Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has concluded plans to donate one-third of his wealth to charity, according to his daughter, Halima Dangote, who said the decision forms part of the billionaire’s succession plan.
Halima disclosed this in an interview with Bloomberg published on Tuesday. She said Dangote had secured the support of his family to dedicate 33 per cent of his estate to philanthropic causes.
Based on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Dangote’s net worth is estimated at $35.1 billion. If the figure remains unchanged, one-third of his wealth would amount to approximately $11.7 billion.
Halima said philanthropy remains a key part of her father’s legacy and has been fully integrated into the family’s long-term succession strategy.
“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 adds to Dangote’s longstanding charitable activities through the Aliko Dangote Foundation, which was established in 1994.
Halima disclosed that the foundation received an endowment of $1.25 billion about 10 years ago and has attracted another $700 million in funding since then.
She added that roughly 70 per cent of the foundation’s spending is committed to projects in Nigeria, while 20 per cent supports initiatives across Africa. The remaining funds are allocated to programmes in other parts of the world.
The foundation focuses on health, education, nutrition and humanitarian assistance. Its interventions also include collaborations with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and state governments in northern Nigeria, efforts that contributed to the eradication of wild poliovirus in Africa.
