Dangote talks about life after making money

Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has said that chasing personal wealth is no longer what drives him.

The 69-year-old shared this during an interview on The School of Hard Rocks’ Instagram page on Friday night.

In the chat, he talked about life beyond making money, his long-term vision for Africa, and his legacy in economic development.

He said, “I’ve actually passed the stage of just doing business to make money. It is to leave a legacy. In the first quarter of the year, we did about $10 billion.”

“I want to be remembered as somebody who has industrialised Africa. That’s what I want.”

Mr Dangote also mentioned that he had no plans to build companies while growing up. He said he never focused on his net worth and prefers to stay humble.

“They say I’m worth $38 billion. But you know, most of our businesses are not listed yet. It will come out soon,” said the billionaire from Kano.

He emphasized the need for Americans to invest in Africa, saying the continent is where the real future lies.

Mr Dangote noted, “Today, in Africa, 70 per cent of our population is below 30 years of age. By 2050, we’re going to be 2.5 billion people.”

When asked about his best advice on sales and negotiation, he urged business people to learn from the Chinese.

“Learn to be like the Chinese. You know, the Chinese know how to wear people out in negotiation. But the first thing you have to do is treat the customer like a king. Well, he’s a king,” he added.

Mr Dangote stated that he does not just build businesses; he figures out what people need and provides it.

“And these were things that I was trading in. So I tried to do what you call backward integration to produce what we used to import.”

“And now we’re going into oil and gas, where the scale is huge. If I look at myself, I know that God is real.”

He recently made news when he explained why he sold his mansions in the US and the UK.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that he sold his luxury properties abroad to focus fully on industrial investments in Nigeria. He said this decision is key to his long-term business philosophy.

Mr Dangote’s business empire includes cement, sugar, salt, fertiliser, petrochemicals, and oil refining. He believes that luxury properties abroad can distract entrepreneurs chasing big goals.