By Theron Mohamed
YouTube star Jimmy “MrBeast” Donaldson recently donated $200,000 toward a universal basic income program in the Ugandan village of Karamoja. A top soccer player who grew up desperately poor has funded a similar initiative in his African hometown for years.
Sadio Mané, who played for top clubs like Liverpool and Bayern Munich before transferring to Saudi Arabia’s Al Nassr last year, revealed in a 2019 interview that he gives 70 euros ($76) a month to every resident of a “very poor region of Senegal.”
He likely meant the village he grew up in, Bambali, which has about 2,000 residents. The exact details of Mané’s giving aren’t public, but if he hands the equivalent of $76 a month to 2,000 people, that would cost him about $152,000 a month, or $1.8 million a year.
The monthly stipend is roughly in line with Senegal’s monthly minimum wage of $88, per Statista. Mané reportedly earns more than $40 million a year tax-free at his Saudi club.
UBI usually refers to recurring cash payments made to all individuals in a population regardless of their wealth, with no restrictions on how the money is spent.
The idea has gained momentum as a poverty-reduction tool in recent years, and the likes of Elon Musk and Sam Altman have touted it as a useful response to the mass job losses they expect artificial intelligence to cause.
Here’s what Mané told Canal+ Sport Afrique in 2019, as reported by Ghanaian news site Nsemwoha: “Why would I want 10 Ferraris, 20 diamond watches, or two planes?” the multimillionaire said before describing his childhood.
“I was hungry, and I had to work in the field. I survived hard times, played football barefooted. I did not have an education and many other things. But today with what I win thanks to football, I can help my people,” Mané said.
“We built schools, a stadium, we provide clothes, shoes, food for people who are in extreme poverty. In addition, I give 70 euros per month to all people in a very poor region of Senegal which contributes to their family economy. I do not need to display luxury cars, luxury homes, trips, and even planes. I prefer that my people receive a little of what life has given me,” he added.
Mané, whose father died when he was seven, donated almost $350,000 to build a school in Bambali in 2019, then another $500,000 or so in 2021 for a hospital.
He’s also financed the construction of a post office, gas station, rolled out 4G cell coverage, launched programs providing free laptops and sportswear for children, and offered cash grants for top students.
Between the infrastructure projects and his UBI program, Mané appears to have plowed several million dollars into his hometown over the years.
Al Nassr didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.
