Billionaire Samuel Kamau Macharia, popularly known as S.K. Macharia, is a celebrated entrepreneur who has transformed Kenya’s media landscape as we know it. The media mogul owns Royal Media Services, which operates three TV stations and 14 radio stations.
WoK traces SK Macharia’s academic journey from Ndakaini to the US that shaped his illustrious career and success in business.
Ndakaini Primary School (1954-1957)
The billionaire’s education journey began in 1954 when he joined Ndakaini Primary School as a class one pupil. He studied at the institution until 1957.
Gituru Intermediate School (1958)
Dr. Macharia went to join Gituru Intermediate School where he sat for the Kenya African Preliminary Examination (KAPE) in 1958. This saw him offered a job at Makomboki Primary School as an untrained primary school teacher. He taught there for a year as a “UT” (as they were referred to) before being selected to join Kahuhia Teachers Training College.
Kahuhia Teachers Training College (1959-1960)
The two-year training course qualified him as a P3 teacher. Upon successfully completing the program, he was posted to Gituru Primary School in 1961.
Seattle Technical College
His thirst for education did not end there. He applied for the then famous “J.F. Kennedy-Tom Mboya student airlifts” of 1959-61 to the USA and was accepted for the 1962 group. His journey was not an easy one as detailed in a separate article on this blog titled Billionaire Who Rose From A P3 Teacher, Owned Tissue Company To Founding Leading Media House In Kenya.
He relocated to the United States in 1962, where he completed his high school education in just two years at Seattle Technical College.
Seattle Pacific University
He enrolled at Seattle Pacific University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Political Science.
University of Washington (1966-1968)
After completing his BA, he pursued part-time studies in Accounting at the University of Washington, earning a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) degree in Accounting.
Master’s Degrees (1969-1971)
S.K. Macharia continued to excel academically, completing a Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Accounting/Finance and a Master of Arts (M.A.) in Accounting.
Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
He later on enrolled for certification to become a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) holder.
