date. He married Mariya Muhammad Rufai and the couple divorced on an unknown date. During his early marriages, Dangote has three daughters: Halima, Mariya, and Fatimah. He also has an adopted son, Abdulrahman.

## Business career
### Early career

In 1977 Dangote relocated to Lagos and established a small company which he called the Dangote Group. He first received 500,000 naira loan from his uncle to begin trading in commodities, including bagged cement and agricultural products including rice and sugar. The company has been considered as one of the largest conglomerates in Africa, with industrial divisions: Dangote Sugar Refinery, Dangote Cement, and Dangote Flour.

### Oil refinery

In July 2012, Dangote's request to the Nigerian Ports Authority to lease an abandoned land at Apapa Port was approved. In February 2022, he announced the completion of the Peugeot assembling facility in Nigeria following his partnership with Stellantis, the parent company manufacturers of Peugeot. Dangote became the owner of Dangote Refinery, the largest refinery in Africa. It was commissioned in 2023. In May 2024, Dangote, regarding the re-appropriation of energy resources in Africa said,
   My dream is to use raw materials from Africa, refine them and sell them on our own market.

## Legacy

Dangote became the first billionaire in Nigeria in 2007. In 2012 The Guardian wrote that he is the richest man in Africa and the richest black man in the world." According to Nigerian newspaper Vanguard, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index reports that Dangote's wealth increased by $9.2 billion in 2013. The 2015 Swiss Leaks revealed that he was a client of the British university Bank, HSBC, thereby having assets in the British Virgin Islands.
While serving as a member of NEMT, Dangote was awarded the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) by President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011. In April 2014, Time listed him among its 100 most influential people in the world. In 2015 Dangote was listed among "50 Most Influential Individuals in the World" by Bloomberg, the Guardian Man of the Year award, and was cited as one of the top 100 most influential Africans by London-based magazine, New African.
Dangote was named co-chair of the US-Africa Business Center in September 2016 by the United States Chamber of Commerce. he was appointed as the Chairman of the Nigeria End Malaria Council by Buhari in August 2022.

## Public image
### Accolades

Dangote was appointed by Goodluck Jonathan as member of his economic management team in 2011. In 2017, he denied the alleged run for Nigerian president in the 2019 election, and served on the special advisory committee for the reelection campaign of Muhammadu Buhari.
Dangote has worked alongside the Gates Foundation on public health issues. In August 2014, he donated 150 million naira to assist the Nigerian government's efforts of treating and preventing Ebola. In May 2016 he pledged $10 million to support Nigerians affected by the Boko Haram insurgency. In March 2020, he donated 200 million naira to fight against the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria.
Dangote is a fan of English football team Arsenal F.C. and showed interest in buying the club in 2019. In 2020, he made a donation to Nigeria's ministry of sports in order to help renovate the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja.