The Chairman of the United Bank for Africa (UBA), Tony Elumelu, has identified the late co-founder of Apple, Steve Jobs, and the late American singer, Michael Jackson, as his role models.

Elumelu made this known while speaking at the 7th edition of the Future Investment Initiative (FII7) concluded in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, last Thursday, November 30, 2023.

The billionaire businessman, when asked of his role models by the moderator of the event and Moroccan events producer, Richard Attias, said they (role models) are both dead.

He described Jobs, an American businessman who died in October 2011, as a man of foresight, and named Jackson who passed away in June 2009 a man of excellence.

He said: “Unfortunately, they are both dead. But I like Steve Jobs for all the things he did.

“The first man who founded a company in his death; years after his death, became the first company to cross $1 trillion in market capitalization. That’s great.

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“A man of great foresight, I like him.

“And the second one interestingly is Michael Jackson. Why do I like Michael Jackson? He epitomised hard work and excellence.

“You know, people often say, or you go watch Michael Jackson, say, what a star. Wow, he’s so talented. He worked hard for it. If you watch ‘This is it’, if you watch some of his videos, you see the practice, the hard work, and the excellence that goes into it; then you begin to realise that this is not a fluke.

“It’s not just a fluke, it’s not just luck, he worked hard for it and this is what I preach to my children. This is what I tell my children and my colleagues about life. You need to work hard, put in the time, the hours, and you see the outcome.

“So, these two men, a man of foresight, Steve Jobs, Michael Jackson, a man of excellence, are my role models.”

The Star