Mohammed Abdillahi Ogsadey

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mohammed Abdillahi Ogsadey-MAO (Hogsade) was the first African native to export coffee from Ethiopia.

Ogsadey was born to a poor family in Somalia in the mid-1920s. He moved to Ethiopia with his siblings in search of a job and a better future.

Ogsadey had a very humble beginning as a truck driver. Later, he would start M.A.O. Corporation, a coffee import & export empire, believed to be the largest in East Africa, going back almost 6 decades.

Ogsade has 20 children and numerous grandchildren, who are either closely involved in his vast empire or studying abroad, mostly in western countries.

WEALTH

Ogsadey never discussed his wealth in public. There is a great deal of debate as to how much Ogsadey's net worth is, though most estimate it to have been a minimum of 250 million U.S. Dollars (1.5 Billion-plus Birr) at the time of his death. At one point he was the richest person in Ethiopia, a spot that he will later relinquish to billionaire Mohammed Al-Amoudi.

Ogsadey's net worth could easily surpass that, since the above estimation comes from his ready to see properties around East Africa and the whole world. He is believed to have numerous companies, factories, oil companies and gas stations around the world.

Throughout his long career, he had become a dominant figure in different industries including coffee, real estate, gas stations, and banking to name a few.

Ogsadey is believed to be the single largest share holder in Wegagen Bank. His investment in the bank alone is rumored to be in the tens of millions of Ethiopian Birr.

He is also believed to be the largest land owner in Ethiopia, though the previous regime of Mengistu Hailemariam had confiscated vast amounts of lands that could easily be worth 100 million+ Ethiopian Birr today.

Ogsadey died on February 9, 2006 of a massive heart attack on his way to Somalia after the death of his sister in Gible, Somalia.