Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, plans to donate one-third of his wealth to charity as part of his long-term succession plan, according to his daughter, Halima Dangote.
Halima, a trustee of the Aliko Dangote Foundation, disclosed the arrangement in an interview published by Bloomberg on Tuesday, revealing that the billionaire has secured his family’s approval to dedicate 33 percent of his estate to philanthropy.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Dangote’s net worth is estimated at $35.1 billion, meaning one-third of his current fortune would amount to approximately $11.7 billion.
Halima said philanthropy has always been central to her father’s vision and has been formally incorporated into the family’s 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,” she said.
She explained that the decision reflects Dangote’s commitment to ensuring charitable work continues across generations.
“That is how important it is to him because philanthropy needs to be in existence 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 myself, my two sisters and his mother to sign under that will that he is able to give that 33 per cent to humanity.”
The planned donation expands on Dangote’s longstanding philanthropic efforts through the Aliko Dangote Foundation, which he established in 1994.
According to Halima, the foundation received an endowment of $1.25 billion about a decade ago and has since attracted an additional $700 million in funding.
She said roughly 70 percent of the foundation’s annual spending supports projects in Nigeria, while 20 percent is allocated to initiatives across Africa. The remaining funds are used for humanitarian and development programmes in other parts of the world.
The foundation focuses on healthcare, education, nutrition and humanitarian relief, and has partnered with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and several northern Nigerian state governments in efforts that contributed to the eradication of wild poliovirus in Africa.
Dangote’s latest commitment comes amid increasing global attention on billionaire philanthropy. Although the proposed 33 percent allocation is below the 50 percent benchmark associated with the Giving Pledge, it ranks among the largest charitable commitments ever announced by an African billionaire.
Earlier this year, TIME magazine named Dangote among the world’s most influential philanthropists in its inaugural TIME100 Philanthropy list, citing the Aliko Dangote Foundation’s charitable programmes, which spend more than ₦50 billion annually across Africa.
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