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By <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/jade-scipioni/">Jade Scipioni</a> 



There are only about <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/07/forbes-there-are-a-record-2208-billionaires-in-the-world.html">2,200</a> billionaires in the world — or 0.0002% of planet’s population.



And&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/07/forbes-there-are-a-record-2208-billionaires-in-the-world.html" class="">67%</a>&nbsp;of those billionaires are self-made.



The members of that self-made group generally made their money in one of a few ways: they invented a useful product (think Bill Gates with Microsoft, whose net worth is around&nbsp;<a class="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/">$107 billion</a>); they innovated a new way of solving a problem (think Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky, whose net worth is around&nbsp;<a class="" href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/brian-chesky/#7feaad8944d3">$3.7 billion</a>); or they are savvy investors (think Warren Buffett, worth&nbsp;<a class="" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/">$87.3 billion</a>). Indeed, climbing the corporate ladder will rarely get you into the club (Tim Cook who runs nearly&nbsp;<a class="" href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/AAPL/history/">$1 trillion company</a>&nbsp;Apple, for example, is worth around&nbsp;<a class="" href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tim-cook-net-worth-apple-ceo-2018-8">$625 million</a>).



But beyond sharp entrepreneurial and investing chops, self-made billionaires share some traits, according to according to Rafael Badziag, who interviewed 21 of them (including early Uber investor Tim Draper and InfoSpace and Viome founder Naveen Jain) for his book, “The Billion Dollar Secret.” Here are three of the top things they have in common, according to Badziag.



 1. They succeed no matter what the ‘weather’ is



Badziag says it’s clear why most of the general population (he calls them “drifters”) don’t succeed in life: They are waiting for conditions to be perfect before they strike, and often those ideal conditions never materialize so they don’t fully pursue their dreams.



“Self-made” billionaires, he says, are different. Most of the billionaires Badziag interviewed didn’t come from well-off families or ideal situations, but they pursued their dreams no matter the circumstances around them — no matter the “weather outside or inside,” he says.



Take for example, one of the billionaires Badziag interviewed: N.R. Narayana Murthy, who co-founded IT giant Infosys, which is valued at more than&nbsp;<a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/INFY?p=INFY" class="">$45 billion</a>.



The 72-year-old, who is now worth as estimated <a class="" href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/nr-narayana-murthy/#632698863e05">$2.4 billion</a>, grew up in India in ’50s and ’60s, a poor country that he says was one of the most hostile to free enterprise at the time. As a child, his family was so poor he had to sleep on the floor because they had no furniture.



But despite having no money, Murthy was eager to learn; he would go to the public library in town (he lived outside Karnataka) and read everything he could. From what he learned, Murthy believed software was the future, so in 1981 he and some colleagues got the idea to create a software company. But they didn’t have a computer, and at the time, the Indian government required a license to import one, he told Badziag. So for three years, Murthy back and forth to Dehli by train, 1,500 miles each way, making at least 50 visits to pitch officials on why he should be granted a license. With their computer and phone line (which he says took <a class="" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/business-12957104">a year</a> to procure), Murthy and his co-founders started Infosys and grew it from an operation with seven employees into a global business and one of the leading technology consulting companies in India.



 2. They don’t do it for the money



Most “drifters” are dying to have big incomes but never quite achieve a high net worth status, or if they do, they lose motivation when they have some good in money in bank, says Badziag. (He refers to it as “the gold digger’s trap.”)



However, Badziag found that the “self-made” billionaires he interviewed aren’t motivated by wealth. Instead, they “have a strong sense of purpose and passion for their work,” and are motivated by a desire to “to grow and learn no matter how big their bank accounts get,” he says.



As Apple founder Steve Jobs once famously said, “I was worth over a million dollars when i was 23 and over $10 million when I was 24, and over $100 million when I was 25. And it wasn’t that important, because I never did it for the money.” Jobs said he started Apple with a simple vision of trying to create a “<a class="" href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/197538">computer in the hands of everyday people</a>. ” and they ended up succeeding beyond they wildest dreams.



Murthy told Badziag he was driven by the belief that the only way to solve the problem of poverty was “through the creation of jobs with good incomes and that entrepreneurship was the best instrument for such a solution.”



And French-Syrian businessman Mohed Altrad, who made his now&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/mohed-altrad/#2c128ff45057" class="">$2.7 billion</a>&nbsp;fortune by acquiring a scaffolding company in France in 1985 and growing it into the industrial services giant&nbsp;<a href="https://www.altrad.com/en/home.html" class="">Altrad Group</a>, told Badziag that he doesn’t view money as an objective.



“It’s one of the signs of success. The success of the organization is to be sustainable, in which people are happy, in which humanity finds its foundation,” Altrad said.



 3. They are frugal



“Drifters” love spending money, according to Badziag, often going into debt to spend even more than they have. Even successful people are prone to showcasing their wealth via cars, expensive clothes and lavish vacations.



But the billionaires Badziag interviewed were different: They “get pleasure making money, but don’t enjoy spending it,” he says.



Take for example, Warren Buffett, the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/" class="">fourth-richest person</a>&nbsp;in the world with a net worth of around&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/billionaires/" class="">$87.3 billion</a>. Despite his massive wealth, the 88-year-old still lives in the same modest Omaha house he purchased in 1958 for&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/warren-buffett-modest-home-bought-31500-looks-2017-6" class="">$31,500</a>&nbsp;(which is around $277,00 in today’s dollars). He also keeps his breakfast budget low, only spending around&nbsp;<a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/18/warren-buffett-buys-breakfast-from-mcdonalds-for-under-3-point-17.html" class="">$3.17</a>&nbsp;a day at McDonald’s to get one of three items: two sausage patties, a sausage, egg and cheese or a bacon, egg and cheese.



And Peter Hargreaves, the founder of Hargreaves Lansdown, one of the UK’s largest financial services businesses, told Badziag a few years back that he was still driving an eight-year-old Toyota Prius. Hargreaves’ net worth is estimated at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/peter-hargreaves/#147ef4b8691c" class="">$4.2 billion</a>.



Hargreaves also told Badziag that his children were frugal too. ”[My kids] drive very modest cars; they both have a car that’s seven years old. They both have quite modest flats. And if they go on holiday, they go with their mates, and they go to the back of the plane,” Hargreaves said.



Of course, some billionaires adjust to their level of wealth. For example, though Bill Gates is famous for wearing a <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/28/two-popular-items-bill-gates-refuses-to-spend-a-lot-of-money-on.html">$10 watch</a>, he recently <a class="" href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/06/25/why-bill-gates-younger-self-would-be-disgusted-with-him-today.html">admitted</a> that he also indulges: “Now I take lots of vacation. My 20-year-old self is so disgusted with my current self. You know, I was sure I would never fly anything but coach and you know, now I have a plane,” Gates said last <a class="" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=5&amp;amp=&amp;amp=&amp;amp=&amp;v=W5g4sPi1wd4">month</a> at a Village Global event.



This article first appeared on CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/02/self-made-billionaires-have-these-traits-in-common.html">https://www.cnbc.com/2019/07/02/self-made-billionaires-have-these-traits-in-common.html</a> and is republished with its permission.

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JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) &#8211; Mining company Vedanta said on Thursday that it is seeking an urgent court order in South Africa to prevent Zambia’s mining investment arm ZCCM from winding up its disputed Konkola Copper Mines (KCM) business.



Vedanta is locked in a dispute with the Zambian government, which accuses KCM of breaching the terms of its licence.



Vedanta denies that KCM has broken the terms of its licence and says it will defend its assets in Zambia, Africa’s second-biggest copper producer.



The case has intensified concerns among international miners about resource nationalism in Africa.



A ZCCM spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment.



Vedanta said in a statement that it had obtained a temporary order in South Africa’s High Court allowing it to make an urgent request on July 16 for an injunction against ZCCM and a provisional liquidator at KCM.



Vedanta holds a majority stake in KCM, with ZCCM holding a minority stake.



“Vedanta will seek an interim court order declaring that ZCCM has breached the KCM shareholders’ agreement by pursuing winding-up proceedings against KCM in Zambia, and directing ZCCM to withdraw those proceedings,” the statement added.



Vedanta applied to the South African court because the KCM shareholders’ agreement makes provision for arbitration in South Africa.



Reporting by Alexander Winning, editing by Deepa Babington

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 <img decoding="async" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/280919/original/file-20190624-97794-3x3mhw.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&amp;q=45&amp;auto=format&amp;w=754&amp;fit=clip">
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By <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/olayinka-stephen-ilesanmi-764219">Olayinka Stephen Ilesanmi</a>, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-ibadan-1955">University of Ibadan</a>

Brain drain is a major challenge facing the <a href="https://www.ajol.info/index.php/rejhs/article/view/165775">Nigerian health system</a>, leading to a dramatic reduction in the number of doctors in the country. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Nigeria is <a href="https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/social-issues-migration-health/international-migration-outlook-2015_migr_outlook-2015-en">one of the three leading African sources</a> of foreign-born physicians. 

Doctors leave for a variety of reasons depending on where they are in their careers. For example, many leave immediately after graduation. They usually leave for one or two reasons. Firstly, to pursue international residency training. Most in this category usually don’t return to the country. They prefer to work where their newly acquired skills can be put to better use. The second reason is if they fail to find a job or space for residency training. Most in this category also never return home to practice.

There are usually another two sets of leavers: those who leave five to 10 years after graduation – usually for better pay. Finally, there are those who leave after specialist training, which can be up to 10 to 15 years after graduation. Specialists – the most qualified and competent doctors – leave because of better prospects in other countries.

The <a href="https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5q36r5xq">exodus</a> has led to a <a href="https://print.ispub.com/api/0/ispub-article/6444">drop</a> in the quality of health care service due to the absence of skilled personnel. 

Nigeria hasn’t been able to get on top of the problem because nothing has been tried. The government doesn’t seem to be concerned. Nigeria was the only African country listed among the <a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/2f74/1754ee67696ba66341f922cc2c5764b6c288.pdf">20 top exporters</a> of physicians in 2004, with a loss of 5 499 doctors up from 1 519 in 1991. 

Health indicators may continue to decline in the absence of aggressive interventions to stop this. More doctors leaving the country will eventually lead to a <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5427605/">shortage of Nigerian medical doctors</a>. This, in turn, will add to the stress and dissatisfaction among those remaining. The poor will not be able to access care while the rich will travel out of the country for medical care. 

African politicians – <a href="https://theconversation.com/african-politicians-seeking-medical-help-abroad-is-shameful-and-harms-health-care-82771">including Nigerians</a> – who have the responsibility of improving the country’s health system usually travel abroad for their medical needs. The usual destinations are Europe, North America and Asia. And ordinary citizens spend over <a href="https://www.imtj.com/news/nigeria-spends-1-billion-outbound-medical-tourism/">USD$1 billion</a> annually on what’s become known as medical tourism.

<hr>

 
 
 Read more:
 <a href="http://theconversation.com/african-politicians-seeking-medical-help-abroad-is-shameful-and-harms-health-care-82771">African politicians seeking medical help abroad is shameful, and harms health care</a>
 
 

<hr>


<h2>Reasons for leaving</h2>

Poor pay is a major factor for leaving, particularly for mid-career doctors who have families to support. 

Apart from pay packages that are <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15375449">low</a>, actual payment of salaries is often irregular. In some states, government workers’ salaries aren’t <a href="https://guardian.ng/news/23-states-owing-workers-says-labour/">paid on time</a> every <a href="https://qz.com/africa/663626/nigeria-has-a-culture-of-not-paying-workers-and-its-not-about-to-change-anytime-soon/">month</a>. Delayed salaries were <a href="https://allafrica.com/stories/201806200428.html">reported</a> in Plateau State and <a href="https://punchng.com/n500m-monthly-loan-repayments-responsible-for-irregular-salary-in-kogi-govt/">Kogi State</a> among others. This is true for doctors too. 

Another major driver is poor working conditions. This includes having to work extra hours due to inadequate staff, lack of diagnostic facilities or to supplement monthly income. 

These problems spring from the Nigerian government’s low funding. In this year’s budget only <a href="https://www.budgetoffice.gov.ng/index.php/2018-budget">3.9% </a> was allocated to health. This is much lower than the estimated <a href="https://www.unicef.org/esaro/UNICEF_South_Africa_--_2017_--_Health_Budget_Brief.pdf">13.5%</a> of South Africa’s national expenditure dedicated to health. 

In 2001 African Union countries met and pledged to set a target of allocating at least <a href="https://www.who.int/healthsystems/publications/abuja_declaration/en/">15%</a> of their annual budget to improve the health sector and urged donor countries to scale up support. <a href="https://www.who.int/healthsystems/publications/abuja_report_aug_2011.pdf?ua=1">Ten years</a> after that commitment was made only Mauritius, Seychelles and Eritrea had met the target. 

The lack of funding has led to poor remuneration, the underfunding of hospitals which in turn means that medical facilities are inadequate and infrastructure is obsolete.

Other reasons for leaving relate more generally to a lack of infrastructure in the country which makes it difficult to ensure a good standard of living in a favourable environment that promises good future prospects for children. This includes the lack of social amenities such as a good health care system, quality education, roads, electricity and piped water.

<h2>What needs to be done</h2>

To reverse the brain drain, the Nigerian government should create a conducive environment that will ensure <a href="https://www.stearsng.com/article/why-are-medical-doctors-leaving-nigeria">employment opportunities</a> and reduce poverty. It must provide the needed infrastructure such as good roads and transport systems, affordable and functional education, water supply, security, stable energy in addition to good health care system.

On their own, these won’t be enough to prevent the brain drain among medical doctors – and other professionals. It would need to be supplemented by other strategies. These should include providing financial and other incentives to stay. Institutional capacity-building that promotes career development should be fostered, along with mentorship opportunities as well as efforts to improve <a href="https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5q36r5xq">working conditions</a>. 

A central human resource planning body should be instituted. This would ensure a continuous increase in the number of health care workers through careful coordination and prediction of number of <a href="http://seahipaj.org/journals-ci/mar-2016/IJIHCR/full/IJIHCR-M-2-2016.pdf">medical graduates</a>. 

Enforcement of Bill of Patients’ Rights in Nigeria as well as National Health Insurance are <a href="https://www.thisdaylive.com/index.php/2019/03/28/experts-charge-fg-doctors-to-halt-brain-drain/">due for consideration</a>. Without policies that will lead to available and accessible health care for all the bill may not have its desired impact.<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/117860/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" style="border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important; text-shadow: none !important">

<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/olayinka-stephen-ilesanmi-764219">Olayinka Stephen Ilesanmi</a>, Lecturer, Department of Community Medicine, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/university-of-ibadan-1955">University of Ibadan</a>

This article is republished from <a href="http://theconversation.com">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-nigerias-doctors-are-leaving-and-how-the-problem-can-be-fixed-117860">original article</a>.

Here’s why Nigeria’s doctors are leaving the country, and how the problem can be solved

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