Dangote Named Among TIME’s 100 Most Influential Philanthropists
Aliko Dangote, President and CEO of the Dangote Group and Africa’s richest man, has been named among TIME Magazine’s TIME100 Philanthropy 2025—a list spotlighting the world’s most influential individuals shaping the future of giving.
Featured under the ‘Titans’ category, Dangote is recognized for leveraging his substantial fortune to address some of Africa’s most critical challenges through the Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF), which he endowed with $1.25 billion in 2014.
With a net worth of $23.9 billion—amassed largely through ventures in cement, agriculture, and oil refining—Dangote remains committed to what he describes as “giving back to the continent that facilitated [his] success.” His foundation currently spends an estimated $35 million annually on wide-ranging programs across the continent.
“Health, education, economic empowerment, disaster relief, and food—these are the five main things that any African nation needs,” Dangote said.
In 2025, the Foundation is re-launching a massive food relief initiative, first introduced in 2024, which aims to distribute over one million bags of rice across Nigeria. This is in addition to a $100 million multi-year program dedicated to combating severe childhood malnutrition—one of the largest such efforts in Africa.
ADF’s impact on health is widely noted, particularly its collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and other global partners in Nigeria’s successful fight against polio. That initiative played a key role in the World Health Organization declaring the country polio-free in 2015—an achievement Dangote counts among the Foundation’s proudest milestones.
Education also remains a cornerstone of the Foundation’s mission. Dangote recently pledged $10 million to the Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology in Kano State. Additionally, the Foundation is expanding its reach through new vocational training programs and the construction of modern school complexes nationwide.
“We need to create the next generation of African leaders,” Dangote said, pointing to ADF’s ongoing support for fellowships through the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders program.
According to LEADERSHIP, the TIME100 Philanthropy 2025 list features changemakers from 28 countries, curated by TIME’s global team of reporters, editors, and contributors.
Other notable figures on the list include former English football star David Beckham, Melinda French Gates, Warren Buffett, Darren Walker, Reeta Roy, Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, Michele Kang, and Badr Jafar.
