Nigerian native, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has managed to clinch the title of the richest man in Africa yet again. He added a whopping $4.9 billion to his already bulging pockets last year, an increase that saw him named Africa’s richest man for the 3rd time in a row. Despite being born on a continent that comprises several developing countries, Dangote has managed to achieve major success making him richer than many citizens living in the developed nations of the world. He is recognized worldwide as a very successful business mogul and was even ranked as the 43rd richest person in the world by Forbes Magazine. With a net worth of $20 billion, he has several companies that are the source of his vast wealth. Currently, he is the CEO and chairman of the Dangote Group.

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Early Life Of The Richest Man In Africa

Aliko Dangote was born on 10th April 1957 in Kano, Nigeria and this Africa’s richest man is the son of Mariya Sanusi Dantata and Mohammed Dangote. He hails from a wealthy Muslim family. From a very young age, he had a keen eye for the business and made it a point of learning as much as possible from his equally talented grandfather. He studied in Nigeria during his early formative years and went abroad to study only after finishing high school. He attended the Al-Azhar University in Cairo, Egypt, where he graduated with a degree in Business Studies and Administration. Despite the formal education that was blessed to have, he attributes his business talent to his grandfather. He says that he would not be where he is today if his grandfather had not made it a point to share all his business knowledge with him while he was young.

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He has been divorced three times before marrying his current wife. The children of Dangote are officially listed as 3 from his current marriage, but the man is believed to be a father of 15.

How did Alhaji Aliko Dangote Become The Richest Person In Africa?

He began his business career in 1977 after acquiring his degree from a University in Cairo. He borrowed a sum of $3000 from his grandfather and used the money to start up his own company that dealt with cement. He was able to flourish his company within a short time and was able to pay back the loan from his grandfather six months later.

His success in business enabled Dangote to start up two more companies 4 years after starting his cement business. He later proceeded to form the Dangote Group, a multifaceted conglomerate that has several businesses under it. With the Dangote Group, Aliko diversified from his earlier cement company and opened up sugar refineries, salt processing factories, and flour milling plants. Currently, the Dangote Group has a major presence in the cement, flour, and sugar industries. Nigeria largely depends on the Dangote Group, which is the sole supplier (accounting for 70%) of the country’s soft drink companies and produces 800,000 tons of sugar every year.

The Dangote Group also deals with several other aspects of the business world that include salt production, food processing, real estate, natural oil and gas, production of fertilizer, and telecommunications. Over three decades after its inception, the Dangote Group has grown to become a billion-dollar enterprise that is the largest conglomerate in West Africa and one of the largest in Africa. Dangote Group has a great reputation for providing great quality products and services. This conglomerate has its headquarters located in Lagos state and several branches outside Nigeria in countries such as Ghana, Togo, and Benin.

Charitable Works Of Aliko Dangote

Aliko has truly lived up to his name, which means, ‘The Victorious One Who Defends Humanity’, through his various charitable deeds. The man has been given several awards in honor of his philanthropic nature and his significant contribution to the economy of Nigeria. The awards he has received include the ZIK Award for professional leadership, the International Award of Sir Ahmadu Bello, the Chief Executive Officer of the year 2005, and the Cross River State Roll of Honor Award. In the year 2000, Dangote was conferred with the national honor of Officer of the Order of the Niger, and the Commander of the Order of the Niger in 2005.

He Aliko serves on the boards of several charitable organizations and is the president of the Dangote Foundation. His foundation is very active in giving back to society and has given charitable funds totaling $100 million in the last four years. The foundation aims to better the lives of people living in Nigeria. Some of the contributions made by the Dangote foundation include; 1 billion Naira to Nigerian Universities, $2 million for Pakistani nationals affected by the 2010 floods, and 50 million Naira to Nigerian community leaders to help alleviate the suffering of communities due to ethnoreligious crises.

Aside from being a man who gives freely to noble causes, Dangote also has the ability to get fellow wealthy men to contribute money. He was able to collect 11.35 billion Naira while leading a Presidential Committee on Flood Relief for Nigerian residents.

Personal Assets

Aliko Dangote is somewhat a mystery as he tries to keep his personal life away from the public. However, it is well known that the man owns several homes as he is in the real estate business. He also owns a yacht and a couple of personal jets. He uses his jets for different occasions and his yacht is used to entertain visitors rather than as a symbol of Luxury.

Final Verdict

If you take a closer look at most of the successful entrepreneurs making billions of dollars annually, you will realize that they have an inborn talent that they inherited from their parents or grandparents. He agrees with this fact and states that you must have business flowing in your blood if you want to make it in the highly competitive business world.