LAGOS, Nigeria – Aliko Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest person for 14 consecutive years, has seen his fortune nearly double to 23.9billion, according to the 2025 Forbes Africa Billionaires List.
The staggering 10.5 billion increase comes as his ambitious $23 billion petroleum refinery – the largest in Africa – begins operations despite significant challenges.
The Dangote Refinery, located on a sprawling 6,200-acre site near Lagos, represents one of the continent’s most ambitious industrial projects.
After 11 years of development and overcoming numerous obstacles, the facility is now processing 500,000 barrels per day, with plans to reach full capacity of 650,000 barrels daily.
At peak production, it will rank as the seventh largest refinery globally.
The refinery’s impact is already being felt across global energy markets.
Nigeria’s gasoline imports are on pace for an eight-year low, disrupting European refiners who traditionally supplied Africa’s largest economy.
The country has also become a net exporter of jet fuel, naphtha, and fuel oil.
However, the project’s success comes amid controversy.
While Dangote’s refinery was meant to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on fuel imports, consumers have faced 60% higher gas prices over the past six months following the government’s removal of fuel subsidies.
The subsidy cuts were partially enabled by the refinery’s existence but have caused widespread public discontent.
Dangote blames the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) for failing to meet its crude supply commitments and continuing to import refined products, calling them part of Nigeria’s “oil mafia” that is “more deadly than the one in drugs.”
The billionaire’s relationship with Nigeria’s new administration under President Bola Tinubu appears strong, despite an anti-graft commission raid on Dangote’s office last year.
The refinery project faced numerous setbacks; including site relocation disputes, COVID-19 delays, and massive cost overruns from initial 10 billion estimates.
Dangote financed the venture through 5.5 billion in bank loans, stake sales in his cement business, and a $10 billion intercompany loan.
While the refinery has transformed Dangote’s fortune, returning him to the ranks of the world’s top 100 richest people, challenges remain.
Fitch recently downgraded the refinery’s bonds due to liquidity concerns and Nigeria’s currency devaluation, though Dangote insists the dollarized business can withstand naira fluctuations.
The industrialist, who began his career trading commodities with a $500,000 loan from an uncle, now oversees an empire spanning cement, sugar, flour, and now oil.
His next ventures include a subsea gas pipeline and taking the refinery public within two years.
