Aliko Dangote plans to give one-third of his $36bn fortune to charity

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, plans to donate one-third of his wealth to charity as part of his succession plan. Halima Dangote, his daughter and trustee of the Aliko Dangote Foundation, disclosed the plan in a Bloomberg interview published on Tuesday. The billionaire plans to dedicate 33 per cent of his estate to philanthropy.The billionaire’s fortune is valued at about $36.5 billion, according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index. One-third of his wealth amounts to more than $12 billion, and this is one of the largest charity commitments ever made by an African billionaire.According to Halima, her father considers philanthropy central to his legacy and has embedded it into the family’s long-term succession plans. “He sort of put all the structure in place whereby we focus a lot on health and education. He actually donated 25 per cent to the foundation. If you look at it, it is what we call in Sharia code in Islam; it means he has donated 33 per cent of his whole inheritance to his foundation,” Halima Dangote told the publication.“That is how important it is to him because philanthropy needs to exist generation after generation. So giving back is part and parcel of what we do. We believe we’re here, that our business is successful, because of the giving back and because of the philanthropic aspect. That is why the 33 per cent is important. And that is why he made an announcement, and he asked me, my two sisters, and his mother to sign under that will that he is able to give that 33 per cent to humanity,” she added. The announcement gives a rare glimpse into the succession plan of the Dangote Group, Africa’s largest industrial conglomerate.Aliko Dangote, who built an empire on cement, fertiliser, sugar, and an enormous 650,000-barrel-per-day petroleum refinery, has given his three daughters—Halima, Fatima, and Mariya—senior executive leadership and board roles within the group in recent months. Halima oversees the family’s international offices in Dubai and London, while Fatima leads the energy business. Mariya is in charge of strategy for food and cement. The arrangement signals more than a standard handoff; it’s a full operational integration. The heirs are aiming to build the family business into a $100 billion enterprise by the end of the decade. Though most wealthy families keep succession plans private until the founder steps down, the Dangotes have been transparent about how leadership and ownership will evolve. Aliko Dangote, who turns 70 next year, remains hands-on, yet his family is already steering the ship.In an earlier interview with the outlet, the billionaire said that he spends more on charitable causes than on himself in the hope of making “the most impact on the world” during his lifetime. Established in 1994 and endowed with $1.25 billion, his foundation has funded several programmes in the fields of health, nutrition, education, disaster relief, and poverty reduction across Nigeria and other African countries.Earlier this year, Time magazine named him among the most influential people of 2026 and called him ‘indefatigable, resilient, and foresighted’. The publication described him as ‘a great man, creating a great legacy’.Catch the latest World News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.