Top 10 Richest Business Men in Nigeria

Some of the richest people in Africa are Nigerians. Until the naira crash, Dangote was the 25th richest man in the world. The richest black man and black women in the world are Nigerians. This should tell you something, myriads of opportunities abound in Nigeria. Where problems abound are opportunities to make money. If you can proffer a solution, people will be willing to pay for it.

There’s really no need fighting tooth and nail to leave this country. This is a list of the richest businessmen in Nigeria. Our metrics for calculating this includes the size of their companies and the value of their shares in these companies, the companies they own and the value of these companies, the strength of their brands. Since you already know the richest man in Nigeria, we will start from #10.

10. Oba Otudeko

Oba Otudeko

First time I heard about Otudeko was when he acquired 4 percent shares in Airtel sometime in 2012. Do you know how much that was worth? He is the Chairman of Honeywell group and FBN holdings. Oba Otudeko has interests in telecoms, oil and gas, real estate, food processing and real estate, flour milling and even hospitality. His net worth is estimated at a whopping $650million.

9. Jim Ovia

Jim Ovia

If you know Zenith bank, then you’d know Jim Ovia, he founded the bank sometime in the early 90s with about 20 million naira. They are one of the strongest banks in Nigeria. Until recently there clientelle were the high earners in the society. Jim Ovia is the Chairman of Zenith Bank, and he owns about 10% shares. He is also has huge interests in Visafone, which was acquired by MTN sometime last year. Jim Ovia comes in at #9 with a net worth of $1billion.

8. Orji Uzor Kalu

Orji Uzor Kalu

He is a one time governor and founder of the popular Sun News paper and New Telegraph. He is the Chairman of Slok Holding, which has interests in media, shipping, banking, oil and manufacturing. He is the Chairman of First International Bank Limited. This is one very strong bank in the Gambia. Orji Uzor Kalu has a net worth of $1.1billion.

7. Tony Elumelu

Tony Elumelu

Tony Elumelu is very concerned about the plight of the African youth. His foundation The Tony Elumelu foundation gives out millions of Naira yearly to young African entrepreneurs, he also gives out educational grants and scholarships. He was once Chairman of United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA). He is into the Hospitality and bank business. Tony Elumelu’s net worth is estimated at $1.4billion

6. Abdusallam Rabiu

Abdusallam Rabiu

He is the Chairman of the BUA conglomerate. They have interest mainly in consumer goods like rice, vegetable oil, in manufacturing (sugar refining and cement production), clearing and forwarding and also real estate. Rabiu is famous for his BUA cement, they have a cement production line in Edo state Nigeria.  Abdusallam Rabiu’s net worth is placed at $1.5billion.

5. Theophilus Danjuma

Theophilus Danjuma

While I was younger, I thought this retired army general was a Muslim, until I got to know he has a  Theophilus as a first name. It is rumoured that he made his wealth when he was Nigeria’s defence minister through questionable means. Never the less, he is now a businessman and makes our top 10 richest business men in Nigeria. He is the Chairman of SAPETRO, an oil and gas exploration company. He has a net worth of $1.7billion

4. Folorunsho Alakija

Folorunsho Alakija

We are talking about business men, true, but she has earned the right to be on this list. Being the richest black woman in the world, a position that Oprah Winfrey once held is no mean feat.  She has interests in oil, printing and also fashion. She is aunt to Dj Exclusive and fourth Richest business person in Nigeria. She has a net worth of $2.1billion.

3. Femi Otedola

Femi Otedola

He is the son of Sir Michael Otedola, a onetime governor of Lagos state. Femi Otedola is the Chairman of Forte Oil Plc and CEO of Zenon oil and gas. He is also the largest importer of Diesel into Nigeria. Some of his clients include Dangote Group, Mtn and many other large companies. He has interests in real estate and at one time had the largest fleet of ships in Nigeria.  Femi Otedola is worth $2.3billion.

2. Mike Adenuga

Mike Adenuga

Mike Adenuga has controlling shares in Globacom, telecommunications giant in Nigeria and other west African countries. Adenuga is also the Chairman of Conoil. Adenuga wasn’t always rich, he was once a taxi driver in New York. Then he started trading in Timber while he was in Abeokuta. He is no more in the timber business though; he major interests now are in oil and telecoms. Adenuga has a net worth of $2.3 billion.

1. Aliko Dangote

Aliko Dangote

The great-grandson of the Legendary Dantata, he is living after his ancestors footsteps. He is the richest black man in the world; he has taken his already rich family and made them way richer than before. He business interests spread all over Africa. He deals with commodity goods, like salt, rice, pasta, cement and many others. Dangote has interests in oil, in fact he is building a refinery in Ondo state and is working on starting a tyre-producing factory in Nigeria. He has a net worth of $12.5 billion.

There you have it! the richest business men in Nigeria. You can draw some inspiration from these hardworking entrepreneurs and go for gold!

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