The Sunday Mail
TWO Africans made Forbes international’s list of ‘The World’s Most Powerful People’ for the year 2016. Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote was listed along with Egyptian President Abdel Fatteh el Sisi.
Both men rose up the ladder from the 2015 ranking. El Sisi was ranked 44th most powerful person in the world – five spots up from 2015 when he was at number 49.
Dangote also notched three steps up from his 2015 position of 71st to end this year at 68th spot. El Sisi beat the likes of incumbent US president Barack Obama (48th), Michael Bloomberg (55th) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdigan (56th).
Dangote also beat incoming vice-president of the US, Mike Pence.
Leader of the most populous Arab country
On the 62-year-old former military chief turned democratically elected president of the most populous Arab country, Forbes wrote about El Sisi’s rise to power and zeal to economically transform Egypt while turning the heat on Islamic State insurgents.
‘‘A former Egyptian defense minister and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, he assumed power in 2014 after winning 97 percent of the vote in the country’s presidential election. Previously, in 2013, the Egyptian military ousted President Mohamed Morsi, with el-Sisi saying Morsi “did not achieve the goals of the people.”
‘‘Friend of economic reform and foe to many civil liberties and “extremist thought,” el-Sisi has backed actions against ISIS as the West turns to the former general as a moderating force and economic stabilizer in the region.”
Africa’s richest man
Alhaji Aliko Dangote is ranked 51st on Forbes billionaires ladder for 2016. He is also Africa’s richest man. The Nigerian is founder and chairman of Dangote Cement, the continent’s largest cement producer.
‘‘In 2015 Dangote Cement launched new plants in Cameroon, Ethiopia, Zambia and Tanzania. The company produces more than 30 million metric tons annually, and plans to double capacity by 2018.
‘‘Dangote owns about 90 percent of publicly-traded Dangote Cement through a holding company, this percentage exceeds the 80 percent ownership ceiling set by the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
‘‘A spokesman for Dangote told Forbes that the company has until October 2016 to lower Aliko Dangote’s stake and plans to do so by then. Other companies in the Dangote Group, which is active in 15 African countries, include publicly-traded salt, sugar and flour manufacturing companies,’‘ Forbes wrote.
Top 10 Forbes The World’s Most Powerful People
1. Vladimir Putin – Russian President
2. Donald Trump – President-elect of the United States
3. Angela Merkel – German Chancellor
4. Xi Jinping – Chinese President
5. Pope Francis – Leader of the Roman Catholic Church
6. Janet Yellen – Chair of the US Federal Reserve
7. Bill Gates – Founder and CEO of Microsoft
8. Larry Page – CEO of Alphabet
9. Narendra Modi – Indian Prime Minister
10. Mark Zuckerberg – Founder and CEO of Facebook
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