All I want now is a Maserati, says Aly Khan

ALY KHAN SATCHU

CEO of East African Financial Portal www.rich.co.ke

Age: 47

Education: University of Durham, UK - September 1985 – July 1988, LLB Hons Law.

Mombasa-born, Aly Khan, is a numbers man. His company is an authorised Nairobi Securities Exchange data vendor that transmits level one prices from the bourse during trading hours.

Also, apart from trading as a principal, he is also an agent at the NSE. He has consulted widely for a number of African governments, the World Bank, and a horde of investment funds.

His resume proclaims him to have access to large blocks of capital of up to $1billion on a collateralised basis.

Aly also runs Mindspeak Business Club which hosts key CEOs and other personalities for an erudite business pow wow.

Mindspeak has hosted speakers like presidents Paul Kagame of Rwanda and Yoweri Museveni of Uganda.

Before coming back to Kenya from London in 2007, Aly dabbled in high-level financial work for 15 years in the British capital.

Then, of course, there is the book he authored, ‘Anyone can be rich’.

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Are you rich, Aly, and how much do you have on you right this moment, in hard cash?

Rich? what is rich? Look, at some point in my life as a global trader, I traded big numbers; the balance sheets I worked with were something like $17billion.

When I look at these figures now, I find them extraordinary. But I will also tell you that being rich is having enough to live on, to educate the kids and provide for the family.

By that definition, I’m rich. And right now, I think I have Sh4,000 in my wallet.

What is your extravagance?

Travel. When I was in London, working for various financial institutions, I travelled a lot and I always flew first class and was put up in the presidential suites of the best hotels in town.

I lived like a football player - at 24 years - taking home something like $160,000 a year.