Is Africa's richest man more powerful than Buhari?

fuad lawal

November 6, 2015 3:56 AM

Dangote has the biggest wallet in Africa, while President Muhammadu Buhari steers the affairs of the most powerful nation. But who commands the power?

According to a recent survey, Alike Dangote is not only the most powerful Nigerian, he is also the most powerful African alive, even more powerful than President Muhammadu Buhari.

In the survey carried out by Forbes, Dangote sits at the No. 71 on the 73-people list, with a net worth of $14.7bn.

Make no mistake, this is not a money list.

According to Forbes, the amount of money they control; the number of people they impact; their total spheres of influence; and how actively they wield their power is what determines whether or not they make the list.

Even though the father of three is the richest man alive, he's not slowing down.

In 2015 alone, his cement company, Dangote Cement, which is also Africa's largest cement producer, opened new plants in Cameroon, Ethiopia, Zambia and Tanzania.

Currently, Dangote Cement now produces more than 30 million metric tonnes each year, with a plan to double capacity by 2018.

READ:Dangote Refinery to commence operations in 2018

The 58-year-old also owns more than 90% of publicly-traded Dangote Cement through a holding company. Other companies in the Dangote Group - which is active in 15 African countries - include publicly-traded salt, sugar and flour manufacturing companies.

fuad lawal