CAPE TOWNSOUTH AFRICA, 06MAY11 - Aliko Dangote, President and Chief Executive Officer, Dangote Group, Nigeria, during the African Fellowship Programe with Young Global Leaders announcement at the World Economic Forum on Africa 2011 held in Cape Town, South Africa, 4-6 May 2011. Copyright (cc-by-sa) © World Economic Forum (www.weforum.org/Photo Matthew Jordaan matthew.jordaan@inl.co.za

Aliko Dangote of Nigeria has become the first African billionaire to appear on the top 25 list of the worlds richest in the Forbes 2014 rankings.

With a net Worth of $25 billion, Dangote has moved up 20 spots in the Forbes’ latest updated list and is ranked the 23rd richest person in the world and the richest man in Africa. The billionaire made his first fortune more than three decades ago when he started trading commodities with a loan from his powerful uncle.

In 2013, the Nigerian billionaire surpassed Saudi-Ethiopian billionaire Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi by over $2.6 billion to become the world’s richest black man.

Dangote owns the Dangote Group, which is the largest industrial conglomerate in West Africa and one of the largest in Africa at large. The group has interests across a range of sectors in Africa and current interests include among others cement, sugar, flour, actually the three commodities which are attributed to the growth of his fortune.

The billionaire is however reported to be investing into new projects in the oil and natural gas, telecommunications, fertilizer and steel industries.

According to Forbes, Dangote recently announced a $9 billion in financing from a consortium of local and international lenders to construct a private oil refinery, fertilizer and petrochemical complex in the country.

His publicly traded Dangote Cement which is Nigeria’s largest cement producer has plans to expand in 13 other African countries with $750 million in new plants planned for Kenya and Niger.

Forbes ranks the world’s richest persons based on their net worth, valuating their individual assets–including stakes in public and private companies, real estate, yachts, art and cash–and taking into account estimates of debt.