Table of Contents
Key Points
- Aliko Dangote’s net worth dropped $549 million in a single day, falling from $29.3 billion to $28.7 billion, following a steep sell-off in Dangote Cement shares.
- Dangote Cement shares fell 9.88 percent as investors sold nearly 2.6 million shares valued at $0.88 million, reducing his stake from $5.4 billion to $4.96 billion.
- Dangote’s private assets remain stable, including $18.6 billion in his refinery, $3.02 billion in Dangote Fertilizer, $497 million in oil licenses, and $744 million in cash.
Just two weeks after excitement grew that Africa might soon have its first $30-billion man, Aliko Dangote’s fortune has taken a sharp hit. The continent’s richest person lost $549 million in a single day, pulling his net worth below $29 billion for the first time since early August, when it had briefly climbed above that milestone.
Bloomberg data shows that Dangote, who recently stepped down as chairman of Dangote Cement Plc to focus on his $20 billion oil and petrochemical complex, lost ground largely because of market movements in his cement empire. At the start of trading on August 19, he was worth $29.3 billion. By the close of business, his fortune had slipped to $28.7 billion.
Africa’s richest man faces market setback
The setback was driven by a sell-off in Dangote Cement, Africa’s biggest cement producer, where he controls an 87.45 percent stake. Investors offloaded nearly 2.6 million shares worth N1.35 billion ($0.88 million) on the Nigerian Exchange in Lagos, pushing the stock down 9.88 percent in a single day. As a result, Dangote’s stake fell from $5.4 billion to $4.96 billion.
The decline comes only weeks after a short rally that lifted his fortune from $28.8 billion on August 3 to $29.3 billion on August 5, bringing him within reach of becoming the first African to cross the $30 billion mark. Despite this week’s slide, Dangote remains one of the continent’s biggest winners in 2025. His net worth is still up $659 million for the year, although that figure has eased from the $1.2 billion gain he was showing just a few days earlier.
Dangote’s wealth beyond the stock market
Most of Dangote’s wealth remains tied to his privately held businesses, which were not affected by this week’s market slump. His $18.6 billion stake in the refinery, which began operations in 2024, has stayed steady, as have his holdings in Dangote Fertilizer, valued at $3.02 billion.
He also owns oil mining licenses OML 71 and 72, worth a combined $497 million. Bloomberg further estimates his private jet fleet at $76 million, real estate in Lagos at $148 million, land in the Lekki Free Trade Zone at $100 million, and cash holdings of about $744 million.
