Aliko Dangote, Africa’s wealthiest businessman and President of Dangote Industries Limited, has been recognised on TIME Magazine’s 2025 TIME100 Philanthropy list, marking him as one of the world’s most impactful philanthropic leaders. He is the only Nigerian featured in the inaugural edition of the list.
The prestigious list highlights 100 global changemakers from 28 countries across four categories: Titans, Leaders, Trailblazers, and Innovators. Dangote was listed among the 23 global Titans, joining global icons such as Warren Buffett, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Bloomberg, and Melinda Gates.
Dangote’s recognition stems largely from his extensive charitable work through the Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF), which he endowed with $1.25 billion in 2014. The foundation spends approximately $35 million annually on programmes aimed at improving nutrition, health, education, and economic empowerment across Africa.
"Investing in nutrition, health, education, and economic empowerment is our contribution to setting Africans up for success,” Dangote said, reiterating his vision for sustainable impact.
ADF’s signature initiatives include a $100 million programme to combat childhood malnutrition and a successful vaccine partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that helped eradicate polio in Nigeria by 2020.
In the education sector, Dangote recently pledged $10 million to Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology in Kano. In 2019, he donated a N1.2 billion hostel to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria—the largest personal donation ever made to a Nigerian university.
The foundation also supports grassroots education initiatives such as “Mu Shuka Iri” in Kano, which trains local women in early childhood education, along with scholarships, vocational training, and fellowships via the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders programme.
Dangote, a member of the Global Business Coalition for Education, emphasized the role of legacy in his philanthropic journey: “My mother instilled in me the ethos of giving back... I want to be known not just as Africa’s richest person but also as its biggest philanthropist.”
The TIME recognition cements Dangote’s place as a leading force in global philanthropy, amplifying Africa’s voice in the international humanitarian space.
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