 In 1999 Makonnen moved to Addis Ababa with his mother, who was working with the United Nations, and lived there for two years.Makonnen was educated in Switzerland and France, having attended the Collège du Léman in Geneva and a boarding school in Haute Savoie.In 1999 he moved to Ethiopia and attended the International Community School of Addis Ababa until 2001.