How The Richest Man in Africa Made His Fortune

You probably know that Elon Musk is the richest man in the United States. You might even know that Bernard Arnault, who lives in France, is currently the richest man in the world. (Musk might get more headlines in the US, but Arnault has built an empire on the back of luxury goods that eclipses, at least economically, all the achievements of Musk).

But do you know who the richest man in Africa is? It’s Aliko Dangote of Nigeria. How did he became so wealthy?

Who Is the Richest Man in Africa?

With a net worth of about $13.5 billion, Aliko Dangote is the richest man in Africa. The second-richest person in Africa, Johann Rupert of South Africa, has a net worth of about $10.7 billion. That makes Dangote the wealthier man by more than 25%.

Although Aliko Dangote is the richest person in Africa, he is the 86th richest person in the world. (Some lists place him as the 82nd-richest and 83rd-richest person in the world.)

It’s worth noting that several billionaires have approximately the same amount of wealth as Dangote, which partially explains why sources list them in different orders. People with very similar amounts of wealth include:

• Idan Ofer or Israel
• Vladimir Lisin of Russia
• Dan Gilbert of the United States
• Eyal Ofer of Monaco
• Wang Chuan-Fu of China

How Did Dangote Get Rich?

Aliko Dangote was somewhat fortunate early in life but none of the advantages he grew up with explain how he catapulted to extraordinary wealth.

Dangote was clever in figuring out that trade between Africa and Europe would boom, and he could act as a go-between, a middleman so to speak.

Then another lightbulb moment hit. Why not start selling materials directly between the two continents? That was a big idea at the time, and proved highly lucrative.

In a short time, Dangote was selling a wide variety of commodities, including salt, flour, and sugar. With his new found riches, he built a factory and, thanks to his direct to seller model, could earn higher margins than competitors.

By the late 1990s, Dangote was able to take a stake in a state-owned cement company. He reportedly invested $319 million into building a new cement factory. The rest of the funding, about $479 million, came in the form of a loan from the International Finance Corporation.

This positioned him to become one of the biggest cement producers in Africa. Today, he has facilities in at least 10 African countries. Combined, those production facilities make about 45.6 million tons of cement every year.

Clearly, Aliko Dangote had made good business decisions. Within a decade, he would earn his first billion dollars. He became recognized as a billionaire in 2007.

His business empire continues to generate most of its revenue from cement deals. Once he earned his first billion, he had enough influence, power, and business connections to continue growing and diversifying his business empire.

It’s hard to believe that Dangote started his business with a small loan from a family member. But he has turned himself into a multi-billionaire thanks to cunning, perseverance, and a handful of privileges.

Today, Dangote is the richest person in Africa and the richest Black person in the entire world. Other Black billionaires include:

It’s always difficult to determine the net worth of an extremely wealthy person. The Dangote Group’s performance at any given time could affect Aliko Dangote’s net worth by millions or even billions of dollars. Market fluctuations can also have a significant influence on the value of his investments, real estate, and assets.

Still, people who follow Dangote’s career estimate that he currently has a net worth around $13.5 billion. At 66 years old, he has plenty of time to grow his net worth even more.

If he continues investing wisely and discovering opportunities to improve his business competitiveness, he could leverage his current wealth to potentially double his net worth or more as Warren Buffett from a similar age. Only time will tell. At the moment, though, with commodity prices high, he seems poised for rapid growth.

Was Dangote Born Into a Rich Family?

Aliko Dangote definitely got a head start in life. Dangote’s mother, Mariya Sanusi Dantata, was the daughter of Sanusi Dantata, a wealthy entrepreneur with interests in energy, transportation, and peanuts.

During much of his career, he served as the director of Shell BP’s Nigerian branch. He also founded the company Sanusi Dantata and Sons Ltd.

Dangote’s maternal great-grandfather, Alhassan Dantata, was also rich. He grew his wealth by working with British trading companies that needed access to raw goods from Africa’s Gold Coast. At one point, Alhassan Dantata was considered the wealthiest person in West Africa.

While Dangote benefited from his family’s riches, he earned his position in the business world. He has degrees from Government College, Birnin Kudu and Al-Azhar University in Cairo, where he studied business and administration.

At just 20 years old, Dangote and his brother, Sani (1959-2021), formed The Dangote Group. They funded the trading company by borrowing 500,000 Nigerian Naira from their uncle. That amount was equal to about $1,086 ($3,000 in today’s dollars). The company traded diverse goods, including sugar, rice, and cement.

Who Is the Richest Person in South Africa?

Johann Rupert is the richest person in South Africa. Like Aliko Dangote, Rupert comes from a wealthy background. His father, Anton Rupert (1916-2006), founded and operated a tobacco company named Rembrandt Ltd.

Over time, Anton moved into European luxury goods, such as Montblanc pens, Seeger bags, and Cartier jewelry. Anton Rupert joined forces with other rich South African families to build a large alcohol industry largely based on wines and brandy.

Although Johann Rupert would eventually take over many of his father’s business interests, he started his career working at Chase Manhattan and Lazard Freres in New York City. He went back to South Africa in 1979, having gained considerable experience in the banking industry. He used his experience to found Rand Merchant Bank. He also served as Rand Merchant Bank’s CEO.

Today, Rupert serves as the chairman of two companies: Richemont and Remgro. Richemont is a luxury goods holding company based in Switzerland. Remgro is a South African investment holding company that was once the ninth biggest public company in South Africa. (Remgro is the current version of Rembrandt Ltd, which underwent several name changes over the years.)

Top 10 African Billionaires

Depending on the metrics you use, Africa has between a dozen and 46 billionaires.

Why such a broad range?

Because of variables like whether people were born in Africa, still live in Africa, where they hold citizenship, and the current stock market.

For example, Elon Musk doesn’t make the list, despite growing up in South Africa and having a $187+ billion fortune, because he left the continent at a young age and has made North America his home.

Regardless of how you measure Africa’s billionaires, these 10 stand out as the continent’s wealthiest people:

1. Aliko Dangote, Nigeria – $13.5 billion
2. Johann Rupert, South Africa – $10.7 billion
3. Nicky Oppenheimer, South Africa – $8.4 billion
4. Abdulsamad Rabiu, Nigeria – $7.6 billion
5. Nassef Sawiris, Egypt – $7.4 billion
6. Mike Adenuga, Nigeria – $6.3 billion
7. Issad Rebrab, Algeria – $4.6 billion
8. Naguib Sawiris, Egypt – $3.3 billion
9. Patrice Motsepe, South Africa – $3.2 billion
10. Mohamed Mansour, Egypt – $2.9 billion

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