Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has revealed that he acquired his first private jet at the age of 22 and a half.
Dangote made the disclosure on Monday at the Nigerian Exchange in Lagos during the formal launch of the Initial Public Offering of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals.
Reflecting on his business journey, Dangote said he had enjoyed tremendous success but was now more interested in seeing wealth channelled into productive ventures.
“My career as a businessman, I really had a great time,” he said, recalling how early he began enjoying the fruits of his business success.
“I had my first private jet at 22 and a half years old,” Dangote added.
However, he urged wealthy Nigerians to look beyond luxury and invest more of their resources in sectors capable of boosting production, creating jobs and strengthening the economy.
He specifically challenged owners of extremely expensive private aircraft to consider redirecting some of their wealth into productive investments.
“I try as much as I can to encourage people who are riding $900 million aircraft to please go and put that into production,” he said.
Dangote stressed that Nigeria could not become a great nation without massive investments in productive activities.
