Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has clarified that his multi-billion-dollar empire was self-made and not a product of inherited fortune.

In a recent interview, the business magnate noted that although both sides of his family were affluent, he chose to forge his own path instead of depending on family wealth.

“I came from a wealthy family. My late great-grandfather in the 1940s was actually the richest, you know, West African. My late grandfather was one of the wealthiest Nigerians, you know,” he said.

“The family name is Dantata. That’s from my maternal side. My father, too, you know, was fairly rich, you know, but he was both, you know, in business and also in politics.

“But one thing that I’m very, very proud of is that I did not inherit any money from my father. I built everything from scratch to where I am.”

Dangote disclosed that any property he received from his late father was later donated to charity.

He recounted how his entrepreneurial journey began modestly after a stint with his uncle. “I went to Lagos and started my own business by just, you know, buying cement, selling. You know, it was just a very low-key business,” he recalled.

According to him, his interest in cement production stemmed from Africa’s pressing infrastructure needs.

“When you look at cement, cement is what builds infrastructure, and we have a lot of infrastructural deficits. In Nigeria alone, we have about 17,000 deficit of housing and it is all over Africa.

“So when we started cement in Nigeria, we realised that the majority of it was actually imported, and that is why we went in there,” Dangote said.