Is Ruto a Billionaire?

One of the most frequently asked questions about William Ruto, Kenya’s Deputy President, is as to just how wealthy he is. In this regard, you find people who specifically want to know whether William Ruto is a billionaire or not.

Getting a precise answer as to just how rich William Ruto is is not very easy. But what most people agree is that William Ruto is indeed a man of means. There is really no way you can argue that William Ruto is a poor man. What many people tend to agree is that Dr William Ruto indeed comes from humble roots, and that Hon. William Ruto was at one point in his life a poor man. But over the years, he seems to have managed to build himself to a point where he is speculated to be indeed a billionaire. Whether or not what he owns qualifies him to be termed as dollar billionaire is another big question. The common ground is that for many people who speculate on William Ruto’s wealth, there seems to be very little doubt that what he owns could probably be worth more than a billion shillings, possibly many billions. The question is as to whether it is worth more than, say, a hundred billion, in which case he would get into the league of dollar billionaires...

It is the fact that William Ruto started out as a relatively poor person, and managed – through various endeavors – to become a person of means that qualifies him to be termed as a hustler, and hence possibly a legitimate leader of the hustler nation. There indeed are many people who are attracted to him by the fact that, in a relatively short duration of time, he has managed to move from being a poor man to being a person of considerable wealth. 

Whatever you think about him, you have to agree that Dr Ruto is a considerably intelligent man, and this is likely to be one of the factors that have helped him in the journey from being a roadside chicken vendor to being a person of means, possibly a billionaire. Surely, there are many who started out with him in the roadside chicken trade who are still there (or in similar positions). It also helps that Ruto managed to get a good education, at Kerotet Primary, then at Wareng Secondary, onto Kapsabet Boys and finally at the University of Nairobi. More precisely, he managed to get himself a university education at a time when that still stood for something, and when being a university graduate (or indeed even just a university student) was capable of opening doors for you. It also helps that he got involved in politics at a time when resources were still being shared around – first through the Youth for Kanu 92 (YK92) outfit, and eventually as MP for Eldoret North and a Minister in various dockets. All these, combined with his considerable business acumen and focus, have surely helped Dr. Ruto a great deal in his journey from being a person of humble means to being a man of means, possibly a billionaire.