Billionaire Aliko Dangote saw his net worth rise by $20 billion to more than $50 billion after a heavily oversubscribed private placement for his oil refinery, as the facility opened to public shareholders, according to Forbes.
The private placement raised $3.7 billion against a $2.5 billion target, with $1.2 billion in unallocated funds returned in part to reserve shares for the public market. The sale valued the refinery at $42 billion and diluted Dangote’s stake to 87 percent, lifting him from 76th to 36th on the Forbes Real-Time Billionaires ranking.
Individual investors can now buy up to 4.1 billion shares, or 3.3 percent of the company, at 40 cents each (525 Nigerian naira). The order book closes on October 13 with a minimum purchase of 10 shares, equating to roughly $4. Trading on the Nigerian Exchange is scheduled to begin in November.
“We have D-Day on Monday,” Dangote recently told Forbes, noting he would miss an investment summit in Canada to attend the launch.
He described the share sale as an effort to spread wealth among Africans. “Selling these shares now is us making sure that we create wealth for other people,” Dangote said. “Just like what Amazon and Microsoft have done. That kind of thing but for an African company.”
The refinery, which began operations in 2024, processes 700,000 barrels of crude per day and accounts for the majority of Dangote’s wealth. He aims to double capacity by 2029. The plant posted $1.82 billion in net profit in the first half of 2026 after a $476 million loss the previous year, with full-year EBITDA forecast at $6 billion.
Dangote indicated a possible overseas listing in 2029, either in the Middle East or New York. “The U.S. market understands more about refineries than London,” he said.
Reflecting on the project’s early challenges, he added: “Even my bankers didn’t believe me. I gave them everything, and then at the end of the day, I gave them myself as a guarantee.”
