Africa’s richest people have increased their combined wealth lead over a group of Arab billionaires from the Middle East, with Nigerian businessman Aliko Dangote driving much of the rise.
As of today, 24 African billionaires had a combined estimated fortune of $168.2 billion, compared with $111.8 billion held by 26 Arab billionaires from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and Qatar, according to a Business Insider Africa calculation based on Forbes’ real-time billionaire estimates.
The difference stood at $56.4 billion on September 16, 2026. Six months earlier, the gap was about $30.5 billion.
However, Dangote accounts for much of the change. Forbes currently values the 69-year-old Nigerian businessman at about $51.5 billion as of September 17, making him the 35th richest person in the world.
In March, his fortune was estimated at $28.5 billion. The increase of more than $22 billion in six months has been linked largely to a higher valuation of his privately held Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
The refinery’s valuation changed after a $2.5 billion private placement completed in July. According to a September 2026 fact-check by FactCheckAfrica, the private placement gave the refinery a new reference price that Forbes used in reassessing Dangote’s stake. The public share offer opened later, on September 14, at the Nigerian Exchange.
This distinction matters because Dangote did not receive more than $20 billion in cash. Forbes’ estimate of his net worth increased because the value of an asset he owns rose.
The refinery’s public offer comprises 4.1 billion ordinary shares at N525 each, giving the offer a value of N2.15 trillion. The Nigerian Exchange said the offer opened on September 14 and will close on October 13, subject to the terms of the prospectus.
Dangote described the offering as a way to give Nigerians and other Africans a stake in the business.
“The Dangote refinery IPO is more than an investment opportunity; it is an opportunity for millions of Nigerians and Africans to build lasting wealth through ownership of a world-class industrial asset,” he said at the opening ceremony in Lagos. The refinery is not the only factor behind the increase in African billionaire wealth.
Eswatini-based businessman Nathan Kirsh saw his estimated fortune rise from about $9.1 billion in March to about $19.2 billion by September, according to Business Insider Africa. Other large African fortunes include those of South Africa’s Johann Rupert and family, Nigeria’s Abdulsamad Rabiu, South Africa’s Nicky Oppenheimer and Egypt’s Nassef Sawiris.
Forbes identifies Dangote’s main sources of wealth as cement and sugar, while his business interests also include fertilizer and the refinery. Dangote Cement has a production capacity of 48.6 million metric tonnes a year and operates in 10 African countries.
Rabiu’s wealth is also concentrated in industrial businesses. Forbes says he owns about 98.2% of BUA Cement and 95% of BUA Foods.
Meanwhile, Saudi businessman Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has an estimated fortune of about $24.8 billion, largely connected to investments through Kingdom Holding. UAE businessman Hussain Sajwani has about $15.3 billion in net worth, with much of his wealth tied to the Dubai property developer DAMAC. Saudi healthcare businessman Sulaiman Al Habib is worth about $10.2 billion, according to the report.
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Dangote’s current fortune therefore exceeds the combined estimates of Alwaleed bin Talal and Sajwani. The two Middle Eastern billionaires have about $40.1 billion between them, compared with Dangote’s roughly $51.5 billion.
However, the figures do not mean that Africa as a continent is wealthier than the Middle East. Africa has many more people and a much larger geographic area, but most Africans are not billionaires. While Africa has enormous natural resources and economic potential, the Middle East, particularly the Gulf, has accumulated far more financial wealth per person from its resource revenues.
