Aliko Dangote’s fortune has climbed by about $20 billion to more than $50 billion following an oversubscribed $2.5 billion private placement, adding to the wealth of Africa’s richest person as his sprawling industrial empire moves toward a landmark public offering.

Dangote is opening his privately held oil refinery to individual investors for the first time on Sept. 14 in what is expected to be one of Africa’s largest initial public offerings. The continent’s biggest refinery is offering as many as 4.1 billion shares, equivalent to about 3.3% of the company, at 525 naira, or about 40 cents, apiece.

The minimum order of 10 shares puts the entry cost at roughly $4. The offering is scheduled to close Oct. 13, with trading on the Nigerian Exchange expected to begin in November.

The transaction could further increase Dangote’s wealth if the refinery’s valuation rises once its shares begin trading publicly.

“We have D-Day on Monday,” Dangote told Forbes, referring to the start of the share sale. He said the timing meant he would arrive late at an investment summit in Canada that he had committed to attend with Prime Minister Mark Carney.

For Dangote, the offering is about more than raising capital. He has said the sale is intended to give African investors an opportunity to participate in the growth of one of the continent’s largest companies.

“Selling these shares now is us making sure that we create wealth for other people,” Dangote said, comparing the move with the wealth creation associated with companies such as Amazon and Microsoft.

Africa remains the region with the smallest share of global wealth, according to UBS’s 2026 Global Wealth Report, underscoring the significance Dangote attaches to broadening local participation in major African businesses.

The refinery listing marks another step in Dangote’s expansion from cement into energy and infrastructure, and gives public-market investors a new way to gain exposure to his business empire.