World Richest Black Man Aliko Dangote Ends 2019 $4.3 Billion Richer

Nigerian business mogul Aliko Dangote consolidated his place as the richest black man in the world, according to Bloomberg, after finishing 2019 with $4.3 billion more in wealth.

In the last decade overall, Dangote made almost $15 billion, according to the Bloomberg report. The period has also seen growing investments in new territories, especially oil and gas.

In 2016, Dangote’s DIL bought Twister B.V., a Dutch company that delivers high-yield solutions in natural gas processing. Twister has over the years proven successful in developing capabilities that augment production and streamline processes in gas production.

Later in December of last year, Dangote’s refinery in Nigeria took delivery of the world’s largest single crude distillation column. The column was built by engineers in China.

Dangote’s business empire cuts across almost all sectors of the Nigerian economy while his story is often regarded as the best example of the potential within Africa.

Born into a wealthy Muslim family of traders in the north some 62 years ago, Dangote incorporated his own business selling cement at 21.

He shifted to manufacturing the building material in the 1990s, convinced his homeland, the world’s seventh-most-populous country, could meet its own demand for staples.

Dangote factories churning out sugar, flour, and salt followed. A vertical integration push gave rise to other businesses, including oil, property management, packaging, and port operations.