Aliko Dangote is the richest man in Africa, worth over $10 billion, and yet he doesn’t even own a fleet of cars or a private jet – and still drives himself between business meetings
A self-made billionaire said to be Africa’s richest man with an estimated $10bn worth started entrepreneurial life trading two common kitchen staples – flour and sugar.
Despite being listed as a billionaire by Forbes in 2008, Nigerian business tycoon Aliko Dangote only buys a new car every eight years and prefers to drive himself to business meetings. He began his career trading commodities but now his assets constitute 30 percent of Nigeria’s total public market value.
In comparison, huge global corporations like Microsoft and Apple each account for only 7 per cent of the US’ market value. The Dangote Group is now one of Africa’s largest employers but some critics have labelled him “ruthless”, despite his ongoing collaborations with Bill Gates to combat polio and malnutrition. A life long Gunners fan, he even tried to buy Arsenal football club in 2010 and 2015.
When he announced plans for a colossal oil refinery, he stated, “You know nobody will come and develop this economy, only us.”, reports the Express. By 2025, Nigeria is projected to be the continent’s largest refined oil exporter. He said “when we start the others will see and then they will follow,” adding “so we need to take charge” or the continent’s economy will “never work.”
Last month it was announced the Dangote Oil refinery, Africa’s largest, could begin operating at full capacity in 30 days. The 650,000-barrel-per-day refinery built by Dangote in Lagos began processing crude into products, including diesel, naphtha and jet fuel, in January last year and started processing petrol in September. It aims to compete with European refiners when operating at full capacity but had been struggling to secure sufficient crude locally.
Yvonne Ike, West Africa CEO of Renaissance Capital, said: “Working with him as a banker is extremely challenging. If you don’t know his business at an extremely detailed level you don’t stand a chance – he will unravel you in seconds. He does not suffer fools gladly.”
Dangote, a native of Kano, Nigeria’s second largest city in the Muslim north, was just three when Nigeria gained independence and ten when civil war erupted. His great-great-grandfather, a wealthy nut trader, was the richest man in the country.
After his father’s death when he was nine, Dangote was raised by his grandfather who took over the family business and noticed his grandson’s budding business acumen. Even at primary school, Dangote showed entrepreneurial spirit, selling sweets and taking a cut from his merchants’ profits. He said: “When you’re raised by an entrepreneurial parent or grandparent, you pick up that aspiration it makes you much more aggressive – to think that anything is possible.”
In 1977, after graduating from Al Azhar university in Cairo, he joined his uncle’s cement business. The Lagos cement market was in chaos following the “Cement Armada”, a result of the Nigerian government’s attempt to spend their oil boom profits on infrastructure. After ordering 20 million tonnes of cement to be imported within 12 months, Lagos ended up with 420 ships queuing for months out of the harbour. Some sank, while others were left with degraded and unusable concrete, creating a massive gap in the market.
As the cement industry became crowded, Dongate shifted focus to importing essentials like flour, fish, and sugar. He steered clear of the oil sector, asserting: “If we followed the trend of dealing in oil it would have tainted our name. People would have thought you’ve made this money because you’ve done a lot of unethical deals in the oil industry.”
Dangote’s enterprise hit the jackpot in 1986 when Nigeria adopted trade liberalisation policies incentivising non-oil exports following a steep decline in oil prices. By the early ’90s, Dongate had amassed a fortune, becoming a millionaire by his mid-30s. At the peak of his importing business, he was raking in $3.5 million annually, which he described as “an awful lot of cash.”
The Nigerian government’s privatisation of state businesses in the 90s played into the hands of savvy businessman Dongate, who by 1996 had snapped up a massive 40 per cent slice of Nigeria’s national salt company, securing what effectively was a monopoly. Back in 1977, he made a smart move into the fertiliser industry, eventually satisfying 90 per cent of the country’s sugar needs.
When Dangote Sugar made its Nigerian Stock Exchange debut, it offloaded a cool 30 per cent stake for 420m NGN. With a rapidly expanding empire and no debt in sight, 2008 saw Forbes recognised Dangote and cementing his status on their billionaires list.
The success of his business dealings has not always been met with approval. Brian Browne, a former US consul-general to Nigeria, has criticised Dangote for receiving preferential treatment from government authorities. For some, he gets such benefits due to his willingness to support politicians financially. Dangote is believed to have made large contributions to former Nigerian president Olusegum Obasanjo’s election campaigns, while making other donations to major interest groups.
However, his godson – Nigerian music sensation Davido – describes him as “a different kind of billionaire”, revealing: “Uncle Aliko buys two cars every eight years. He is very disciplined and a different kind of billionaire. Every time I see him, he just says one thing and one thing only. Save your money. There is nothing more he tells me other than to save my money.”
