Who is the richest man in Africa? Aliko Dangote is the richest man in Africa, who owns Dangote Group conglomerate specialized in the food industry, construction materials, and energy.
Dangote has an estimated net worth of $ 12.2 billion. In spite of all his wealth and outstanding achievements, he keeps being a very modest and hard-working person.
He owns the largest industrial business in Nigeria and throughout West Africa, providing thousands of African families with bread and butter.
Being the richest man in Africa, he is a source of inspiration for young entrepreneurs who strive for success.
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- Aliko Dangote was born in Kano – Nigeria’s 2nd largest city, situated 150 miles south of Sahara – to a wealthy Muslim family.
- It happened on 10 April 1957.
- In 1965, Dangote’s father died. His grandfather insisted on raising the kid.
- The boy’s first startup was at the age of 8: he bought sweets and sold them to other kids.
- When the boy grew up, he decided to study business.
- Aliko Dangote went to Al-Azhar University in Cairo.
- After graduation, he moved to Lagos, but only after getting grandfather’s permission.
- Family life started at the age of 20: he married a woman, chosen for him by family.
- At the age of 21, he took a loan in amount of $500,000 from his uncle.
- The start of Dangote Group dates back to a small trading unit from 1977.
- Dangote traded rice, sugar, and cement. After receiving governmental support, Dangote got exclusive import rights for these goods.
- Soon enough, he set the business to earn $10,000 daily.
- In 1994, he became famous in Nigeria and attracted attention of American diplomatic line.
- In 1995, he took a trip to Brazil and got a push to Dangote Industries: after he came back, he decided to turn from selling to manufacturing.
- In 1999 Dangote got promises to support domestic business from government.
- Four pasta and noodles companies were established the same year.
- In 2000, Dangote Sugar was established, producing 1.44 million tons per year – enough to satisfy the needs of over 90% of population.
- Dangote decided to build a cement plant with five million tons capacity.
- He received a wrong soil test and had to face serious infrastructure problems.
- Dangote was to build a gas pipeline and a dam in the area. He did not cancel building.
- In 2007, Dangote Sugar debuted on Nigerian Stock Exchange. The rest of companies joined in 2008.
- In 2008, the businessmen appeared in Forbes at No. 334.
- In 2009, he started building 14,000 km of fiber optic cables to provide communication in Nigeria.
- In 2010, one of his factories was listed on the NSE as $1.3 billion sales enterprise.
- On 14 November 2011, Dangote was awarded the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger – Nigeria’s second highest honor.
- In July 2012, Dangote opened a flour company.
- In August 2014, Wall Street billionaires decided to invest in sub-Saharan infrastructure.
- In 2014, Dangote donated 150 million Naira to stop the spread of ebola.
- In May 2015, the businessmen expressed interest in purchasing the English football team Arsenal.
- In 2016 he announced about the plans for oil industry.
- Dangote refinery will start functioning in 2018, producing up to 550,000 barrels of fuel.
- He also participates in charity: he contributed N50 million (US$0.25M) to the National Mosque.
Besides, Dangote is a big fan of European football. Since the beginning of 2010, there has been a rumor that the businessman is going to buy Arsenal F.C. based in London. He has been supporting this club since the 80’s.
In 2015 Dangote claimed that he was going to acquire London football club in the nearest future. It was confirmed in 2016 when Dangote announced that he would acquire Arsenal within the following 3-4 years.
Aliko Dangote quotes
I built a conglomerate and emerged the richest black man in the world in 2008 but it didn’t happen overnight. It took me 30 years to get to where I am today. Youths of today aspire to be like me but they want to achieve it overnight. It’s not going to work. To build a successful business, you must start small and dream big. In the journey of entrepreneurship, tenacity of purpose is supreme.
Passion is what drives me forward. Passion is what makes me go to bed at 2am and wake up at 6am.
