Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, plans to dedicate one-third of his wealth to charity as part of his succession strategy, according to his daughter, Halima Dangote.
Speaking in an interview with Bloomberg, Halima, a trustee of the Aliko Dangote Foundation, said the billionaire had secured his family’s approval to allocate 33 per cent of his estate to philanthropy, describing the decision as central to his legacy.
Based on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which estimates Dangote’s net worth at $35.1 billion, the proposed donation would amount to about $11.7 billion at current valuations.
Halima explained that her father had already transferred 25 per cent of his wealth to the foundation and, under Islamic inheritance principles, structured his will to ensure 33 per cent of his estate would ultimately support charitable causes.
She said the family had endorsed the arrangement, adding that the foundation’s mission is to sustain investments in health, education and humanitarian programmes for generations.
Established in 1994, the Aliko Dangote Foundation was endowed with $1.25 billion about a decade ago and has since received an additional $700 million. According to Halima, about 70 per cent of its spending is directed to projects in Nigeria, while the rest supports initiatives across Africa and other parts of the world.
The foundation has funded interventions in healthcare, nutrition, education and humanitarian relief, including partnerships that contributed to the eradication of wild poliovirus in Africa.
If implemented, the planned donation would rank among the largest philanthropic commitments ever announced by an African billionaire, reinforcing Dangote’s growing global profile as a philanthropist. Earlier this year, TIME magazine named him among the world’s most influential philanthropists, citing the foundation’s annual spending of more than ₦50 billion on programmes across Africa.
