Femi Otedola, In March 2009 became the second Nigerian to appear on the Forbes list of billionaires after Aliko Dangote and one of the richest personalities to emerge from African.
Femi Otedola was born in 1962 in Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria. He is the son of an ex-governor of Lagos state; Sir Michael Otedola who served between 1992 and 1993. He was exposed to business at a very young age as he was the head of the marketing department for the family’s printing press before later leaving to trade petroleum.
In 2003, he started Zenon oil and gas limited, with both his cash and some additional borrowed but much needed capital. Zenon oil and gas was actively involved in the production, marketing and distribution of petroleum and petroleum products. In 2004, he invested N16.4 billion in downstream infrastructure development and acquired storage depots in Apapa, four cargo vessels (147,000) metric tonnes, and 100 DAF fuel tankers.
By 2005, Zenon was the main supplier of fuel to companies like Dangote Group, Nigerian Brewries, MTN, Unilever, Nestle, Coca Cola, and Guinness. He had purchased 55.3% of African petroleum for N14 billion, shortly after he appointed chairman and chief executive of African petroleum through acquisition of the company’s stake. In 2010, he changed the name of African Petroleum to Forte Oil.
As a philanthropist, Femi Otedola has made several donations to orphanages, universities, hospitals, communities and so on. In 2005, he personally made a N300 Million donation to the National Ecumenical Centre. In 2007, he made a N100 Million donation to the Otedola College of Primary Education in Epe. In 2008, he donated N80 Million to the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Port Harcourt.
Femi Otedola’s Net Worth currently stands at a staggering $3.59 Billion.
