There
are over 1,600 billionaires on the planet. However, only nine of these
1,600 are black. With stories ranging from rags-to-riches to people who
were born into wealth, this list supplies you with all the knowledge as
to how these nine people built their empires. Many of them have made
their fortunes in the telecommunications industry, while some are even
building their own cars! Don’t let these stories intimidate you.
Instead, gain inspiration from their journeys. You never know what you
can do when you put your mind to it.
9. Mohammed Ibrahim — Net Worth: $1.1 billion
Via facelist.face2faceafrica.com
Our
first African-American billionaire on this list is a man who has made a
vast fortune in the telecommunications industry. Across the pond in
Great Britain,
Ibrahim
founded a company called Celtel. Mainly, Celtel acts as a mobile phone
operator in Africa. As Celtel grew, the value of the company also
increased. Finally, in 2005 (after seven years in business), Mohammed
sold Celtel for a whopping $3.4 billion. Two years later, Ibrahim set up
a foundation in his name to assist governance in Africa. Now sitting at
a value of $1.1 billion, it seems as if Ibrahim is doing positive
things with his money. As with the foundation, he has also created what
is called the “Mo Ibrahim Index”. This index helps evaluate a nation’s
performance in various sectors (economics, government, etc).
8. Abdulsamad Rabiu — Net Worth: $1.2 billion
Via beyondafricamagazine.com
Slightly
nudging out Ibrahim for the eighth spot on this list is a Nigerian
businessman who has focused his efforts on trading commodities. Rabui
started out in 1988 when he established Bua International Limited. Bua
imported rice, flour, and even iron and steel. Just two short years
later, a huge company known as Delta Steel Company (which was owned by
the government) contracted Bua to supply them with raw materials. This
gave Bua a much needed jumpstart. Rabiu’s company continued to grow,
expanding to importation of steel and iron ore. 2008 was an excellent
year for Rabiu, as he commissioned the second-largest sugar refinery in
the heartland of Africa. He has set up the Bua Foundation and loves
giving back to the community, including the construction of the Centre
for Islamic Studies at Bayero University Kano.
7. Folorunsho Alakija — Net Worth: $2.5 billion
Via africanartswithtaj.blogspot.com
The first woman to make an appearance on this list,
Alakija‘s
tale of fortune is a bit different from the others. Originally scoring a
position as executive secretary at Sijuade Enterprises in Nigeria, she
actually switched jobs to work at First National Bank of Chicago. As she
worked at the bank, Folorunsho also started a fashion company called
Supreme Stitches. The company had a meteoric rise to fame and power, and
Alakjia again branched out. This time, she focused on the oil game.
Securing an oil prospecting license (OPL), she got to explore a 617,000
acre-block of land off the coast of Nigeria. Combine all of these
lucrative endeavors, and you get one rich woman. Like the previous
billionaires listed above, Alakija loves to give back to the community.
Via en.wikipedia.org
6. Oprah Winfrey — Net Worth: $2.9 billion
This woman was one of the major influences on talk television, and perhaps the world, with the debut of
The Oprah Winfrey Show on September 8th, 1986. Audiences were won over with
Winfrey‘s
small town charm and ability to confront tough issues without resorting
to exploitation. Along with her strength of character, Oprah also
scored some massive interviews with superstars from around the globe.
One of Oprah’s most memorable interviewees was
Michael Jackson,
which was watched by over 35 million people. As her television show
continued to grow, Oprah began to explore other avenues. She created a
magazine, titled
O: The Oprah Magazine, and has co-authored
five books. With massive television contracts, publishing, and even a
short-lived radio show, it’s no wonder Winfrey has amassed a fortune.
She has given a lot of her money away, including $400 million for
educational purposes.
6. Patrice Motsepe — Net Worth: $2.9 billion
Tied with Oprah Winfrey,
Motsepe
is yet another mogul of the mining and import business. Focusing on the
mining of materials such as platinum, nickel, and chrome, African
Rainbow Minerals (ARM) is Motsepe’s company and main venture in life.
Early in his life, he worked for a law firm, and began his mining
business by hiring people to clean the gold dust out of mines. Soon, he
seized an opportunity to buy up many mine shafts (gold prices were
extremely low at the time, so mine shafts were cheap). A bit of
controversy surrounds Patrice’s wealth, as it has been claimed that his
ties to South Africa’s political parties have filled up his wallet. This
claim is backed up by some due to his sister’s marriage to the
Transport Minister. She is one of the wealthiest women in South Africa.
4. Isabel Dos Santos — Net Worth: $3.7 billion
Isabel Dos Santos
is a woman of many faces. Some know her as a woman working at a
recycling business, others as the creator of a nightclub, and finally
there are those who know her as a multi-billionaire. Dos Santos had a
privileged childhood, being daughter to Angola’s president. Once she
grew up, Isabel did join a German recycling company. Then, she started a
trucking business. From here, it was into telecoms and then into
nightclubs. Everything she touches seems to turn to gold. She also
served as project manager engineer for the cleaning of and disinfecting
of the city of Luanda (the capital of Angola). After all of this
success, she still had the business smarts to invest in many business
ventures, all of them successful. If you need something done, this is
definitely the woman who can do it.
3. Mike Adenuga — Net Worth: $4.6 billion
Via newsofthepeople-ng.com
Sharing similarities to our #9 entrant, Mohammad Ibrahim,
Adenuga
has also found his fortune in the telecommunications industry. Before
his foray into the telecoms industry, Mike struck it big in the oil
industry. He received his first drilling license in 1990. Shortly
thereafter, he struck oil in the Southwestern Ondo State. Besides
striking a lot of oil, Mike’s oil company became famous due to the fact
it was the first indigenous company to strike oil of that magnitude in
the state. Mike became richer and richer through his oil gains. This
wealth gave him the opportunity to create another company. This time, it
was a telecommunications company. Globacom launched and instantly
attracted many subscribers. Today, that number of subscribers is over 24
million. However, all of this does come with a price. 2009 proved to be
a bad year for Adenuga, as he was accused of money laundering. He left
the country and fled to London. Today, he serves as the Grand Commander
of the Order of Nigeria.
2. Mohammed Al-Amoudi — Net Worth: $15.3 billion
The
last two entrants on this list are head and shoulders above the other
seven in terms of wealth. Amassing a staggering $15.3 billion,
Al-Amoudi
owns several businesses in the fields of oil, hotels, operations, and
finance. His construction company, Mohammed International Development
Research and Organization Companies (MIDROC) actually built an
underground oil storage complex for Saudi Arabia in 1988. Within MIDROC,
Mohammed owns many of the types of companies listed above. Along with
his heavy investment into Ethiopia, he also owns oil refineries in
Sweden and Morocco. Not only does Al-Amoudi focus on oil, he has also
prodded around in energy development. He even has a line of hotels
called Addis Ababa Sheraton. Regarding Ethiopia, he owns 70% of National
Oil Ethiopia. Currently, he is helping develop Saudi Arabia’s first
car, the Gazal-1.
1. Aliko Dangote — Net Worth: $25 billion
Aliko Dangote
runs away with this top ten list. Easily trumping Mohammed Al-Amoudi’s
$15.3 billion net worth, Dangote is worth a massive $25 billion. What
business could create that much revenue? Turns out commodities such as
sugar and cement are a lucrative business. It’s especially lucrative if
you then sell the sugar you have to places such as soft drink companies,
breweries, and confectioneries. Dangote’s company, the Dangote Group,
owns many smaller sub-division companies, including Dangote Cement,
Dangote Sugar Refinery, and Dangote Flour. Along with a number of other
entrants on this list, Aliko has forayed into the world of
telecommunications. One of his companies is creating fiber optic cables
to supply all of Nigeria.
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