Dangote makes 2025 TIME100 Philanthropy list…Says ADF spends over N50bn yearly on ‘Giving Back to Africa’

The list comprises 100 most influential leaders, who are recognised for shaping the future of philanthropy across the world.

Dangote is the only Nigerian on this distinguished list, which was published by TIME Magazine on Tuesday.

It features whose Foundation spends an average of $35 million a year in charitable work across Africa, alongside other global figures, such as Michael Bloomberg, Oprah Winfrey, Warren Buffett, and Melinda Gates, all of whom are recognised as Titans.

Other prominent names on the list include David Beckham; Dolly Parton; Lisa Yang; Michael Dell and Susan Dell; Tsitsi and Strive Masiyiwa; Jack Ma; Alex Soros, Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, among others.

A total of 100 influential individuals from 28 countries have been honoured for their philanthropic efforts in four categories: Titans, Leaders, Trailblazers, and Innovators, with Dangote emerging as one of the 23 Titans.

TIME highlighted Dangote’s remarkable rise to wealth, having built a fortune of $23.9 billion through ventures in cement, agriculture, and oil refining in Nigeria. However, his philanthropic efforts are equally noteworthy. In 2014, he endowed the Aliko Dangote Foundation with $1.25 billion, with the aim of giving back to the continent that played such a key role in his success. The foundation spends on average of $35 million each year on various initiatives across Nigeria and Africa.

“Investing in nutrition, health, education, and economic empowerment is our contribution to setting Africans up for success” – Dangote remarked, reflecting the foundation’s core priorities.

Currently, the foundation is involved in a $100 million multi-year initiative to combat severe childhood malnutrition.

Previously, the foundation had contributed to a vaccine programme, in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and others, resulting in the declaration by the World Health Organisation in 2020 that polio had been eradicated from Africa, Nigeria being the most populous country in Africa and the last country to eradicate the disease.

Education is another area where Dangote is making a significant impact. He recently announced a $10 million donation to the Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology, based in Kano State. The conglomerate has provided a wealth of infrastructural support to the country’s tertiary institutions.

In 2019, the Federal Government revealed that the N1.2 billion hostel donated by the Aliko Dangote Foundation to Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, was the largest donation ever made by an individual to a university in Nigeria’s history at that time.

As a member of The Global Business Coalition for Education, the Aliko Dangote Foundation has also focused on early childhood education. Through the Mu Shuka Iri (Let’s Plant a Seed) programme, local women – affectionately known as “Aunties” – are trained in Montessori-style education to become community educators in Kano.

The foundation’s investments in education include providing vocational training and providing scholarships at the secondary and tertiary levels, in addition to offering annual fellowships through the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders programme. “We need to create the next generation of African leaders,” Dangote says, underscoring his commitment to long-term societal change.

“My mother instilled in me the ethos of giving back, which inspired my philanthropy 30 years ago. I trust my three daughters will continue this legacy, just as they will continue to grow our business and impact. I want to be known not just as Africa’s richest person but also as its biggest philanthropist.”