Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, plans to donate one-third of his wealth to charitable causes as part of his succession plan, according to his daughter, Halima Dangote.
Halima, who serves as a trustee of the Aliko Dangote Foundation, disclosed this in an interview with Bloomberg published on Tuesday. She said the billionaire industrialist had secured the support of his family to dedicate 33 per cent of his estate to philanthropy.
Based on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which estimates Dangote’s net worth at $35.1 billion, one-third of his current fortune would amount to about $11.7 billion.
Explaining the decision, Halima said philanthropy has always been central to her father’s vision and legacy, adding that he has incorporated it into the family’s long-term 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.
“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 builds on Dangote’s long-standing 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 been strengthened with an additional $700 million in funding.
She disclosed that approximately 70 per cent of the foundation’s spending is dedicated to programmes in Nigeria, while 20 per cent supports initiatives across other African countries. The remaining funds are used for projects in other parts of the world.
The foundation focuses on health, education, nutrition and humanitarian assistance. Its interventions include partnerships with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and governments in northern Nigeria, which contributed to the eradication of wild poliovirus in Africa.
Dangote’s planned charitable commitment comes at a time of increasing global attention on billionaire philanthropy. Although the proposed donation falls short of the 50 per cent benchmark commonly associated with the Giving Pledge, it would rank among the largest philanthropic 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, recognising the impact of the Aliko Dangote Foundation, which spends more than ₦50 billion annually on programmes across Africa.
