Billionaire Aliko Dangote Named Among TIME Magazine’s Top 100 Philanthropists

Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote has been honoured on TIME Magazine’s first-ever list of the 100 most influential philanthropists across the globe. Released on Tuesday, the list features Dangote as the sole Nigerian included.

Dangote is in the “Titans” group with other famous philanthropists like Michael Bloomberg, Oprah Winfrey, Warren Buffett, and Melinda Gates. The 2025 TIME100 Philanthropy list includes people from 28 countries, but only 23 made it to the Titans category, and Dangote is one of them.

Every year, the Aliko Dangote Foundation (ADF) spends about $35 million (about ₦50 billion) to support charity projects across Africa. Dangote started the foundation in 2014 by giving $1.25 billion, showing his strong desire to help the continent that helped him succeed.

Dangote said, “We focus on nutrition, health, education, and helping people become financially independent. This is how we want to help Africans succeed.”

The foundation runs a $100 million project to fight serious child malnutrition. It also worked with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on vaccines in Nigeria, helping the World Health Organization declare Africa free of polio in 2020.

In education, Dangote recently gave $10 million to the Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology in Kano State. His foundation also donated a ₦1.2 billion hostel for students at Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria.

One of the foundation’s projects is called “Mu Shuka Iri” (Let’s Plant a Seed), where women in Kano learn Montessori teaching methods to become community teachers. The foundation also supports training, scholarships, and fellowships through the World Economic Forum.

Dangote has built a business worth $23.9 billion in cement, farming, and oil refining. He says his love for helping others comes from his mother.

“My mother taught me to always give back,” he said. “I have been doing this for over 30 years. I hope my three daughters will continue this work and grow our business. I want people to remember me not just as Africa’s richest man but as someone who helps society.”