Aliko Dangote, Africa's richest person, intends to leave one-third of his estimated $35.2 billion fortune to charity—a pledge amounting to approximately $11.7 billion that his family has formally endorsed through a written agreement. The commitment ranks among the largest documented philanthropic bequests by an African individual.

His daughter Halima Dangote, a trustee of the Aliko Dangote Foundation, disclosed the plan in a Bloomberg interview published this week. She explained that Dangote secured the commitment by asking her, her two sisters, and his mother to sign the will authorizing the bequest.

"He made an announcement and he asked myself, my two sisters, and his mother to sign under that will that he is able to give that 33% to humanity," Halima told Bloomberg. The arrangement, she noted, complies with Islamic inheritance rules, which allow a portion of an estate to be designated for charitable purposes.

"Giving back is part and parcel of what we do," she continued. "Our business is successful because of the giving back."

Dangote expressed his philanthropic ambitions plainly when he was named to Time's list of the World's Top 100 Philanthropists in 2025. "I want to be known not just as Africa's richest person," he said at the time, "but also as its biggest philanthropist."

A Conglomerate Built on Essentials

Dangote, 69, leads Dangote Group, one of Africa's largest industrial conglomerates, with operations spanning cement, oil refining, and fertilizer production. The company is the continent's top cement maker. Dangote also plans to take his massive Nigerian oil refinery public, with a listing targeted for September—a move widely watched as a bellwether for the depth of African capital markets and investor appetite for large-scale industrial listings.

Because the refinery—the dominant asset on his balance sheet—has not yet been priced by public markets, the $11.7 billion charitable estimate may prove conservative. One-third of his fortune could be worth substantially more following the IPO, meaning the eventual philanthropic payout will hinge significantly on how the market values the refinery.

Dangote launched a small trading business in 1977 and expanded into cement, sugar, salt, and flour before establishing Dangote Cement, which now operates across 10 African countries. He controls the majority of the publicly traded company through a holding structure. Recent capital injections into the refinery and a fertilizer plant have propelled his net worth to record levels. He has held the title of Africa's wealthiest individual for over a decade.

Three Decades of Philanthropic Work

Dangote established the Aliko Dangote Foundation in 1994. The organization was endowed with $1.25 billion roughly a decade ago and has since received an additional $700 million, according to Halima. The foundation concentrates on health, education, nutrition, and economic empowerment, with approximately 70% of its expenditures directed toward Nigeria—Africa's most populous nation, where private philanthropy plays a significant role in areas where public services remain stretched.

One notable initiative is a $100 million program to combat childhood malnutrition. The foundation has also collaborated with the then-Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (now the Gates Foundation) and northern Nigerian state governments on campaigns addressing malnutrition and polio eradication in Nigeria.

A Distinctive Approach

Dangote's pledge stands out on a global scale. Only a small number of Africans have signed the Giving Pledge, the initiative that encourages the ultra-wealthy to commit the majority of their fortunes to charitable causes. While one-third of his wealth represents an enormous sum, it falls short of the Giving Pledge's majority threshold.

His strategy also contrasts with that of prominent living American donors such as MacKenzie Scott, who has distributed tens of billions in rapid, unrestricted gifts. Dangote's commitment is structured as a bequest, embedded in a will rather than deployed during his lifetime.

Katja Schiller Nwator, founder of the Lagos-based Philanthropy Circuit, told Bloomberg that the Giving Pledge was designed in a U.S. context and "is not the best measure of philanthropy in Africa." Across the continent, she explained, charitable giving more commonly flows through families, communities, and faith-based institutions.

Dangote credits his mother as the foundation of his charitable ethos. "My mother instilled in me the ethos of giving back, which inspired my philanthropy 30 years ago," he said last year after being named to TIME's inaugural list of the world's most influential philanthropists, alongside Michael Bloomberg, Oprah Winfrey, and Warren Buffett.

According to his daughter, Dangote offers two guiding principles for success: give to charity, and respect your mother.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com.