Africa’s richest man and the President and CEO of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, clocked 62 years old today, April 10th. And as expected, many of his family, friends, associates, and admirers have taken time to felicitate with him.
One of them is oil magnate, Femi Otedola, he shared a message lovely message on Instagram extolling the virtues and accomplishments of his long-term friend whom he also calls “brother”.
According to him, Aliko Dangote has accomplished a lot of things over the last 62 years. And for this reason and more, he deserves to be celebrated.
Many Nigerians slid into Otedola’s comment section to shower Dangote with good wishes. There is no doubt that he is a man after many people’s heart.
Early Life of Dangote
The businessman was born in Kano State to Mohammed Dangote and Mariya Sanusi Dantata.
Since his early days, Dangote had always been interested in business. He once recounted how he used to buy cartons of sweets and resell it just to make profit.
Dangote went to the Sheikh Ali Kumasi Madrasa for his early education, after which he proceeded to Capital high school in Kano state where he obtained his secondary education. For his university education, he attended Al-Azhar University in Cairo, from where he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Studies and Administration.
Career Days
Dangote’s entrepreneurial career dates back to 1977 when he started Dangote Group as a small trading firm in Kano. He later expanded to Lagos that same year.
Years later, Dangote Group has moved from being a trading company to becoming the largest industrial groups in Nigeria and Africa. It also has many subsidiaries, including Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, Dangote Cement Plc, and Dangote Flour.
Love and Marriage
Just like regular people, Aliko Dangote has his own love triangles. Africa’s richest man is said to have been married four times. He is also blessed with a total of fifteen children from his marriages.Just last year, one of his daughters Fatima, wedded Jamil, the son of former Inspector General of Police, MD Abubakar.
Achievements and awards
As Nairametrics reported, Aliko Dangote estimated net worth stands at US$10.6 billion. This makes him the richest man in Africa. Forbes magazine also ranked him as the 100th-richest person in the world.
Goodluck Jonathan, during his tenure as Nigeria’s president, awarded Dangote the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger. (GCON)
In 2016, he was awarded an honorary doctorate degree in Business Administration by Coventry University, in recognition of his significant and longstanding contributions to the global business.