Dangote Emerges Only African In Bloomberg 50 Most Influential People

FUNSHO AROGUNDADE

Billionaire industrialist and Africa’s richest person, Aliko Dangote on Monday night claimed another distinction at the Bloomberg 50 as he emerged as the only African honoured at the Bloomberg 50 annual gala dinner held at the iconic Gotham Hall in New York, United States.

He was named among the Bloomberg’s 2017 list of the world’s 50 most influential people who have had an impact on the world in 2017.

Dangote’s contribution to the world this year revolves around his dynamic attention to lessen food imports into his own country and Africa’s largest nation, Nigeria, by focusing on domestic production of sugar and dairy, with 500 million liters of Nigerian milk to be produced by 2019.

He was specifically honoured for his outstanding commitment of over $4 Billion to increase Nigeria’s food production capacity.

Earlier this year he announced a $50 Billion plan to invest in renewable energy.

“What sets The Bloomberg 50 apart from other lists is that each person chosen has demonstrated measurable change over the past year,” said Megan Murphy, Bloomberg Businessweek editor.

Dangote, who was represented at the dinner by the CEO of his Foundation, was joined as honoree by electric car visionary Elon Musk; Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salmon; Beatrice Fihn, anti-nuclear weapons advocate and Nobel Peace Laureate; Amazon’s Jeff Bezos; Robert Mueller, special counsel investigating Donald Trump’s potential collusion with Russia; and Vitalik Buterin, whose invention of the cryptocurrency Ethereum is revolutionizing the new blockchain craze.

The event was emceed by actor Keegan-Michael Key, with a performance by Mandy Gonzalez of Broadway sensation “Hamilton.”