Africa boasts of 55 billionaires – far more than previously
thought – and they’re worth a staggering $143.88 billion in total, according to
pan-African magazine Ventures Africa.
Nigerian female Oil business tycoon, Mrs Alakija has been voted ‘World’s richest black female’
beating former richest black female alive, Oprah Winfrey to the point.
Starting her career as a secretary in a bank in the mid
1970s, Alakija, 62, then studied fashion in London and returned to Nigeria to
start a label, Supreme Stitches. Her biggest break however came when she opted
for a business in oil.
In 1993, her company, Famfa Oil, was awarded an oil
prospecting license, which later became OML 127, one of the country’s most
prolific oil blocks, by then-president Ibrahim Babangida.
The company owned a 60 per cent stake in the block until
2000 when the Nigerian government unconstitutionally acquired a 50 per cent
interest without duly compensating Alakija or Famfa Oil.
In May 2012, Alakija, a married mother-of-four, challenged
the acquisition and the Nigerian Supreme Court reinstated the 50 per cent stake
to her company.
She also has a charity called the Rose of Sharon foundation
that helps widows and orphans by empowering them through scholarships and
business grants.
Forbes magazine had estimated Alakija’s fortune at $600
million, as of November 2012, but the magazine’s editor-in-chief Uzodinma
Iweala said his researchers were ‘closer to the ground.’
They noted that Brazilian oil company, Petrobas, was looking
to sell its 8 per cent stake in OML 127 for $1.5- $2.5 billion, and
extrapolated that if they managed to sell it for $1 billion, Alakija’s 60 per
cent stake would be worth at least $7.3 billion.
Iweala claims this and other estimates included in the
report are actually ‘on the conservative side’ and said the magazine expect to
unearth more African billionaires shortly.
The overall richest African is Nigerian manufacturer Aliko
Dangote who is worth $20.2 billion. Twenty Nigerians are listed in total.
According to Forbes, Oprah Winfrey is worth $2.9 billion.
No comments:
Post a Comment