Forbes names Dangote among world’s 75 most powerful

Africa’s richest person and President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has been ranked among 75 most powerful people on the planet, ahead of the Vice President of the United States of America, Mike Pence.

According to the Forbe’s 2018 ranking of the World Powerful People, Dangote ranked among world leaders like the Chinese President, Xi Jinping; the Russian President, Vladimir Putin; and the President of the United States, Donald Trump, who were ranked first, second and third, respectively.

The 61-year old Dangote was ranked the 66th most powerful person in the world ahead of Pence, who ranked 67, and Qamar Javed Bajwa, the highly influential Chief of Army Staff of Pakistan, who was ranked 68.

Dangote is the only Nigerian on the list and the second African who made the list, with the other being the Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who was ranked 45^th.

The top 10 most powerful people in the world as listed by Forbes are German Chancellor, Angela Markel, ranked fourth; Founder of Amazon.com, Jeff Bezos (5th); the Catholic pontiff, Pope Francis, (6th); Bill Gates (7th); the Saudi crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (8th); Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi (9th); and the Chief Executive of Google, Larry Page (10th).

In 2016, Dangote was the only black man who made the list released in 2017, apart from the then President of the United States, Barack Obama, and was listed at number 71, just above the then American presidential contender, Trump, who was listed at number 72.

Dangote is Chairman, Dangote Cement Plc, which produces 44 million metric tonnes of cement annually across the African continent and still plans to expand and increase its output by 33% by 2020.

According to the Forbe’s rich list, Dangote as of March 2018 had an estimated net worth of $14.1bn and ranked among the 100 richest in the world and the richest in Africa, a position he has held for almost a decade.

Dangote reached the peak in 2014 when he became the 23rd richest in the world, and in 2013 surpassed the Saudi-Ethiopian billionaire, Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi, by over $2.6bn, to become the world richest person of African descent.