With $23.9b assets, Dangote is 86th world’s richest

With his assets valued at $23.9b, business mogul Aliko Dangote is 86th richest in the world, according to Forbes magazine.

He retained his position as Africa’s wealthiest person.

The entrepreneur’s wealth, according to the magazine, surged 100 per cent in 12 months.He moved to his present position from number 144 in the last year’s ranking which put his network then at $13.4 billion.

The magazine estimates Dangote’s net worth at $23.9  92.3 per cent stake in Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals.

At 67, Dangote is once again one of the top 100 richest individuals worldwide, a position he has not held since 2018, according to the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires List.

This places him significantly ahead of South African Johann Rupert, who is ranked 161st in the world with an estimated wealth of $14.4 billion and very far above Mike Adenuga, who is the second richest person in Nigeria and 481st  in the world, with a net worth of $6.8 billion.

Alhaji Dangote disrupted oil monopoly by constructing the largest petroleum refinery in Africa.After 11 years of numerous challenges, the $23 billion Dangote Refinery began operations last year.

Located on a vast 6,200-acre site in the Lekki Free Zone, the refinery, at full capacity, will process a remarkable 650,000 barrels per day (b/d), making it the seventh-largest refinery in the world and the largest in Africa. Additionally, the refinery’s adjacent petrochemical complex has an annual production capacity of 3 million metric tons of urea, making it Africa’s largest fertiliser producer.

The refinery is already having a significant impact on global energy markets. Imports of petroleum into Nigeria are on track to reach an eight-year low, affecting European refiners that have traditionally sold to Nigeria, according to energy intelligence firm Vortexa. Furthermore, Nigeria has become a net exporter of jet fuel, naphtha (a solvent used in varnishes, laundry soaps, and cleaning fluids), and fuel oil, according to S&P Global.

Dangote sees the refinery as part of a larger vision to transform Nigeria, one of the world’s largest crude oil producers, into a major producer of refined petroleum products. This would enable Nigeria to compete with European refineries and supply gasoline to Nigerian consumers.