Aliko Dangote Says His True Wealth Is Higher Than Global Rankings Show
By Aboki Forex —
Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest businessman, has stirred fresh debate about his fortune. He says his actual net worth may be far higher than what global wealth trackers publish.
In a street interview with entrepreneur James Dumoulin, Dangote revealed that a large part of his business empire remains private. This makes it hard for outsiders to assess his wealth accurately.
When asked about the highest amount he made in a single year, Dangote gave a striking answer. He said, 'Well, first quarter, we did about $10 billion.' This shows the massive scale of his operations.
Dangote also pushed back against estimates from Forbes and the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Forbes puts his wealth at $31.6 billion. Bloomberg says $40.6 billion. But Dangote insists these figures miss his most valuable assets.
'They say I'm worth $38 billion, but most of our businesses are not listed yet,' Dangote said. 'It will come out soon,' he added. This hints that the full value of his empire may become clearer once his major companies go public.
His top assets include the Dangote Petroleum Refinery, the world's largest single-train refinery. The group's fertiliser business is also among Africa's most valuable industrial ventures. Both remain unlisted.
Dangote has repeatedly said he plans to list the refinery on the Nigerian Exchange and possibly other African stock markets. The proposed listing could be one of the biggest in Africa's history. Analysts value the refinery at between $25 billion and $30 billion. Such an offering may raise the market value of Dangote's holdings and back his claim that his wealth exceeds current estimates.