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Aliko Dangote GCON (born 10 April 1957) is a Nigerian business magnate. He is the chairman and CEO of Dangote Group, an industrial conglomerate and the wealthiest person in Africa, with an estimated net worth of US$13.6 billion as of January 2022.

Early life
Dangote was born in Kano, Kano State into a wealthy Hausa Muslim family, the son of Mohammed Dangote and Mariya Sanusi Dantata, the daughter of Sanusi Dantata. He is the great-grandson of Alhassan Dantata, the richest West African at the time of his death in 1955

Dangote was educated at the Sheikh Ali Kumasi Madrasa, followed by Capital High School, Kano. On his early life, he has said:

Education
"I can remember when I was in primary school, I would go and buy cartons of sweets [candy] and I would start selling them just to make money. I was so interested in business, even at that time."

Award and degrees
In 1978, he graduated from the Government College, Birnin Kudu. He received a bachelor's degree in business studies and administration from Al-Azhar University, Cairo.

Nigeria
The Dangote Group was established as a small trading firm in 1977, the same year Dangote relocated to Lagos to expand the company.[4] Today, it is one of the largest conglomerates in Africa with many of its operations in Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia and Togo. Dangote has expanded to cover food processing, cement manufacturing, and freight. The Dangote Group also dominates the sugar market in Nigeria and is a major supplier to the country's soft drink companies, breweries, and confectioners. The Dangote Group has moved from being a trading company to be the largest industrial group in Nigeria including Dangote Sugar Refinery, Dangote Cement, and Dangote Flour.

Other activities
Dangote had a prominent role in the funding of Olusegun Obasanjo's re-election bid in 2003, to which he gave over N200 million (US$2 million). He contributed N50 million (US$500 thousand) to the National Mosque under the aegis of "Friends of Obasanjo and Atiku". He contributed N200 million to the Presidential Library. These highly controversial gifts to members of the ruling PDP party have generated significant concerns despite highly publicized anti-corruption drives during Obasanjo's second term.[15]

Net worth
Dangote reportedly added $9.2 billion to his personal wealth in 2013, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, making him the thirtieth-richest person in the world at the time, and the richest person in Africa.[16]

Dangote donation
In 2014, the Nigerian government said Dangote had donated 150 million naira (US$750,000) to halt the spread of Ebola.[17][18] In March 2020, he donated 200 million naira (US$500,000) towards the fight against the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria.[19]

Aliko Dangote, as well as Femi Otedola, promised to give the Super Eagles of Nigeria US$75,000 for every goal scored in the Africans Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2019.[20] He is also an avid enthusiast of Arsenal F.C. in England and has shown interest in buying it

Personal life
Dangote lives in Lagos, Nigeria.[21] He has been married and divorced twice. He has three daughters – Mariya, Halima, Fatimah – and one adopted son Abdulrahman Fasasi.[1]

Aliko's brother, Sani Dangote, died on 14 November 2021 of unknown causes.[22]

Awards and recognition

 * Dangote was awarded Nigeria's second-highest honour, the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON) by the former president, Goodluck Jonathan.[23]
 * Dangote was named as the Forbes Africa Person of the Year 2014.[24]
 * For six consecutive years, 2013,[25] 2014,[26] 2015,[27] 2016,[28] 2017,[29] and 2018[30] Forbes listed him as the "Most Powerful Man in Africa".
 * In 2014, he was listed CNBC's "Top 25 Businessmen in the World" who changed and shaped the century.[31][32]
 * In April 2014, Time magazine listed him among its 100 most influential people in the world.[33][34][35]
 * In October 2015, Dangote was listed among "50 Most Influential Individuals in the World" by Bloomberg Markets.[36][37]
 * He won "The Guardian Man of the Year 2015".[38]
 * He won the "2016 African Business Leader Award", organized by the Africa-America Institute (AAI).[39][40]
 * Dangote was cited as one of the top 100 most influential Africans by New African magazine in 2015,[41] 2017,[42] 2018[43] and 2019

Memberships
Dangote sits on the board of the Corporate Council on Africa, and is a member of the steering committee of the United Nations Secretary-General's Global Education First Initiative,[45][46] the Clinton Global Initiative and the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum. He was named co-chair of the US-Africa Business Center, in September 2016, by the US Chamber of Commerce.[47][48][49][50] In April 2017, he joined the board of directors of the Clinton Health Access Initiative.[51] He is also on the board of One Campaign.[52][53][54]