Africa’s Richest Man Doubled His Fortune On A Massive $23 Billion Bet

Forbes

Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote broke his government’s oil monopoly by building the largest petroleum refinery in Africa. So far, only he has reaped the rewards.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnhyatt/2025/02/17/africas-richest-man-doubled-his-fortune-on-a-massive---and-risky---23-billion-bet/  Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Today on Forbes, Africa's richest man doubled his fortune on a massive and risky $23 billion bet.

00:10Aliko Dangote takes a deep breath before reflecting on the odyssey of building Africa's largest oil and gas refinery.

00:18Speaking with Forbes via videoconference from an office space at the refinery, he says, quote,

00:24This is a very, very big relief. It is actually removing something off my chest,

00:28because nobody ever gave us the chance to prove this through.

00:32After 11 years, $23 billion in investment, and innumerable headaches,

00:37the Dangote refinery finally began operating last year.

00:42Located on a sprawling 6,200-acre campus in Nigeria's Leki Free Zone, about an hour outside Lagos,

00:49the refinery processed around 350,000 barrels of crude per day in the second half of 2024.

00:56In January, it processed 500,000 barrels per day.

01:00At full capacity, which is expected next month, a whopping 650,000 barrels per day,

01:06the Dangote refinery will be the seventh-largest refinery in the world by production and the biggest in Africa.

01:14Its adjacent petrochemical complex has an annual production capacity of 3 million metric tons of urea,

01:20making it Africa's largest fertilizer producer.

01:24Dangote's refinery is already impacting global energy markets.

01:28Imports of gasoline into Nigeria are on pace for an eight-year low,

01:32affecting European refiners that traditionally sold to Nigeria,

01:36according to energy intelligence firm Vortexa.

01:39And thanks to the refinery, Nigeria has become a net exporter of jet fuel,

01:44naphtha, which is a solvent used in varnishes, laundry soaps and cleaning fluids,

01:49and fuel oil, this according to S&P Global.

01:53With his project coming to fruition, Dangote is now worth an estimated $23.8 billion,

02:00almost double what he was worth last year.

02:03He insists he's even richer.

02:05Already Africa's wealthiest person, the 67-year-old Nigerian,

02:09moves back into the ranks of the top 100 richest since 2018,

02:13according to Forbes' real-time billionaires list.

02:16It seemed not long ago that Dangote's refinery might never come online.

02:21In late 2023, some observers expressed doubt the plant would even work.

02:26Even once operations began early last year,

02:29Dangote struggled to source crude oil from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation,

02:34Nigeria's all-important state-owned oil company,

02:37threatening the project's financial viability.

02:40Dangote says the refinery is part of a larger mission.

02:44He wants to make Nigeria, one of the world's largest producers of crude,

02:48into a producer of refined petroleum products

02:51to allow it to compete with European refineries and supply gasoline to Nigerians.

02:56Prior attempts by the Nigerian government to build and operate large-scale refineries

03:01ended in failure, leaving Nigerian consumers and businesses

03:05reliant on petrol imports, mostly from Europe.

03:08Until recently, a fuel subsidy kept gasoline affordable for consumers,

03:13but the program has strained Nigeria's finances

03:15and been mired in corruption allegations.

03:18Billions of dollars were siphoned off by regulators and middlemen

03:22over a period of decades in a scheme that disincentivized

03:25maintenance of state-owned refineries,

03:27many of which sit idle or in a state of disrepair.

03:31Clementine Wallop, an Africa analyst at Horizon Engage,

03:35a geopolitical consulting firm, says,

03:45Dangote wants to provide a blueprint for industrialization across Africa.

03:49He says,

03:58He says that his refinery represents,

04:11Dangote is determined to make the refinery a success.

04:14The billionaire says that he still spends a lot of his time at the refinery,

04:18meeting with engineers and managers.

04:20There are more challenges ahead, including building a subsea pipeline

04:25to transport natural gas from the Niger Delta to Lagos,

04:28and doubling output at the refinery's fertilizer plant.

04:32He also says he wants to take the refinery public in the next year or two.

04:37Dangote says,

04:44For full coverage, check out John Hyatt's piece on Forbes.com.

04:54For more stories, visit nyseagrant.org

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