Bloomberg magazine has named the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, in its Bloomberg 50 list.
The Bloomberg 50 is a new initiative which lists of individuals who have shaped the global business, finance, entertainment, tech, science and political space in a year. It is a multi-platform initiative that honours 50 business icons and innovators.
The magnate is described as a “quiet billionaire” in the Bloomberg preface.
“Dubbed ‘the quiet billionaire’ for his relatively frugal lifestyle, Dangote fast-tracked plans to help his country of 180 million people import less of what it eats. Dangote, who made his fortune in the cement industry, is turning his attention to dairy and sugar farming; he’s earmarked $800m to buy 50,000 cattle in the hope of producing 500 million litres of milk annually by 2019.
“He’s also racing to finish a 650,000-barrel-a-day oil refinery near Lagos, set to be one of the world’s biggest, and says he intends to spend as much as $50bn in the next decade on renewable energy and petrochemical refineries, including investments in the US and Europe. Which is all fine, but not quite his grand ambition: buying Arsenal, his favourite soccer team,” the preface reads.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Dangote is said to have expressed his delight at the recognition which he said would spur him on.
He said, “I am very delighted with this selection and I see the recognition as a call to do more towards youth empowerment, job creation, better health for the people and economic emancipation of the African continent.”
