Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, added $3.3 million to his personal fortune on Friday as investors reacted to fresh developments surrounding the planned public listing of his oil refinery, according to Forbes’ real-time billionaires tracker.
Forbes valued Dangote’s net worth at approximately $31.5 billion, up from $31.47 billion previously, with the uptick coming a day after Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) cleared a major regulatory hurdle for the Dangote Petroleum Refinery’s initial public offering (IPO).
The SEC approved the offering at N525 per share, covering 4.1 billion ordinary shares, in a letter to Vetiva Advisory Services, the lead issuing house.
The regulator also registered the company’s existing 120.13 billion ordinary shares and cleared its draft offer documents, clearing the way for a completion board meeting and signing ceremony ahead of the sale.
The order book is scheduled to open formally on September 14, 2026, putting the refinery on course for what could become the largest initial public offering in African history. At the approved price, the sale could raise about N2.15 trillion — roughly $1.5 billion to $1.6 billion — if fully subscribed, with the offer structured to include a 15 per cent over-allotment (green shoe) option to absorb excess demand from institutional investors, domestic pension funds, and regional African buyers.
Speaking to investors and analysts in Botswana on Thursday, Dangote said the IPO would open within 10 to 12 days, tying the timeline directly to the SEC’s approval. He framed the offering as a step toward doubling the refinery’s capacity: “So our dream is that we want to make sure we double the capacity of the refinery, which will take us to 1.4 million barrels per day,” he told the gathering.
The $3.3 million gain is the latest marker in a broader climb in Dangote’s fortune this year, one that Forbes has attributed largely to a shift in how it values his single biggest asset — the $20 billion Lagos refinery, in which he holds a 92.3 per cent stake.
For years, Forbes discounted the refinery well below its construction cost, arguing that a facility still absorbing capital without generating consistent cash flow could not be fairly marked at its build price. That changed in April 2026, when Forbes’ real-time tracker pushed Dangote’s net worth past $30 billion for the first time in the platform’s history — a threshold Bloomberg’s rival index had already crossed. The re-rating followed the refinery reaching full nameplate capacity of 650,000 barrels per day in February 2026, and Nigeria recording its first month as a net exporter of refined petroleum products in decades, with roughly 44,000 barrels of petrol per day shipped out in March.
Forbes’ own annual Africa rich list, published in March 2026, had put Dangote’s fortune at $28.5 billion, still short of the $30 billion mark. Analysts have since noted that a refinery valuation of $40 billion would make Dangote’s stake alone worth $36.9 billion, while a $50 billion valuation would put it at $46.2 billion — either scenario suggesting both Forbes and Bloomberg’s estimates may still be conservative relative to what the market itself will decide once the shares begin trading.
Market watchers say the improving sentiment adds a more favourable backdrop as the Dangote Refinery IPO — expected to test investor appetite for one of the continent’s largest industrial projects — approaches its September 14 opening.
A completion board meeting bringing together all parties involved in the transaction is expected to hold on Monday, September 7, ahead of the formal opening of the order book.
Credit: Leadership