Business Reporter
Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote has crossed the US$50 billion mark on the Forbes wealth rankings after a sharp revaluation of his fortune linked to the initial public offering (IPO) of his oil refinery.
Forbes valued Dangote’s net worth at about $51.3 billion on September 14, making him significantly wealthier than Nigeria’s other billionaires combined. His fortune has increased by roughly $20 billion following the repricing of the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals ahead of its public listing.
The surge comes as Dangote’s 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery opened its IPO to investors on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on Monday.
The offering involves 4.1 billion shares priced at 525 naira each, with the company seeking to raise about $1.6 billion. The refinery has been valued at roughly $47 billion to $49 billion in connection with the offering.
The IPO represents a major shift for Dangote, allowing Nigerians and institutional investors to take direct ownership in one of Africa’s largest industrial assets.
Dangote retains a controlling stake in the refinery, which began operations in 2024 after an investment of about $20 billion. The facility has helped transform Nigeria from a major importer of refined petroleum products into an exporter.
The refinery is also expected to expand significantly, with plans to increase capacity to 1.4 million barrels per day over the next three years.
Dangote’s latest wealth increase further widens the gap between him and Nigeria’s other major billionaires. Forbes estimates that Abdul Samad Rabiu, Mike Adenuga and Femi Otedola have a combined fortune of about $21.1 billion, less than half Dangote’s latest valuation.
The refinery IPO is part of Dangote’s broader strategy to unlock capital for expansion while increasing public participation in his businesses. The billionaire has also indicated that the refinery could pursue a secondary listing in the United States in the next three to four years.
The latest valuation marks a dramatic rise from Forbes’ estimate earlier this year, when Dangote was listed with a fortune of $28.5 billion on its 2026 Africa billionaires ranking.
