Africa’s richest individual, Aliko Dangote, has officially reached a net worth of $30 billion as of October 23, 2025, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaire Index.
This marks a $2.16 billion increase in his wealth so far this year, including a recent $430 million valuation gain. Just days earlier, Dangote’s fortune was $29.8 billion, only $200 million short of the milestone.
The growth reflects the expansion of his industrial empire, particularly the completion of a $160 million cement plant in Attingué, about 30 km north of Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. Covering 50 hectares with an annual capacity of three million metric tonnes, the facility is among the largest Dangote Cement sites outside Nigeria. With this addition, the company’s total installed capacity across Africa now stands at approximately 55 million tonnes per year across 11 countries.
Dangote is also scaling up in the oil sector, planning to more than double refining operations to 1.4 million barrels per day, which would surpass the output of the world’s largest refinery in Jamnagar, India. Reports suggest that within the next year, Dangote Refinery may sell 5–10% of its shares on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX).
Since the launch of the $20 billion Dangote Oil Refinery in May 2023—which began operations in October 2023 with a daily production capacity of 370,000 barrels of diesel and jet fuel—Dangote’s wealth trajectory has been notable. He was ranked the 81st richest person globally by Bloomberg at $20.4 billion shortly after the refinery’s commissioning.
Dangote briefly lost the title of Africa’s richest man to South African billionaire Johann Rupert in early 2024, but quickly regained it, surpassing $20 billion by late January 2024. After mid-2024 fluctuations, his net worth rose to $27.8 billion by year-end 2024 and $29.3 billion by August 2025, before officially crossing the $30 billion mark this month.
Dangote’s continued rise underscores his expanding influence across Africa’s industrial landscape—from cement to oil refining—cementing his position as not only the continent’s wealthiest individual but also one of its most transformative business leaders.
