Femi Otedola, businessman son of a former Governor of Lagos State, has celebrated his fellow billionaires, noting that within a year, 20 of the richest African men had added a whopping $900m to their wealth.
The 20 Africa’s richest men featured on Forbes 2023 list had a combined wealth of $81.5 billion, according to Otedola. By the beginning of 2024 when Forbes updated its annual billionaires’ list, the rich guys had grown their stupendous wealth by $900m to a mindboggling $82.4 billion.
Otedola tweeted his observation via his verified X [formerly Twitter] handle Femi Ote$ @realFemiOtedola in what appeared to be a celebration of his return to the uber exclusive club after a seven-year hiatus.
He had also shared a picture of the announcement on his Instagram page, with a comment: “Interesting”, along with a smiley and dollar emojis.”
The 61-year-old entrepreneur currently sits at number 20 on the list, with a net worth of $1.1bn.
According to Forbes, the wealth of the 2024 list of 20 billionaires rose to $82.4bn from last year’s $81.5bn, partly as a result of Otedola’s return.
The last time the business mogul appeared on the Forbes Africa billionaires’ list was in 2017.
Otedola, who is the executive chairman of Geregu Power Plc, and a former CEO of Forte Oil, has business interests that span the energy, power, real estate, and shipping sectors.
Other Nigerian billionaires on the list are Aliko Dangote, who occupies the number one spot and retains his title as Africa’s richest man with a net worth of $13.1bn; while Mike Adenuga, who owns Globacom and other companies, takes the fifth spot with a net worth of $6.9bn.
See the tweet:
Interesting 🙇🏾♂️😄… F.Ote💲 https://t.co/Kf5bpqPhev
— Femi Ote$ (@realFemiOtedola) January 22, 2024
