Mr. Ashish Thakkar is popularly known to be the youngest billionaire in Africa. However, his acclaimed investments and wealth are now being questioned and disputed.
This follows a divorce case that has gone on to shed light into the life of the young entrepreneur.
According to a local daily, Mr. Thakkar is a grass to grace businessman, having narrowly escaped from the 1994 Rwandese genocide.
He ventured into business at the tender age of 15 after dropping from school. Apparently, he borrowed a small loan from his parents to set up an IT company in Uganda. Within a year, he transitioned from a high school student to a full time entrepreneur.
In the divorce court case filed by his wife Meera Manek in London, Mr Thakkar claims he only has only about Sh. 54 million to his name, way below the billionaire tag that has made him a star attraction and inspirational figure across Africa.
However, his wife has disputed this figure.“Mr Thakkar is of no mean achiever. He is, for example, chairman of the United Nations Foundation Global Entrepreneurs Council. Three years ago he was appointed to the advisory board of technology company Dell and became the first African to be named in Fortune magazine’s annual 40 under 40 list, with total assets said to be in excess of $1bn (Sh100 billion) and employees across 21 African countries”.
At the court case, Thakkar further said that he doesn’t own a stake in Mara Group, a entrepreneurship company associated with him. He claims that the company is owned by his mother and sister.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Mara’s investments and assets are worth about Sh.3 billion.
