Business
Africa’s impressive growth looks set to continue
Her US$3 billion fortune makes Oprah Winfrey (pictured above), the wealthiest black person in America, a position she has held for years. But she is no longer the richest black person in the world. That honor now goes to Aliko Dangote (pictured below), the Nigerian cement king. Critics grumble that he is too close to the country’s soiled political class. Nonetheless his US$10 billion fortune is money earned, not expropriated. The Dangote Group started as a small trading outfit in 1977. It has become a pan-African conglomerate with interests in sugar and logistics, as well as construction, and it is a real business, not a kleptocratic sham.
Legitimately self-made African billionaires are harbingers of hope. Though few in number, they are growing more common. They exemplify how far Africa has come and give reason to believe that its recent high growth rates may continue.
