And finally… ‘I withdrew $10m from the bank just to look at it’

Speaking to the Mo Ibrahim forum in Abidjan in Ivory Coast, Mr Dangote, said: “When you’re young your first million is important, but after, the numbers don’t mean much.”

The manufacturing magnate, who has companies spanning cement to flour, told his audience that this realisation led him to believe that he needed to get it into his head that his money was real, not just figures on paper.

His concern led him to settle on the idea of a monster withdrawal could bring back to him the reality of his vast wealth.

He explained: “One day, I cashed 10 million, put them in the boot of my car I put it in my room. I looked at them and thought ‘now I believe I have money’ and took it back to the bank the next day.”