Dangote’s fortune jumps to $51.3bn, making him 36th richest globally

Aliko Dangote is now worth $51.3 billion, according to Forbes’ real-time billionaires index, making him the 36th richest person in the world.

The jump of roughly $20 billion comes as his refinery opened Africa’s largest-ever public share sale on Monday.

What pushed the number up

The bulk of the increase traces to a $2.5 billion private placement completed in July, which was oversubscribed and gave Forbes a market price to apply to Dangote’s refinery stake for the first time. No shares in that round changed hands on Dangote’s side; the revaluation was a pricing exercise, not a sale.

Forbes had Dangote at about $31.5 billion as recently as September 4. That figure sits well above his position on Forbes’ annual World’s Billionaires list, published earlier this year at $28.5 billion; the real-time number has climbed sharply since, driven first by the July placement and now by this week’s share sale.

Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, which uses a different methodology, still lists him at $35.3 billion but projects a rise to $58.2 billion once the current offer completes.

A decade of swings

Dangote’s fortune has moved unevenly on Forbes’ annual list over the past ten years: $12.2 billion in 2017, $14.1 billion in 2018, a dip to $10.4 billion in 2019 and $8.3 billion in 2020, then a recovery to $11.5 billion in 2021, $14 billion in 2022, $14.2 billion in 2023 and $13.4 billion in 2024.

The figure nearly doubled to $23.9 billion in 2025 before reaching $28.5 billion this year — a run now dwarfed by the real-time jump to $51.3 billion.

The IPO behind the numbers

Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals opened its public offer on the Nigerian Exchange on Monday, September 14, selling 4.1 billion ordinary shares at ₦525 each.

The company is seeking about ₦2.15 trillion, or $1.6 billion, in what is being described as the biggest share sale in African history. The offer covers 3.3% of the company and closes on October 13, with trading expected to begin in November.

NGX Group chief executive Temi Popoola said the exchange has built connectivity across more than 50 distribution channels, including stockbrokers, banks and fintech platforms, to widen participation in the sale.

Also read: Investors fume as Dangote IPO frenzy freezes Bamboo, Cowrywise, Afrinvest apps

Not all the reaction has been positive. Local reports have linked a ₦1.8 trillion drop on the exchange last Tuesday to investors repositioning ahead of the offer, and the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a cease-and-desist notice in June over unapproved promotional activity tied to the listing.

What it means for Dangote’s stake

The refinery, which began operations in 2024, now accounts for more than Dangote’s cement, fertiliser and sugar businesses combined. His stake stood at 87% after the July placement; if the public offer is fully subscribed, that could fall to around 84%.

Should the projections from both Forbes and Bloomberg hold, Dangote would widen his gap as Africa’s richest person and move closer to, or past, global figures such as hedge fund manager Ken Griffin and technology investor Eric Schmidt in the world rankings.