KEY POINTS
- Dangote net worth fell $163 million in four days.
- Dangote Cement shares dropped over 3 percent on the Nigerian Exchange.
- Dangote refinery shipped Nigeria’s first gasoline cargo to the U.S.
Aliko Dangote’s fortune has dipped by $163 million in the past four days, narrowing gains he recently notched from a stronger naira and a rebound in cement holdings.
Bloomberg Billionaires Index data put his wealth at $28.8 billion as of Sept. 12, down from nearly $29 billion a day earlier.The decline trims his year-to-date increase to $687 million, compared with $850 million recorded earlier this month.
Shares of Dangote Cement, Africa’s largest cement producer where he owns 87.45 percent, dropped more than 3 percent from N528 on Sept. 11 to N511.2 this morning, cutting its market value to $5.6 billion.
Historic U.S. shipment from Dangote refinery
While cement dragged on his fortune, Dangote’s $20 billion petroleum refinery marked a milestone. In late August, it shipped 300,000 barrels of gasoline to the United States, the first time Nigeria exported the fuel directly. The cargo left Lagos on Aug. 26 aboard the Gemini Pearl, according to shipping tracker Kpler.
The plant, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels per day, is gradually reducing Nigeria’s reliance on imported fuel. Since June, it has also exported refined products to the Middle East and Asia, showing its potential reach beyond African markets.
Middle East turns to Dangote refinery
The refinery’s exports are further gaining traction as global supply tightens. Outages in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait have opened space for Nigerian refined products, drawing in buyers from the Middle East who rarely sourced fuel from West Africa.
Acording to Billionaire’s Africa for Dangote, the move underscores ambitions that stretch well beyond cement. Even as share declines pull his net worth lower, his refinery’s growing role in world fuel markets points to longer-term gains in influence also reach.
