Africa’s richest, President of Dangote Group, Mr. Aliko Dangote, was, at the weekend, rated among the 100 most powerful people in the world by Forbes Magazine.
Aliko, the only black who made the list apart from President of the United States, Barack Obama, was listed at number 71 just above the top Republican Party contender for the US presidency, Donald Trump, who was listed at number 72.
President of Egypt, Abdel el-Sisi, was the only other African listed apart from Dangote and he was placed at number 49, under the defiant North Korean leader Kin Jong-un who was placed at number 46, while Igor Sechin of Rosneft and Ma Huateng were placed at 47 and 48 respectively.
The Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, sat conspicuously on the number one spot followed by the Prime Minister of Germany, Angela Merkel, who made the number two spot, pushing Obama to an embarrassing third position.
The list had other powerful people like Pope Francis occupying the fourth position just under Obama, while the Chinese Prime Minister, Xi Jinping, was number five on the list.
The world’s richest men, Bill Gates and Warren Buffet, were placed at number six and 13 respectively, while Christine Lagarde of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) placed 23rd on the list.
Last month, Dangote was named among the 50 world most influential personalities by Bloomberg, the renowned United States-based news media with bias for business and financial news reporting.
The group of personalities, chosen by the Bloomberg Market, consisted of CEOs, world leaders as well as religious leaders. As expected, Obama, Merkel and Pope Francis made the list with Dangote at number 41.
According to Bloomberg, those on the list “build companies and assemble fortunes.”
They run banks or hope to disrupt them. They shape economies and spread ideas. They manage money and wield the clout that goes with the billions of dollars they invest.
The Bloomberg said of Dangote: “The founder of Dangote Group, Africa’s most successful businessman, built his fortune in sugar, textiles, and cement in his native Nigeria where, today, he is a political as well as a financial power broker. He is expanding in other countries and may list his cement company in London Stock Market.” – VANGUARD
