# Aliko Dangote

Aliko Dangote GCON (born 10 April 1957) is a Nigerian businessman known for his key roles in Dangote Group and Refinery. In 2011, he was appointed as member of the economic management team by President Goodluck Jonathan. Dangote is the wealthiest black person in the world; as of March 2025, Forbes estimates his net worth to be US$23.8 billion.
Born to a wealthy family in Kano, Kano State, Nigeria, Dangote is from an Hausa descent. His father was a businessman. He was educated in Kano until his university education, when he left Nigerian for Egypt. He graduated from Al-Azhar University in Cairo before returning to Lagos to pursue business ventures. In 1977, he founded the Dangote Group, a small company, which was first a trading enterprise; importing sugar and food materials in Nigeria. In 1981, he founded Dangote Nigeria Limited and Blue Star Services; both imports commodities including rice and bulk materials: steel and aluminium products inclusively. Following the large sales by the company, and the demand for commodities, Dangote added cement, which was already dominated, hence, faced competition from Lafarge, a French Cement importation company.
Dangote was awarded the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger in 2011, and was listed in Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world in 2014. He has been involved in economic and political activities, and his views have made him a polarizing figure especially on his influence to the Economy of Nigeria. He has engaged in political activities in several countries and was the founder of the largest oil refinery in Africa.

## 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.