HE IS known as “the Mayor of Sandton”, going around dishing out money to poor people on the city’s streets.
But what few people know is that Malcolm X was once a poor man, too.
This has been revealed after the cash man acknowledged businessman Gayton Mckenzie for giving him a hand when he needed it most.
And it all started with a book sale!
Gayton tweeted that “a guy” (Malcolm X) approached him at CNA Sandton to sign Gayton’s book The Choice, which he had just bought.
“A few months later I met the guy again. This time he was hungry and asked me for 10 bucks to buy bread.
“I could see how hard it was for him and I suggested we go for lunch together. He ate like an elephant.
Another tweet read: “He told me about his life and journey.
“I saw a hustler of note in him. I saw a person with fire inside him, a fire that just needed igniting.
“At the end of the year I called him to my office and asked him about his holiday plans and gave him an envelope containing flight tickets to China for a fully paid holiday.”
Gayton said Malcolm cried and promised that he would also help needy strangers one day.
“He repeated that promise many times.
“He worked for us for a year and moved on in life. I have been monitoring his growth from a distance and I am extremely proud.
“I have seen this man go from begging for R10 to giving millions to charity. I have seen him chase his dream relentlessly. He lived for what he wished to become.”
Malcolm X also recently acknowledged the man who gave him a break in life.
At the end of Gayton’s extended tweets, Malcolm X responded: “Thank you for giving me a break in business 14 years ago when nobody would, brother. I promised you I would never disappoint you and kept my promise.”
Malcolm X told Daily Sun he knew what being poor meant as he went through that as well.
He said he was not rich, but tried to share the little he had with the needy.
