Aliko Dangote is the founder, Group President, and Chief Executive of Dangote Industries Limited, the parent company of the Dangote Group.
Dangote began his business career in 1978, trading in rice, sugar, and cement before moving into full-scale manufacturing.
The Dangote Group currently operates in several African countries and has interests in sectors including cement, food, fertilizer, and oil and gas.
Dangote studied at Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, and has received honorary doctorate degrees from institutions including Coventry University in the United Kingdom and the University of Ibadan in Nigeria.
He was also involved in international business and development organizations, including the Corporate Council on Africa, the Clinton Health Access Initiative, the McKinsey Advisory Council, and the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum.
“In April 2017, he joined the Board of Directors of the Clinton Health Access Initiative,” Dangote Group states.
Outside his business career, Dangote’s family life has attracted attention because of his two marriages and his three daughters.
Reports by several Nigerian news outlets, including The Cable, and the Biographical Legacy and Research Foundation (BLERF) identify Abdulrahman Fasasi as Aliko Dangote’s adopted son.
Aliko Dangote’s Marriages
Dangote married his first wife, Zainab, in 1977, in an arranged marriage in accordance with family customs. The couple had two daughters, Mariya and Halima.
The marriage later ended in divorce.
Dangote later married Mariya A. D. Muhammad Rufai, the daughter of a former Bauchi State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Human Services, and had Fatima Aliko-Dangote.
Dangote’s second marriage ended in 2017.
Who Is Mariya Muhammad Rufai?
The second wife of Dangote, Mariya A. D., served as Commissioner for Women Affairs and Human Services and as a former First Lady of Bauchi State.
She studied law at Ahmadu Bello University and founded the Senator A.D. Rufai Foundation in memory of her father, a Second Republic lawmaker.
After her marriage to Aliko Dangote ended, Mariya Muhammad Rufai later became one of the wives of Isa Yuguda, who served as Governor of Bauchi State from 2007 to 2015.
A June 2010 report by P.M. News identified Mariya A. D. Rufai as Yuguda’s third wife.
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Dangote’s Children
Dangote has three daughters, Mariya, Halima, and Fatima, from his previous marriages.
According to Dangote Industries Limited, Mariya Aliko-Dangote serves as Group Executive Director, Commercial Operations – Cement and Foods Businesses.
She is also a Non-Executive Director of Dangote Cement Plc and Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc.
Before her current position, Mariya served as Director of Strategy, Business Improvement, and Portfolio Support.
Mariya previously worked as Group Strategy Lead at Dangote Industries Limited before being redeployed to Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc in 2019.
Mariya holds a Bachelor of Laws degree from Bayero University, Kano, and a Master of Business Administration from Coventry University in the United Kingdom.
She also serves on the boards of Dangote-Peugeot Automobiles Nigeria Limited, Dangote Cement Limited, and the Al-Ummah Development Foundation.
Halima
Halima Aliko is Dangote’s second daughter and Executive Director of the Dangote Family Office and International Offices in Dubai and London.
Halima began her career as a Business Analyst with KPMG Professional Services in Lagos.
Later, she joined Dangote Industries Limited in 2008 and served as Special Assistant to the President and Chief Executive.
Additionally, Halima has served as Executive Director, Sales and Marketing at Dangote Flour, formerly a subsidiary of Dangote Industries Limited.
Halima studied at American InterContinental University in London and Webster Business School in the United Kingdom, where she obtained an MBA.
She has also attended leadership and executive programs at Harvard Business School, Kellogg School of Management, and Columbia Business School.
Fatima
Fatima Aliko-Dangote is Dangote’s third daughter and was born during his marriage to Mariya Muhammad Rufai.
She is currently Group Executive Director, Commercial Operations – Oil & Gas, West Africa Exploration and Production, and Fertilizer at Dangote Industries Limited.
Her responsibilities include commercial operations for the Dangote Refinery and Petrochemicals, Dangote Fertilizer, and West Africa Exploration and Production.
Fatima previously served as Executive Director, Commercials at NASCON Allied Industries Plc, where she led commercial sales and marketing strategy, logistics, transportation, and branding.
She also held positions at Dangote Industries Limited as a Technical Specialist in Strategy and Executive Assistant to the Group Executive Director for Business Development and Portfolio Management.
Before joining the Dangote Group, she worked as an Associate at Banwo & Ighodalo, a Nigerian law firm.
Fatima studied law at the University of Surrey in the United Kingdom and has attended executive programs at Columbia University, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Cambridge.
She is also a member of the Nigerian Bar Association and is involved with the Aliko Dangote Foundation.
Also Read: Dangote Taps Indian Gov’t Firm for KSh58 Billion Kenya Oil Refinery Project
Aliko Dangote’s Forbes Net Worth
According to Forbes’ real-time billionaire tracker, Aliko Dangote’s net worth was about KSh6.70 trillion ($51.7 billion) as of September 23, 2026, up from the March 1, 2026, Fortune estimate of KSh3.69 trillion ($28.5 billion).
Forbes lists his main sources of wealth as cement, sugar, and other industrial interests, with Dangote holding about 85% of publicly traded Dangote Cement through a holding company.
The billionaire’s rising net worth is linked to Aliko Dangote’s Dangote Petroleum Refinery launching an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in September 2026, offering 4.1 billion ordinary shares at approximately KSh604 each.
Dangote’s IPO offer, which opened on September 14 and is scheduled to close on October 13, seeks to raise about KSh248 billion and values the refinery at approximately KSh7.3 trillion.
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