Forbes names Dangote Africa’s most powerful man

The President, Dangote Group, Alhaji
Aliko Dangote, has been named the
most powerful man in Africa and 64th in
the world by the Forbes magazine.
Dangote, who Forbes says is by far
Africa’s richest man with a net worth of
$16.1bn as of March 2013, was ranked
ahead of the likes of Fifa President, Sepp
Blatter (69); Speaker, United States
House of Representatives, John Boehner
(66); and Founder, Mo Ibrahim
Foundation, Mohammed Ibrahim (71).
The 56-year-old, Dangote, whose
company is considered one of the most
diversified on the list, is currently ranked
43 on the Forbes list of the world’s
billionaires with his net worth over time
said to be on the rise.
In August, the industrialist had
announced plans by the Dangote Group
to build a $9bn refinery and
petrochemical complex in Nigeria, a
move which is expected to help the
group further diversify its current
business model and increase his net
worth.
Away from his business interests,
mention was also made of his
philanthropic efforts in his profile on the
Forbes website.
It reads in part, “Inspired by fellow
billionaires, Bill Gates and Warren
Buffett, Dangote is making a name for
himself on the philanthropic circuit and
has given away millions to education,
health and social causes in Africa.”
Apart from Dangote, Ibrahim is the only
other African on the list, which contains
72 people.
Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin,
topped the list, displacing United States
President, Barrack Obama, who dropped
to the second spot for the first time in
three years.
Chinese President, Xi Jinping, occupies
the third spot, while the head of the
Catholic Church, Pope Francis, debuts on
the list at number four.
Pope Francis, who was elected in March
this year, leads 12 other new entrants.
Other notable new names on the list are
Samsung Chairman, Lee Kun-Hee (41);
Volkswagen’s Martin Winterkorn (49);
South Korean President, Park Geun-hye
(52); and Janet Yellen (72), who has
been nominated by President Obama as
the next leader of the US Federal
Reserves.
The Executive Editor of the New York
Times, Jill Abramson (68), makes a
return appearance after dropping off the
list in years past.
Facebook Founder, Mark Zuckerberg,
aged 29, and North Korean leader, Kim
Jung-un, aged 30, are the youngest
people on the list. Zuckerberg occupies
the 24th place, while Kim is ranked
46th.
Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, who
occupies the eight spot, is the oldest
person on the list. He is 89 years old.
The world’s richest man, Carlos Slim, is,
however, not the most powerful man.
The América Móvil honorary chairman
occupies the 12th position.
According to Forbes, the Most Powerful
People in the World list is an annual
snapshot of the heads of state,
financiers, philanthropists and
entrepreneurs, who truly rule the world.
“It represents the collective wisdom of
top Forbes editors, who consider
hundreds of nominees before ranking
the planet’s top 72 power-brokers –
one for every 100 million people on
earth – based on their scope of
influence and their financial resources
relative to their peers,” the magazine
explained.
This year’s list features 17 heads of
state, who run nations with a combined
Gross Domestic Product of some $48tn.