Key Points

• Dangote plans to list 5–10 percent of his refinery on the Nigerian Exchange.

• The refinery’s value could reach $70 billion, pushing his fortune toward $100 billion.

• The project signals a major shift in Africa’s industrial and capital market history.

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, is preparing to list part of his massive oil refinery on the Nigerian Exchange.

If investors accept the valuation his team is targeting, the move could push his fortune past $100 billion — a figure no African has ever reached.

A bold bet on industrial wealth

In May 2025, Vice President Kashim Shettima joked that Dangote could have been worth $120 billion if he had invested the $19 billion used to build his refinery in global tech giants like Amazon, Google, or Microsoft.

The remark stirred both laughter and debate. Yet Dangote’s focus on real industry, not digital wealth, may now deliver that very outcome.

The billionaire plans to sell between 5 and 10 percent of the refinery’s shares. People close to the process say he and his advisers are eyeing a valuation of up to $70 billion.

If that figure holds, it could catapult Dangote into the world’s wealthiest tier.

Refinery of continental scale

The refinery, capable of processing 650,000 barrels of crude oil a day, sits in the Lekki Free Zone outside Lagos. It is the largest single-train refinery ever built.

Designed to meet Nigeria’s full fuel needs and export across West Africa, the facility began ramping up operations this year, with the gasoline unit restarting in October.

The global comparison is striking. American refining giants like Valero and Marathon Petroleum have market capitalizations between $50 billion and $60 billion with higher total capacity.

Analysts say Dangote’s facility could still command similar value because it is new, highly integrated, and built in a region that imports most of its fuel.

Estimates put the refinery’s value between $50 billion and $70 billion. Dangote intends to keep around 65 to 70 percent ownership after the listing, a structure similar to his earlier ventures.

At the top end of that valuation, his stake alone could be worth up to $49 billion. Combined with his holdings in cement, fertilizer, and other assets, his net worth could reach as high as $110 billion.

A new chapter for African business

Dangote has already broken records before. In 2013, he became Africa’s first $20 billion man.

On Wednesday, Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index placed him above $30 billion. His empire, built from cement, sugar, fertilizer, and now oil refining, continues to shape African markets in ways few can match.

Still, challenges remain. Nigeria’s volatile crude supply, economic uncertainty, and the complexity of running such a massive operation could test even the most seasoned operator.

Yet a successful IPO would mark a rare moment when an African industrial asset commands a global-scale valuation.

When Shettima made his $120 billion remark, it sounded like an exaggeration. Now, it looks more like a preview.

Dangote may soon join the world’s richest — not through Silicon Valley ventures, but through the factories, mills, and refineries that built his name.