Lifestyle

Silent billionaires in Nigeria and how they became rich

Published

2 years ago

2022/08/12

Names like Aliko Dangote and Mike Adenuga will surely ring a bell when the names of billionaires in Nigeria are mentioned.

All thanks to Forbes, a simple search of these names on social media will return their net worth estimate. But, there are some billionaires in Nigeria that you have most likely not heard about.

We call them, silent billionaires. However, some people on the list below may not be billionaires in dollars, but they are definitely one in Naira.

Here are their names:

Abdullahi Bashir Haske

Abdullahi Bashir Haske is the founder and Group Managing Director of AA&R Investments, a long chain of oil-based companies that continue to stretch to new frontiers.

Bashir was born in Yola, Adamawa State, Nigeria on the 13th of December 1987. He got 51% of the oil blocs left behind by Addax Petroleum.

Clement Oluwatumininu Okeowo

Clement Oluwatumininu Okeowo who is popularly known as Olu Okeowo, is the founder of Gibraltar Construction Nigeria Limited.

His father, Pa Taiwo Victor Okeowo was a millionaire businessman.

Narrating his business journey, Olu Okeowo said; “I started out by making burglary proofs and iron-wrought furniture. I did a lot of fabrication (vertical tanks and horizontal tanks), did a lot of lighting and offshore components around Nigeria. I also did the lighting for the third mainland bridge”.

His first contract came through an agent who ordered burglary proofs amounting to N20,000.

His love for luxury cars is also well-known with his fleet said to be worth about N2 billion. He is known for throwing lavish parties as well, making some folks nickname him the ‘King of luxury.’ According to the billionaire, luxury is whatever gives him peace of mind.

Olu Okeowo’s net worth is estimated to be about $250 million.

Musbahu Bashir

Mushabu Bashir is a Kano State-born silent billionaire, who is the Chairman of Althani Group, has made a wide variety of investments cutting across banking, insurance, oil and gas, real estate, telecoms, maritime and aviation.

His media company Mafab outbid Airtel to claim Nigeria’s 5G licenses along with MTN for a whopping sum of $275 million (more than N100 billion).

Tony Ifeanyichukwu Ezenna

Tony Ifeanyichukwu Ezenna is a Nigerian businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder of Orange Drugs Nigeria Limited, a company that specializes in the distribution of pharmaceutical and beauty products from Indonesia, Germany, Italy, and the United States to Nigeria.

His net worth is estimated to be about $430 million.

Sir Emmanuel Bishop Okonkwo

Sir Emmanuel Bishop Okonkwo reportedly lost one of his legs in an accident but didn’t allow this to deter him.

He was born on December 31, 1960.

His company, Ekulo Group of Companies is franchise owner/manufacturer of popular brands like Eva Wine, Goya Oil, Adonko Bitters, Mayonnaise, Sardine, Eva Soap, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Baron de Valls Wine, Don Simon Drink, Meditol Soap, to mention but a few.