Dangote doubles wealth to $27.8bn, now only African on world’s top 100 richest persons’ list

Aliko Dangote, the president of the Dangote Industries Limited (DIL), has doubled his wealth to a record $27.8 billion, following the operationalisation of his multibillion-dollar oil refinery.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Dangote’s net worth increased by $15.1 billion to $27.8 billion as at October 18.

The billionaire businessman moved up to 65th position, making him the only African in the top 100 spot.

The elevation places Dangote more than 100 spots ahead of Johann Rupert, the South African billionaire, who is ranked 174th.

Dangote’s increased net worth pushed him up the index more than 40 places from his 111th position on June 30, 2023.

The development comes more than a year after his refinery was inaugurated in May 2023.

The 650,000 barrel-per-day plant sits on 2, 635 hectares of land located in the free zone area of Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos.

The facility began the production of diesel on January 12, but petrol production did not commence until September 3 due to several factors — including crude supply challenges.

The constraints on accessing crude feedstock from international oil companies (IOCs) in Nigeria forced the company to import crude from countries like Brazil and the US to bridge the supply gap.

On June 4, Dangote said some IOCs were struggling to supply crude to his refinery.

However, after the intervention of President Bola Tinubu, the federal executive council (FEC) approved the sale of crude oil to the Dangote refinery and other refineries in naira on July 29.

Eventually, on October 5, the federal government said Nigeria officially commenced the sale of crude oil and refined petroleum products in naira.

The refinery and the national oil firm also started trading in naira.