PRESIDENT of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote remains the richest man in Africa, and now the 65th richest man in the World, despite the volatility of the Nigerian currency against the dollar.
Bloomberg, in its latest top 500 Billionaires Index released on Thursday, revealed that Dangote with a wealth of $28 billion had his wealth increased significantly after the commencement of operations of his newly built Petrochemical refinery, said to be worth over $20 billion. This new ranking is the highest the renowned entrepreneur has risen. He was previously ranked 83rd in 2022.
The Dangote Refinery located in Ibeju-Lekki, in the outskirts of Lagos, is the biggest single-train oil refinery in the world and one of the most complex, capable of processing most global crude types.
It has the potential to transform Nigeria’s economy by making the country self-reliant for fuel. The refinery started producing premium motor spirit (petrol) in September among other products like diesel and Jet-A1, and it has more than doubled his net worth to $27.8 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
No African is close to Dangote’s latest ranking as Johann Rupert, of South Africa is 174 on the world list, with a wealth of $13.6bn and Nicky Oppenheimer also of South Africa is number 224 on the world list with a wealth of $11.6bn. Other Africans on the list are: South African’s Natie Karsh, number 297 in the world with a wealth of $9.25bn, Egypt’s Nassef Sawiris on number 302 in the world with a wealth of $9.16bn, and Naguib Sawiris also of Egypt with a wealth of $7.37bn on number 407 in the world.
The Bloomberg Billionaires Index is a daily ranking of the world’s richest people. In calculating net worth, Bloomberg News strives to provide the most transparent calculations available, and each individual billionaire profile contains a detailed analysis of how that person’s fortune is tallied.
The index is a dynamic measure of personal wealth based on changes in markets, the economy and Bloomberg reporting. Each net worth figure is updated every business day after the close of trading in New York.
Stakes in publicly traded companies are valued using the share’s most recent closing price. Valuations are converted to U.S. dollars at current exchange rates.
Ellon Musk and Jeff Bezos are the richest in the world with $242billion and $210 billion respectively in their kitties, while Mark Zuckerberg and Larry Ellison followed respectively with $204 billion and $185 billion on the world’s billionaires’ chart.
It would be recalled that Aliko Dangote was also recently named as among the topmost charitable man in the World by Richtopia, a digital periodical that covers business, economics, and financial news, based in the United Kingdom. This recognition came after he endowed his foundation, the Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) to the tune of over $1.25 billion.
Aliko Dangote started his Foundation in 1981, with a mission to enhance opportunities for social change through strategic investments that improve health and wellbeing, promote quality education, and broaden economic empowerment opportunities.
Aliko Dangote Foundation was however incorporated in 1994 as a charity in Lagos, Nigeria. 20 years later, the Foundation has become the largest private Foundation in sub–Saharan Africa, with the largest endowment by a single African donor.
The primary focus of Aliko Dangote Foundation is health and nutrition, supported by wrap-around interventions in education, empowerment, and humanitarian relief.