The President, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote has been named the most powerful man in Africa and 64th in the world by the Forbes magazine.
Dangote,
who was ranked 64th out of the 72 persons recognized by Forbes, was one
of the only two black people that made the list. Dangote, who Forbes
says is by far Africa’s richest man with a net worth of $16.1bn as of
March 2013, was ranked ahead of the likes of Fifa President, Sepp
Blatter (69); Speaker, United States House of Representatives, John
Boehner (66); and Founder, Mo Ibrahim Foundation, Mohammed Ibrahim (71).
The
56-year-old, Dangote, whose company is considered one of the most
diversified on the list, is currently ranked 43 on the Forbes list of
the world’s billionaires with his net worth over time said to be on the
rise.
In
August, the industrialist had announced plans by the Dangote Group to
build a $9bn refinery and petrochemical complex in Nigeria, a move which
is expected to help the group further diversify its current business
model and increase his net worth.
Away
from his business interests, mention was also made of his philanthropic
efforts in his profile on the Forbes website. It reads in part,
“Inspired by fellow billionaires, Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, Dangote
is making a name for himself on the philanthropic circuit and has given
away millions to education, health and social causes in Africa.
Topping
this year’s list of most powerful people was Russian President Vladimir
Putin, who knocked his US counterpart, Barack Obama, off the top spot.
The US president held the title last year. Obama has been on the top of
the list every year with the exception of 2010, when Hu Jintao, the
former political and military leader of China, was number one.
The
annual World’s Most Powerful list is made up of heads of state,
financiers, philanthropists and entrepreneurs and the list represents
the collective wisdom of top Forbes editors, who consider hundreds of
nominees before ranking the planet’s top 72 power-brokers.
1 comment:
Good to see Dangote on the list.
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