I withdrew $10m just to look at it, says Dangote | Nairalaw

Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest man, says he withdrew $10
million just to look at it and convince himself that he is
rich.

Speaking at the Mo Ibrahim governance weekend ongoing in
Abidjan, Dangote said he knew he was rich on paper, but had to find
out to convince himself that he was indeed rich.

To do this, the multi-billionaire said he drove to a bank,
withdrew $10 million, took it home, put it on his bed, looked at
it, and returned it back to the bank the following day.

“The way it is that when you first start business, your target
is to make your first million. Fine, I did that,” Dangote told Mo
Ibrahim.

“After a year or so, I realised that I had much more, and I said
ok, fine, all these numbers are just written numbers.

“One day I went to a bank, and at that time, there were no
restrictions, and I wrote a cheque and cashed $10m from the bank
and put it in the boot of my vehicle, and I went home and I opened
it and I looked at $10m and I said ‘now I believe I have
money’.”

Dangote added that he took it back to the bank the next day —
after his mission was concluded.

The Nigerian businessman is has been the richest man in Africa
for nearly a decade, following the expansion of his cement
business, and the change of model to focus on local
manufacturing.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Dangote is the
74th richest man in the world as of April 6, and he is valued at
$16.4 billion.