The richest man in Africa, Aliko Dangote, has said that his vast fortune was not inherited but built “from scratch”, despite coming from a rich lineage.
Speaking in a interviewThe billionaire businessman explained that while his paternal and maternal families were accommodated, he made a conscious decision to draw his own path and trust hard work instead of hereditary wealth.
“I come from a rich family. My deceased great grandfather in the 1940s was actually the richest, you know, Western Africa. My late grandfather was one of the richest Nigerians, you know,” he said.
“The last name is Dentata. That is my mother’s side. My father too, you know, it was quite rich, you know, but he was, you know, in business and also in politics.
“But one thing I am very proud of is that I didn’t inherit any money from my father. I built everything from scratch to where I am.”
Dangote also revealed that any asset he inherited from his late father were donated to charity.
He remembered having started in the business modestly after working briefly with his uncle. “I went to Lagos and started my own fair business, you know, buy cement, sell. You know, it was just a very discreet business,” he said.
The billionaire industrialist said that his decision to venture in cement was driven by the African infrastructure gap.
“When you look at the cement, cement is what builds infrastructure, and we need many infrastructure deficits. Only in Nigeria, we have about 17,000 housing deficit and everything has ended in Africa.
“Then, when we started the cement in Nigeria, we realized that most of this was imported, and that is why we entered there,” Dangote said.
Read too Main stories OF Nigerian tribe
Watch the best Nigerian Tribune TV videos