Nigeria and Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, was recently named by TIME magazine among the 100 Most Influential People in Philanthropy 2025 in the world. These include individuals from different walks of life whose philanthropy have highly impacted many lives. The 100 influential individuals were honoured for their philanthropic efforts in four categories: Titans, Leaders, Trailblazers, and Innovators. Good enough, Dangote emerged as one of the 23 global titans.
The Aliko Dangote Foundation has reportedly spent over $35,000 million yearly on its ‘Giving Back to Africa programme.’ The wide reach of the foundation’s humanitarian initiative has also increased his sphere of influence in the world. We congratulate Dangote on being named Time magazine 100 Most Influential People in Philanthropy 2025. He is the only Nigerian on the list.
The 100 philanthropists were pooled from 28 countries, assembled by TIME’s reporters, editors and contributors around the world, led by Ayesha Javed. Ayesha said “this list tells the stories of how generous donors and leaders of foundations and non-profits are directing funding into the communities that need it most.”
Twenty-one years ago, TIME magazine launched the annual TIME100, believing that individuals have the power to change the world. It expanded the franchise, in recent years, into A1, Climate, Health, areas considered to shape the world in future. It added Philanthropy in 2025.
The inaugural Philanthropist list includes one of the richest individuals in the world, Bill Gates, who, through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has rewritten the lore of philanthropy in the world. In May, Bill Gates announced in Manhattan that his foundation would spend $200 billion over the next 20 years and then close its doors in 2045. The gesture was in keeping with a long tradition of giving and changing lives. His wife, Melinda Gates, was tightly included on the list, alongside other global icons noted for charities.
These include Oprah Winfrey, Warren Buffett, Michael Bloomberg, the US single largest recorded donor in 2024, as well as Elizabeth Alexander, the president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the largest funder of the arts and humanities in the US, and legendary British footballer, David Beckham. The music ace, Dolly Parton; Michael Dell, CEO of Dell Technologies, and his wife, Susan Dell, made the cut. Alex Soros, Prince of Wales, William, and his wife, Princess Catherine, were also honoured by TIME magazine.
Dangote’s remarkable rise to wealth was highlighted by TIME magazine, which noted that his $23.9 billion wealth was built through ventures in cement, agriculture and oil refining in Nigeria. It recalled that the business mogul endowed the Aliko Dangote Foundation with $1.25 billion in 2014 to give back to the African continent that contributed immensely to his success. The foundation spends on average, $35 million each year on various initiatives across Nigeria and Africa.
Dangote believes that “investing in nutrition, health, education, and economic empowerment is our contribution to setting Africans up for success.” Currently, the foundation is undertaking a $100 million multi-year initiative to combat severe childhood malnutrition. The foundation’s vaccine development project, designed in partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and others, led the World Health Organisation (WHO) declaring in 2020 that polio had been eradicated from Africa.
We commend the Dangote Foundation for also investing in education, providing a wealth of infrastructural support to Nigeria’s tertiary institutions. Recently, it announced a $10 million donation to the Aliko Dangote University of Science and Technology, Kano. 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. A member of The Global Business Coalition for Education, the Dangote Foundation has invested in early childhood education. In Kano, local women are trained in Montessori-style education to become community educators in the state through the ‘Let’s Plant a Seed’ programme.
It is noteworthy that the foundation has provided vocational training and scholarships at the secondary and tertiary levels. It has also offered annual fellowships through the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders programme. Dangote is committed to creating the next generation of African leaders in the hope of creating a long-term societal change.
He revealed in an interview that he did not want to be known just as Africa’s richest person but also as its biggest philanthropist. He should not rest on his oars. The recognition by TIME magazine should spur him to do more for the society. We call on other wealthy Nigerians to emulate his shining example.