Hard work is the key to success. An individual cannot achieve anything without significant effort, and today, we bring you the inspiring success story of a businessman who had to flee his country and sleep in trucks, but today, he boasts a fortune of $1.5 billion. The man we are talking about is Samir Mane, the first Albanian billionaire.

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Samir Mane’s Massive Fortune

Mane is the President and CEO of the Balfin Group, a major investment conglomerate in the Western Balkans. His sources of income include real estate, shopping malls, an electronics retail chain, and a bank.

According to Forbes, Mane’s current net worth stands at $1.5 billion, making him the richest and one of the most influential individuals in Southeast Europe. He is also the owner of Neptun, a chain of electronics stores, and reportedly holds 90% of its shares.

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Mane on the Forbes List

In March, Mane became the first Albanian entrepreneur to be featured on the prestigious Forbes Billionaires List. With a net worth of $1.4 billion at the time, he was ranked 2,356th among the world’s billionaires.

Samir Mane’s Journey from Scratch

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Samir Mane’s journey to the top was not a cake walk. He did not come from money - everything he has today is the result of relentless hard work and dedication.

His foray into the business world began in Austria, where he lived as a refugee after fleeing communist Albania in 1991.

In 1993, he started a small business selling household appliances to his native country. During this time, Mane would often sleep in trucks during the two-day journey from Vienna to Tirana, while traveling for business.

In the late 1990s, he launched Neptun, the now-thriving electronics chain. After returning to Albania in 2005, he opened the country’s first shopping mall.

Worked as a Translator

After emigrating to Vienna, Austria, Mane worked as a translator, which helped him build business connections and lay the foundation for his entrepreneurial journey.