Throughout his musical career, Aliaune Thiam — known as Akon to the world at large — has been dedicated to making life better on the African continent.
Back in 2015, he told The Guardian that the reason for his dedication to African causes was because the charities that are currently on the continent don’t always help the people they claim to help.
“One thing I’ve realized about Africa is that only the organizations that involve Africans themselves are successful,” he said to the outlet. “A lot of corporations that come with their own policies and try and implement them in Africa fail horribly. The advantage we had is that all three founders are African, so we were able to navigate through each country a lot faster.”
Regardless of the truth of the matter, Akon has used his success as a musician to lobby for positive change throughout Africa. His futuristic vision has helped provide new opportunities for Africans from all walks of life, and this has only added to his massive $80 million net worth, per Celebrity Net Worth.
Let’s take a look at just a few of the many endeavors Akon has undertaken for the benefit of the continent.
Editorial note: The net worth listed in this piece is a speculative estimate drawn from a variety of online sources.