Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has said he is not concerned about having a son to inherit his name and business empire, saying his three daughters have shown they can take on major responsibilities and potentially lead the group in future.
The 69-year-old Nigerian billionaire spoke about his family and succession plans during an interview with ARISE News on Tuesday, addressing questions around the traditional importance placed on having a male heir, particularly in northern Nigeria.
Dangote said having a son was not among his priorities and that he would not assume a male child would be more capable of running the businesses than his daughters, Fatima, Halima and Mariya.
“That one, I think, you know, it’s not my priority. Let me say it bluntly. It is not really my priority. God controls everything. And for me, really, sometimes, yeah, you can pray for God to give you a son, but that son might be the one that would tear down the name of the family.”
He added that having a son would not automatically mean his business legacy would be better protected.
“So sometimes when God doesn’t give you something, don’t push. Even if I had a son, I don’t think the son would have done better than these three daughters that I have.” He added.
Forbes lists Dangote as having three children, all daughters.
The billionaire was born into the Dantata family, one of northern Nigeria’s well-known business families. His grandfather, Sanusi Dantata, built his wealth as a commodities trader in Kano, where he dealt in products such as grain, oats and rice.
According to Forbes, Dantata personally raised Dangote and played an important role in shaping his early interest in commerce.
Dangote showed an interest in business from a young age. Forbes reports that when he was eight, he used his allowance to buy sweets and gave them to other people to sell, allowing him to make a profit from the sales.
He later turned that early interest into a formal business career after graduating from Al-Azhar University in Cairo. In 1978, he began trading in commodities such as rice, sugar and cement, with his uncle providing the initial funds for the business.
Dangote later incorporated the Dangote Group in 1981, with the company eventually moving from trading into manufacturing.
During the 1990s, Dangote Industries began shifting towards local and integrated production after initially concentrating on imported cement and other commodities. Its cement business has since grown across several African markets.
Dangote Cement currently has production capacity of 55 million tonnes annually across its African operations, according to the company.
The wider Dangote Group has also grown into a major industrial business with interests in sugar, fertiliser, petrochemicals, power, logistics and oil refining.
Its latest major project is the 700,000-barrel-per-day refinery in Lagos, which began operations in 2024 and has become a key part of the group's expansion.
As the business continues to grow, Dangote said his daughters are becoming more involved and that one of them could eventually take charge of the group.
“I think, yes, I can see one of them. I’ve been watching all of them, so I can see definitely one of the three that can actually lead.”
He said the daughters' involvement was not the result of pressure from him, but came from their own interest in the family business.
“They are very, very interested in the business. I’m not forcing them to come and be part of this business, no. They are very interested, and they enjoy it.”
His daughters already hold senior roles within the business empire. Halima Aliko-Dangote serves as a group executive director in charge of commercial operations, while Halima and Mariya are non-executive directors of Dangote Cement.
Dangote also said his daughters could eventually achieve more than he has managed to accomplish, pointing to their education and potential to bring new ideas to the company.
“One of them can be better than — I never expected to perform this much. But I’m sure they’re highly educated, so they will be more creative. So most likely, they might be even taking the company to the next level.”
Despite preparing his daughters for greater roles, Dangote said the future of the group should not depend only on family members inheriting the business.
He said professional management and strong corporate governance would be central to protecting the companies and ensuring they remain successful beyond his time at the helm.
“I want this company to be run professionally. I want to have the highest level of governance.”
Dangote Cement says its governance system covers areas including board oversight, risk management, anti-fraud measures and policies aimed at supporting the company's long-term sustainability.
Dangote said he wants the businesses to continue operating successfully without giving family members the opportunity to weaken what has been built.
“We want to make sure that we make it very difficult for any family member to come and destroy anything.”
His comments come as the Dangote business empire enters another stage of expansion, with the refinery moving towards wider public ownership and the group continuing to put money into large-scale industrial projects.