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The Most Powerful Black Britons


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Like many of us, i have always known about who are the most powerful black people on this planet, mostly are americans some vary from your Obama's to your Oprah and so forth. 

 

But i have always wondered who are the most powerful black people in this country?.. 

 

Anyway i stumbled upon this old article from 2008, so for those that are interested have a read.

 

 

 

Born in Sudan into humble surroundings, he used to describe himself as a Marxist. He became a billionaire entrepreneur credited with transforming a continent. You might not have heard of Dr Mo Ibrahim, but today he is named as the most powerful black man in Britain.

Ibrahim is credited with bringing the mobile phone revolution to Africa, making it the only continent where mobiles outnumber landlines and improving millions of lives. It is this achievement which gained the recognition of a judging panel which, after six months' research, has drawn up a 'Powerlist' of Britain's 100 most influential black people.

Celebrity is a stranger to Ibrahim, who has an estimated personal fortune of £1.2bn and runs a foundation for good governance in Africa. Yet the judges decided that he wields more influence than high-profile figures including the Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu; equality campaigner Trevor Phillips; government minister David Lammy; and England and Manchester United footballer Rio Ferdinand.

The women's list is headed by Baroness Scotland, the first female black government minister. In second place is Claire Ighodaro, a corporate finance executive, followed by Michelle Ogundehin, editor-in-chief of Elle Decoration and Real Homes magazines.

The list of 50 men and 50 women was compiled by a judging panel chaired by the former Leader of the House of Lords, Baroness Amos, and included the award-winning playwright and actor Kwame Kwei-Armah. It is published tomorrow by Powerful Media, which is organising a reception at the Foreign Office on Wednesday for what it believes will be 'the most powerful room of black people ever assembled in Britain'.

But there will be no invitation for the supermodel Naomi Campbell or some of Britain's best known black pop stars. The judges made an effort to avoid cliché ideas of black role models and to reflect the diversity of black achievement in Britain. The list includes architect David Adjaye, media executive Sonita Alleyne, barrister Daniel Alexander, actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, racing driver Lewis Hamilton, politician Oona King, social justice campaigner Doreen Lawrence, artist Steve McQueen, trade unionist Lord Morris, writer Zadie Smith and publisher Annette Thomas.

The first annual powerlist report, sponsored by JP Morgan, acknowledges: 'It is probably fair to say that most people in Britain have never heard of Dr Mo Ibrahim but, arguably, he has revolutionised the lives of more people than anyone over the past 10 years.'

It notes that, before Ibrahim set up the mobile company Celtel in 1998, there were only two million mobile phones in Africa; by the time he sold it seven years later there were 100 million. He has since launched the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, which works for good governance in Africa, awarding a philanthropic cash prize to those who have 'demonstrated excellence in African leadership'.

Michael Eboda, chief executive of Powerful Media, said: 'Mo Ibrahim is the sort of person who wouldn't just be number one on a black powerlist, he could be number one on any list. He has revolutionised a continent, transformed the way business is done, and is bringing Africa into the modern world.

'He has gone on to be a philanthropist, to encourage good governance and accountability. He's also a humble man and doesn't seek publicity - a role model for entrepreneurs.'

Ibrahim, Sudanese but raised in Egypt, came to Britain as a student in 1974 and went on to join BT. He said his place at the top of the list was 'very flattering' and he has never craved fame. 'I don't subscribe to the cult of celebrity,' he told The Observer. 'If I walk next to you in the street you won't know me. But maybe we can change things and move Africa forward. If we can improve democracy, raise standards of living, stop corruption - these are things that touch the everyday lives of normal people.'

Ibrahim, 62, who divides his time between London and Monaco, describes himself as 'very proud' to be a British national. He praised the concept of the powerlist, adding: 'The important thing here is to produce black role models and show it's not all about music and football. I would like to see a black kid becoming an Einstein. The world is big and those kids need to know that, if they work hard, they can make it in business, journalism, advertising, whatever field they apply themselves to.'

To qualify for the judging panel's consideration, an entrant had to be a British citizen or based in Britain. Many of those selected have lived abroad at some stage in their lives. After much discussion, 'influence' was defined as: 'The ability to alter events and change lives.'

Second on the men's list is Tidjane Thiam, the Ivory Coast-born group finance director at Prudential, who is tipped for the top job at the insurer. He is followed by Damon Buffini, chairman of the private equity company Permira, John Sentamu, and Trevor Phillips, chairman of the Commission for Equality and Human Rights. Phillips said of the list: 'It's important to show that there are people from minority communities who are playing a role in public life, ready to shoulder some of the burdens of the whole community, not just the narrow minority interest.'

He added: 'There are two stereotypes: angry black men and suffering black women, and actually most of us are neither of those things. If people can stop thinking of black people they meet as fitting as one of those two stereotypes, they might look past the front page, which is their colour, and look at the individual rather than think of them as a category. This kind of exercise helps to do that and will make a huge difference to a lot of people's lives.'

Eboda said that the title of most influential black woman in Britain was a 'shoo-in'. Yet at school Patricia Scotland was told by a careers adviser that the most she could hope for was to become a supervisor at Sainsbury's. She went on to be the first black woman in Britain to become a QC. Her appointment last year as the first female Attorney General, the chief legal adviser to the government, was hailed as a historic breakthrough both for women and ethnic minorities.

Scotland, 53, said: 'I don't think about myself in that way, but I was criticised just last week for not thinking that way. Others say to me I should be more obviously pleased about the fact that I seem to be "the first" all the time.' '

Scotland is followed in the rankings by Claire Ighodaro, who holds numerous directorships at financial institutions; Michelle Ogundehin, described as 'Britain's most influential journalist on interior design and style matters'; Vivian Hunt, a director at management consultancy McKinsey & Co; and Pat McGrath, the global cosmetics creative design director at Proctor & Gamble.

Diane Abbott MP, who placed seventh, said: 'I hope I can exercise some influence. There's a lot of negative publicity around gangs and guns and so on, but lists like this draw attention to people who are important and influential and positive role models in our community. We need to demonstrate that there's more going on in the black community than football.'

The powerlist will be sent to Britain's 1,000 biggest companies and sold at WH Smith. It can be viewed at powerlist2008.com. Baroness Amos, who chaired the judging panel, said: 'It's about showcasing achievement, success and talent and crucially it's aspirational. I want our young people to know what they can achieve.'

Explaining the omission of Naomi Campbell, Eboda added: 'It's no longer enough just to be famous. It's supposed to be a list of people who are positively influential rather than notorious.'

 
 

 

 

Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/oct/05/britishidentity.race

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