This is my fifth book on self-made billionaires in the world. My approach is unconventional. I don’t start from the top. I don’t start from the middle. Instead, I start from the bottom. I start from the most disadvantaged groups. In my first book on self-made billionaires, I started with women self-made billionaires. You might ask: why start from the bottom? Because I want to prove my thesis: anyone can become self-made billionaire.
Born to win is the theme of this book. We are all born equal, but only a few of us can realize our true potential and become the best we can be.
As in my first 4 books, after I collected all the data. I stared at the data for weeks and I could not believe my eyes. Just about everything is counter intuitive. The data are extremely lopsided (1) the richest black self-made billionaires in the world are not found in the US, but in Nigeria. Nigeria is beating US by 8 to 2. This is a huge margin. It is a surprise margin. (2) The richest black person is Aliko Dangote. He is Nigerian and he is about 6 times richer than Oprah Winfrey, the richest Afro-Americans. Sorry, Oprah I love you. I am American and I want Americans to win. To Dangote, I have learned to admire you. (3) Nigeria alone accounted for over 80% of all the black self-made billionaire in Africa. (4) About 46% of the black self-made billionaires are Muslim. (5) This group of black self-made billionaires is younger than the average self-made billionaire. (6) The rate of growth of black self-made billionaire is also the fastest, about doubling every 3 years. WOW, I did not realize I just step into an explosive growth area.
The first purpose of this book is to serve the poor. For the poor, this book is an alternative to charity and aid. Instead, the poor can learn from black entrepreneurs to work hard, use their imagination, take risk and win big.
The second purpose of this book is to serve the rich. I see this book as part of a mobile museum, where anyone with a smart phone can one day access it free, any time, anywhere. The mobile revolution in the next 5 years will add billions of newcomers from emerging countries. A mobile museum of self-made billionaires will be part of world’s next big trend.
The third purpose of this book is to serve everyone else. The black self-made billionaires are the best marriage of justice, equality and meritocracy. Without equality, the world will be a very cruel place to live. Without meritocracy, there will be no progress. Without justice, we will have have to face revolutions and upheaval. I see the black self-made billionaires as embodiment of justice, equality and meritocracy.
Who is going to lead Africans to economic progress. Nigeria, the country that provided 8 of the 13 current black self-made billionaires, is the answer. Black entrepreneurs, rather than black soldiers, black statemen or black religious leadsers, are going to spearhead economic progress. It is no accident Nigeria has surpassed South Africa as the largest economy in Africa.
This is a book with no conclusion. There are two reasons: the first is that blacks are in better position to write their own future and their own conclusion, not me, who is Asian American. The second reason is the difficulty of small data sample. With just 14 black self-made billionaires coming from 4 different continents (Africa, North America, Asia and Europe), it is easy to fall into to the trap of over-generalization.
Born to win is the theme of this book. We are all born equal, but only a few of us can realize our true potential and become the best we can be.
As in my first 4 books, after I collected all the data. I stared at the data for weeks and I could not believe my eyes. Just about everything is counter intuitive. The data are extremely lopsided (1) the richest black self-made billionaires in the world are not found in the US, but in Nigeria. Nigeria is beating US by 8 to 2. This is a huge margin. It is a surprise margin. (2) The richest black person is Aliko Dangote. He is Nigerian and he is about 6 times richer than Oprah Winfrey, the richest Afro-Americans. Sorry, Oprah I love you. I am American and I want Americans to win. To Dangote, I have learned to admire you. (3) Nigeria alone accounted for over 80% of all the black self-made billionaire in Africa. (4) About 46% of the black self-made billionaires are Muslim. (5) This group of black self-made billionaires is younger than the average self-made billionaire. (6) The rate of growth of black self-made billionaire is also the fastest, about doubling every 3 years. WOW, I did not realize I just step into an explosive growth area.
The first purpose of this book is to serve the poor. For the poor, this book is an alternative to charity and aid. Instead, the poor can learn from black entrepreneurs to work hard, use their imagination, take risk and win big.
The second purpose of this book is to serve the rich. I see this book as part of a mobile museum, where anyone with a smart phone can one day access it free, any time, anywhere. The mobile revolution in the next 5 years will add billions of newcomers from emerging countries. A mobile museum of self-made billionaires will be part of world’s next big trend.
The third purpose of this book is to serve everyone else. The black self-made billionaires are the best marriage of justice, equality and meritocracy. Without equality, the world will be a very cruel place to live. Without meritocracy, there will be no progress. Without justice, we will have have to face revolutions and upheaval. I see the black self-made billionaires as embodiment of justice, equality and meritocracy.
Who is going to lead Africans to economic progress. Nigeria, the country that provided 8 of the 13 current black self-made billionaires, is the answer. Black entrepreneurs, rather than black soldiers, black statemen or black religious leadsers, are going to spearhead economic progress. It is no accident Nigeria has surpassed South Africa as the largest economy in Africa.
This is a book with no conclusion. There are two reasons: the first is that blacks are in better position to write their own future and their own conclusion, not me, who is Asian American. The second reason is the difficulty of small data sample. With just 14 black self-made billionaires coming from 4 different continents (Africa, North America, Asia and Europe), it is easy to fall into to the trap of over-generalization.
