Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, plans to donate one-third of his wealth to charity as part of his succession plan, his daughter, Halima Dangote, has revealed.
Halima, a trustee of the Aliko Dangote Foundation, disclosed the arrangement in an interview with Bloomberg published on Tuesday, saying the billionaire had secured his family’s support to dedicate 33 per cent of his estate to philanthropy.
Aliko Dangote’s fortune is on track to jump by roughly $16 billion, to about $51.2 billion, according to MoneyCentral’s estimates that applied the pricing set in the $2.5 billion private placement he has just completed for Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals, meaning one-third of his current fortune would amount to about $17 billion if maintained at that level.
Explaining the decision, Halima said her father considers philanthropy central to his legacy and has embedded 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 existing philanthropic work through the Aliko Dangote Foundation, established in 1994.
According to Halima, the foundation was endowed with $1.25 billion about a decade ago and has since received an additional $700 million in funding.
She said about 70 per cent of the foundation’s spending is directed to Nigeria, while 20 per cent supports projects across Africa and the remainder funds initiatives in other parts of the world.
The foundation’s interventions span health, education, nutrition and humanitarian relief, and include partnerships with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and state governments in northern Nigeria that contributed to the eradication of wild poliovirus in Africa.
Follow the MoneyCentral Nigeria channel on WhatsApp: Click here!
