Nigeria has a long list of very successful businessmen across various sectors. This article seeks to pick the top 10 richest. Read on to know the top richest businessmen in Nigeria in 2022.
The top 10 richest businessmen in Nigeria in 2022 would be discussed below:
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Aliko Dangote
Aliko Dangote is arguably the most successful business in Nigeria in the past decade. With a $3000 loan he took from his uncle Sanusi Dantata, Dangote began a commodity trading business which he turned into a multi-billion dollar corporation. The Dangote Group of Companies which he established in 1977 as a small trading firm now generates revenue from several subsidiaries including Dangote Cement, Dangote Flour, and Dangote Sugar Refinery, among others. His business empire is spread across Nigeria and other African countries. According to Forbes’s mid-year report, Dangote is worth $13.9 billion.
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Mike Adenuga
Mike Adenuga is an extremely successful Nigerian businessman with a multi-billion dollar business empire and with interest in telecommunication, oil and gas, and banking, among others. He is the founder of Globacom, Nigeria’s second-largest telecommunication operator and with a presence in other African countries such as Ghana and the Republic of Benin. Mike Adenuga is the chairman of Conoil, one of the pioneer indigenous oil exploration firms in Nigeria which has become a formidable name in the downstream sector. According to Forbes 2022 mid-year report, Mike Adenuga is worth an estimated $7.3 billion.
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Abdul Samad Rabiu
Abdul Samad Rabiu is another successful Nigerian businessman in 2022 that’s worthy to be on this list. He is the son of one of the foremost Nigerian industrialists Late Khalifa Isyaku Rabiu. At 24 years, he had already begun managing his father’s business. With hands-on experience overseeing his father’s business, Abdul Samad went on to establish BUA Group, which has become one of the most successful conglomerates with interest in several sectors including agriculture, manufacturing, and infrastructure. According to Forbes’s mid-2022 report, Abdul Samad Rabiu is estimated to be worth $6.9 billion.
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Arthur Eze
Arthur Eze is one of the most successful businessmen in Nigeria. Most of his wealth is from the oil and gas sector, as his company, Atlas Oranto Petroleum, is the highest holder of oil exploration blocks in Africa, boasting about 22 oil and gas licenses in Nigeria, Liberia, Senegal, Sudan, Uganda, and Equatorial Guinea. Aside from oil, Arthur Eze has investments in aviation, and construction, among other sectors. Arthur Eze Is estimated to be over $2 billion in 2022.
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Femi Otedola
Femi Otedola is another business tycoon that has continued amassing vast fortunes over the years to become one of the richest businessmen in Nigeria in 2022. His rise to the top richest men in Nigeria began with him identifying an opportunity in the fuel retail market and going for it, leading him to set up Zenom Petroleum and Gas Limited in 2003. By 2005, Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited controlled a major share of the Nigerian diesel market.
Femi Otedola went on to expand his business empire by developing and acquiring storage depots and cargo vessels, investing in the financial sector, real estate, and power generation. Currently, he is estimated to be worth $1.8 billion, according to Forbes’ mid-year 2022 report.
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Orji Uzor Kalu
Orji Uzor Kalu is another prominent businessman that is worthy to be on this list of the top 10 richest businessmen in Nigeria in 2022. As a teenager schooling at the University of Maiduguri, Orji Uzor Kalu began buying palm oil and other commodities in the southeastern part of the country and selling them in the north, specifically Maiduguri. After his suspension from the University of Maiduguri because of his involvement in student activism, Orji Uzor Kalu decided to focus fully on his business.
At one point, he supplied military hardware to the Nigerian Army and food to soldiers at the forefront and even imported rice and sugar. Later on, Orji Uzor Kalu established SLOK Holdings, a conglomerate that comprises several subsidiaries with interests in oil and gas, aviation, banking, publishing, advertising, etc. He is worth $1.4 billion in 2022, according to several online publications.
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Ifeanyi Ubah
Ifeanyi Ubah is another worthy businessman to be on this list. As a teenager who couldn’t go on with his secondary school education due to the inability of his parents to cater to his needs, Ifeanyi Ubah decided to go into business. With time, he began to export motor eyes and spare parts, before going on to establish Capital Oil and Gas Limited. He is also the founder of The Authority Newspaper, as well as the owner of Ifeanyi Ubah F.C. His worth is around $1.1 billion to $1.4 billion, according to several online publications.
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Ahmed Bola Tinubu
Although many may know Ahmed Bola Tinubu for his political career as a former governor and elder statesman in Nigeria’s present democratic dispensation, he Is a businessman with an empire cutting across several sectors of the economy including waste management, tax, media, real estate, hospitality, oil and gas, and infrastructure. Notable among his investments are Oriental Hotel, Television Continental, and Oando PLC, to name a few. His estimated worth is always contested as there has been no official publication of it, however, it’s safe to say Ahmed Bola Tinubu is worth over $2 billion in 2022.
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Olusegun Obasanjo
Olusegun Obasanjo is one of the richest businessmen in Nigeria and his major business venture Obasanjo Farms is a multi-billion dollar business in 2022. The Obasanjo Farms in Ota, Ogun State play a crucial role in developing agriculture and food production in Nigeria. According to online publications on Olusegun Obasanjo’s wealth, it’s estimated to be over $4 billion in 2022.
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Atiku Abubakar
Atiku Abubakar had a 20-year career at the Nigerian Customs Service, rising through the ranks to Deputy Director of the NCS and currently owns several money-spinners such as Prodeco Property Development Company, Prodeco International, ABTI Schools, and Integrated Logistics Service (Intels), among others. He is estimated to be worth over $1.6 billion in 2022.