According to the richest.org website the richest person in Africa is a Nigerian businessman called Aliko Dangote. His total wealth has been estimated at $11.2 billion.

Aliko Dangote was born in northern Nigeria in 1957 in a rich Muslim family. He was interested in buying and selling from a very early age. He went to Egypt to study business at the University of Cairo and then at the age of 21 went into business with his uncle.

In 1977 the Dangote Group was founded. This originally traded in commodities including sugar and flour, and today is so large that the group supplies sugar to most of Nigeria's soft drinks manufacturers.

The Dangote Group is now active in many other areas as diverse as cement production and telecommunications.