Aliko Dangote emerges sole Nigerian on TIME 100 Most Influential List for 2026

Nigerian industrialist and business magnate, Aliko Dangote, has been named among TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the world for 2026.

This marks his second appearance on the prestigious TIME100 list, following his debut in 2014, when Bill Gates wrote a tribute in his honour.

TIME released the 2026 list on April 15, highlighting influential figures across business, politics, culture, religion, and entertainment.

Notable names on this year’s list include Donald Trump, Xi Jinping, Benjamin Netanyahu, and Mark Carney.

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Others include Pope Leo XIV, as well as tech leaders like Sundar Pichai and Neal Mohan.

Aliko Dangote, who is also Chairman of the Dangote Refinery, is the only Nigerian on the list and features in the “Titans and Innovators” category alongside figures such as Reid Wiseman, Michael and Susan Dell, and Ralph Lauren.

Chairman of Heirs Holdings and UBA, Tony Elumelu praised Dangote on TIME’s website, describing him as “indefatigable, resilient, and foresighted,” and “one of the greatest African entrepreneurs of the modern era.”

Elumelu mentioned that Dangote’s business footprint across cement, sugar, and oil, reflects Africa’s ability to create value from its own resources.

He also pointed to the Dangote Refinery as a major milestone in advancing industrialisation on the continent.

Reflecting on his influence, Tony Elumelu said he draws inspiration from Aliko Dangote in difficult moments, adding that his success is matched by humility.

“He has inspired a generation of entrepreneurs, continues to inspire his friends, and can always be counted on to return a phone call,” he said.

“He is a great man, creating a great legacy,” Elumelu added.

Meanwhile, Editor in Chief at TIME, Sam Jacobs said there is no single metric for determining influence on the TIME100 list.

“Our selections are led by the stories that are shaping the world each year and the people who write them. Some are well known to many, others only within their fields. To find them, we poll our editors, reporters, and sources around the world and review the recommendations that are sent to us every day,” Jacobs explained.

He further noted that not everyone will recognise all names on the list.

“This is part of the appeal of the TIME100, now well into its third decade, and the reason it has endured,” the Editor in Chief said.

He concluded that TIME is expanding the TIME100 community to reflect emerging global trends.

“In recent years, we’ve been busy growing the TIME100 community by focusing on the areas we believe shape the future, including AI, climate, health, and philanthropy, as well as emerging fields in which individuals, such as digital creators, are playing an outsize role,” he said.

See the full of TIME100 Most Influential People 2026

Artists

Luke Combs (by Ed Sheeran)

Jennie (by Gracie Abrams)

Keke Palmer (by Brian Grazer)

Noah Wyle (by LeVar Burton)

Dakota Johnson (by Taylor Swift)

Jafar Panahi (by Nazanin Boniadi)

Claire Danes (by Jesse Eisenberg)

Benicio Del Toro (by Paul Thomas Anderson)

Jonathan Groff (by Sutton Foster)

Ranbir Kapoor (by Ayushmann Khurrana)

Tayari Jones (by Imani Perry)

Noah Kahan (by Marcus Mumford)

Anderson .Paak (by Natasha Lyonne)

Rhea Seehorn (by Britt Lower)

Coco Jones (by Jaylen Barron)

Freida McFadden (by E.L. James)

Titans

Zoe Saldaña (by James Cameron)

Ben Stiller (by Bob Odenkirk)

Aliko Dangote (by Tony Elumelu)

Scottie Scheffler (by Tony Romo)

Anok Yai (by Chanel Iman)

Ralph Lauren (by Oprah Winfrey)

Lynsey Addario (by Katie Couric)

Susan Dell & Michael Dell (by Ray Dalio)

Sundar Pichai (by Andrew Ng)

David Ellison (by Jerry Bruckheimer)

Precious Matsoso & Anne-Claire Amprou (by Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala)

Lip-Bu Tan (by Harry Booth)

Innovators

Nikki Glaser (by Chris Rock)

Hilary Knight (by Malala Yousafzai)

Vikas Khanna (by Eric Ripert)

Lando Norris (by Paris Hilton)

Mashama Bailey (by Kamala Harris)

Matthieu Blazy (by Margaret Qualley)

Dario Amodei & Daniela Amodei (by Billy Perrigo)

Noah Lyles (by Willy Chavarria)

Yiyun Li (by Salman Rushdie)

Tony Tyson (by Risa Wechsler)

Cao Fei (by Miuccia Prada)

John Furner (by Brian Niccol)

Jeremy Allaire (by Denelle Dixon)

Mari Luz Canaquiri Murayari (by Kyla Mandel)

Luciano Moreira (by Scott O’Neill)

Neal Mohan (by Belinda Luscombe)

Sabrina Walter (by Anna Mutavati)

Icons

Wagner Moura (by Jeremy Strong)

Kate Hudson (by Mindy Kaling)

Alysa Liu (by Bowen Yang)

Hilary Duff (by Nicole Richie)

Alan Cumming (by Lisa Kudrow)

Sterling K. Brown (by Kristen Bell)

Ethan Hawke

Chloe Kim

Shirin Ebadi

Walter Hood

Victoria Beckham

Rauw Alejandro

Kica Matos

Leaders

Pope Leo XIV

Claudia Sheinbaum

Marco Rubio

Donald Trump

Mark Carney

Zohran Mamdani

Xi Jinping

Sanae Takaichi

Benjamin Netanyahu

Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah

Steve Witkoff

Gavin Newsom

Gwynne Shotwell

Balendra Shah

Susie Wiles

Tarique Rahman

Mark Kelly

Heather Gerken

Dan Caine

Henna Virkkunen

Rafael Mariano Grossi

Mette Frederiksen

Jacob Frey

Fatih Birol

Pioneers

Dolores Huerta

Reid Wiseman

Josh D’Amaro

Mamadou Amadou Ly

Nancy Silverton

MrBeast

Mariangela Hungria

C. Wei

Lauren Hersh

Rachel Foster

Shannon Minter

Zabib Musa Loro

Sarah Friar

Kiran Musunuru

Rebecca Ahrens-Nicklas

MA