Top 6 Richest Men In Nigeria 2020

All over the world, each year begins with different people emerging billionaires and others losing their billionaire status. The topic of the richest men in Nigeria is one deliberated on by folks of all ages. While it is true that business tycoon Alhaji Dangote has retained the status of Nigeria richest man for a long period of time now, others have also joined and fallen from the richest men league.

However, some of these wealthy men who topped the chart as the richest men in Nigeria 2020 have excelled in their businesses over the years and notably graced Forbes list of wealthy black men in the world alongside Oprah Winfrey and the likes of them. Others are educated and uneducated Billionaire businessmen, investors and entrepreneurs with a determination to excel abundantly. With individually estimated net worth ranging from 10.3 billion US dollars to $400 million, each of these Nigeria richest men have coined a place and a name for themselves in the archives of the country.

Without further ado, let’s get acquainted with these wealthy men and their source of income.

Top 6 Richest Men In Nigeria 2020

1. ALIKO DANGOTE

Dangote
Dangote

Aliko Dangote is currently the richest man in Africa and also, the richest black person in the world according to the black billionaires 2019 list made by Forbes. He tops our list of the 5 richest men in Nigeria 2020.

The billionaire whose net worth is estimated to be $10.9 billion started the Dangote empire years back after borrowing a token from his uncle whom he served for years. Contrary to popular belief that the businessman was a primary school drop out, he started the Dangote group after graduating from Al Azhar University in Egypt.

Been a man committed to achievements, Dangote invested the borrowed money into commodity trading and cement manufacturing. Over the years he has expanded the business and ventured into other arms including food production which major on flour, Noodles, pasta, salt, tomato, etc. Each business he invests in grows profitably with evident truckloads of Dangote cement and food products delivered in their millions across Africa daily.

The billionaire business tycoon is currently building a massive refinery in Lagos Nigeria and is set to be the owner of the biggest refinery in Africa. It is unarguably true that Dangote’s products are among the most consumed products in Africa. Why won’t he be the richest black man in the world then?

2. MIKE ADENUGA

Telecommunication giant, Mike Adenuga takes second place as one of the richest men in Nigeria in 2020. The billionaire who is also the second richest black person in the world has an estimated net worth of $9.1 billion. He ventures in oil, telecommunication, real estate, finance, and businesses. Both Globacom and Conoil multimillion companies are owned by him.

Mike Adenuga’s telecommunication company – Globacom is the second-largest telecom operator in Nigeria with a very large customer base in West Africa. Sixty-six years old Adenuga also has stakes in financial institutions among other sources. With thriving income from his ventures, the businessman has coined a name for himself in the billionaires club in Africa and the world at large.

3. ABDULSAMAD RABIU

ABDULSAMAD RABIU
ABDULSAMAD RABIU

Fifty-nine-year old billionaire Abdulsamad Rabiu is currently the third richest man in Nigeria. Abdulsamad who is also one of the richest black people in the world is a business magnate in commodity trading and sugar production. The Billionaire started out by overseeing his industrialist father, Isyaku Rabiu’s business.

After some years he started BUA groups and became a household name in the importation of commodities such as rice, groundnut oil, grinding mills, etc. As his business grew he expanded into iron and steel importation, cement production, flour milling, and sugar refining. In 2018, he merged his privately owned Kalambaina Cement Company with Cement Co. of Northern Nigeria thereby increasing his fortunes.

Rabiu owns the biggest sugar refinery in Africa and he is estimated to be worth $1.6 billion. The Nigerian billionaire who is not broadly known in Africa graced the Forbes world billionaires list in 2014 but declined in the following four years making it again to the list this year.

4. TONY ELUMELU

Heirs Holding CEO and investor, Tony Elumelu is one of the richest men in Nigeria 2020. The Billionaire took a walk into the rich men league when he acquired and transformed the United Bank Of Africa into one of the top five leading pan Africa banks in the continent. He became the chairman of UBA for five years and retired in 2010.

After his retirement from UBA, Elumelu started Heirs Holding, a multi-sector company that invests in energy, hospitality, real estate, agriculture, and healthcare. The billionaire who was featured in Forbes 2012 list as one of the most powerful people in Africa further acquired a controlling interest in the Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp).

Owing to his involvement in Transcorp, he was appointed the chairman of the corporation. His growing income from these investments and other ventures have garnered an estimated wealth of $700 million as of 2015 for the billionaire. Out of Tony Elumelu’s flair for the empowerment and advancement of Africa, he founded The Tony Elumelu Foundation which empowers and provides entrepreneurial guidance for African youths Annually. His highly informative business books and publications have also contributed to entrepreneurial reform in Africa.

Although he did not make it to the Forbes Africa’s billionaires list, he is still one of the richest men in Nigeria 2020 and also one of the most philanthropic African in the world.

5. FEMI OTEDOLA

Femi Otedola
Femi Otedola

Billionaire Oil magnate, Femi Otedola comes fifth among the richest men in Nigeria 2020. The 56-year-old father of four ventured into the oil sector with his company named Zenon Oil and Gas Ltd. His business expertise led to the expansion of the company which resulted in profited millions of naira. Zenon oil was the sole distributor of fuel to renowned companies such as Dangote groups, Coca-cola, Nigerian Breweries, Nestle, Guinness, etc.

Consequently, Otedola acquired a controlling stake in African petroleum and was appointed as the chairman. He increased the company shares and profits as well as rebranded its name to Forte Oils. With his multiple income streams and various ventures in both real estate, finance, oil, and gas, etc., the businessman and investor became one of the richest African billionaires in 2009 with an estimated worth of $1.2 billion.

In June 2019, Femi Otedola announced his exit from Forte oil in a bid to venture into a new chapter of his life and do greater things. He is currently estimated to be worth $300 million which is equivalently one hundred and eight billion, two hundred and sixty-four million Naira.

6. RAZAK OKOYA

The list for the richest men in Nigeria will certainly be incomplete without billionaire businessman Razak Okoya on the chart. The chairman of Eleganza group of companies rose to fame from venturing into importation and commodity trading. He started his business after saving up 20 pounds from his father’s sewing business. With an additional 50 pounds from his mother, the billionaire imported his first goods from Japan.

Some years later he started Eleganza jewelry. This venture was borne out of a perceived need for affordable jewelry in Nigeria as his first wife kept buying jewelry at expensive rates. The business scaled high with profits and he expanded into the manufacturing of shoes, household utensils, and clothing materials.

Eleganza groups have successfully excelled into a billion-dollar company making Razak one of Nigeria’s richest billionaires with his products vastly used in Africa. Irrespective of the fact that he has only primary education, the 79-year-old billionaire does not despise education neither did he perish in his business. In his foremost true words, he said “I have nothing against education. But at times, education gives people false confidence. It makes people relax, trusting in the power of their certificates rather than in working hard”. 

 

It is worthy of note that the top 6 Richest men in Nigeria are all billionaires and businessmen. Their wealth was not gotten from a corporate paying job rather they became rich by investing in various businesses and ventures. Only five of these billionaires viz Alinko Dangote, Mike Adenuga, Femi Oteodola, Abdulsalmad Rabiu, and Tony Elumelu are educated with Rasak Okoya having only basic primary education yet it did not deter them from becoming rich. Similarly, not all of the billionaires on the list were born into wealthy families yet they all strived to be wealthy and became among the richest in the country.

Although these men are wealthy enough to cater for their generations yet unborn, they keep thriving to make an impact in the world. Especially in changing the preconceived narrative of Africa as a good for nothing continent in the globe.

This positive notion of theirs has not only yielded them great wealth but also brought the achievement of a Nigerian been the current richest black man in the world, thereby shading positive light into Africa in the global scene. These current richest men in Nigeria are not just wealthy billionaires but trailblazers worthy of emulation.

Who do you think should not have made the list?

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