- Name: Folorunsho Alakija
- Net worth: $2.1 billion
- Forbes ranking: Africa’s richest woman
- Source of wealth: Oil and gas
- Nationality: Nigerian
We live in a world where riches intoxicate people, but the story of Folorunsho Alakija seems to be quite different from what we are used to. Folorunsho Alakija is ranked as Africa’s second richest female after Isabel Dos Santos.
Folorunsho is also the third richest woman of African descent on Earth. This is one female that is quite interesting, and in this article, we will be discussing her biography and net worth in 2020.
Biography of Folorunsho Alakija
The family of Chief L.A Ogbara welcomes their child Folorunsho Alakija in 1951. the family lives in Ikorodu, Lagos State, at the time of her birth.
Folorunsho Alakija is the MD of Rose of Sharon Group, which is made up of digital reality print limited and the rose of Sharon prints and promotions Limited. Alakija is also the executive vice-chairman of Famfa Oil Limited.
At the tender age of 7, Folorunsho relocated from Nigeria to the United Kingdom, where she continued her Primary School studies at Hafodunos Hall in Wales.
At the end of her primary education, Alakija had to return to Nigeria to continue as Secondary Education at Muslim High School shagamu in Ogun State, Nigeria.
Upon completion of her secondary school education, Alakija had to return to the United Kingdom to pursue her Secretariat studies at the Pitman’s Central College in London.
The highly educated entrepreneur also has fashion knowledge as she studied fashion during her time in London at the Central School of fashion.
After graduating from the fashion school and tertiary institution in London, Alakija had to return to Nigeria to start a career. She got her first job in 1974 as an executive secretary at Sijuade Enterprises in Lagos State, Nigeria.
From there, she went further to work at the former First National Bank of Chicago, which was later changed to Finbank, and now First city Monument Bank FCMB.
After working with the First National Bank of Chicago for some years, Folorunsho decided to float her own company, and she went into the fashion industry to put her tailoring skills to good use.
Her fashion house known as Supreme Stitches enjoy the warm reception a few years after it was launched and quickly became a household name.
Most people know Alakija for her oil and gas business, but have the first step into the petroleum industry began when Alakija applied for an oil prospecting license (OPL) allocation in May 1993. as soon as the license was successfully granted Folorunsho’s company, Famfa limited, it enabled the company carries out the exploration for oil on a 617,000-acre block—now known as OPL 216.
The location of the oil block owned by Alakija is approximately 220 miles south-east of Lagos State, and 70 miles offshore of Nigeria in the Agbami Field of the central Niger Delta.
Later on, she went on into a partnership with Star Deep Water Petroleum Limited (a subsidiary of Texaco) in September 1996, via a joint venture agreement which was a smart move. In this agreement, Alakija transferred 40% of the Famfa oil company stake to Star Deep.
However, in 2014, Folorunsho reached a new Milestone after Forbes listed her as the 96th most powerful woman in the world. Together with Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the then finance minister of Nigeria, folorunsho Alakija was listed among the world’s 100 most powerful women. She quickly took the 87th position.
Family: Husband And Children
Folorunsho Alakija got married to her husband, modupe Alakija, who is a lawyer in November 1976. While it is a common belief in this part of the world that rich women do to remain in the marriage, Folorunsho Alakija has managed to build a healthy family with her husband, and they stay happy Together to date.
The couple also has four children, who are all boys. The name of the children are Folarin Alakija, Rotimi Alakija, Dale Alakija, and Ladi Alakija
On being a wife and mother, folorunsho alakija says that it is her most prized possession, and she would never trade it for anything else in the world.
She also pointed out that it has been a bumpy journey taking care of her kids and raising a family with her husband, but she’s grateful for the support that she has received from her better half and also thankful to God for seeing her family through.
Life As A Female Billionaire
In a recent interview with the Punch, the 65-year-old billionaire admits that the kind of money she has can easily change people or basically bring out the innate mean traits of a person.
However, in her case, the businesswoman explained that her apparent wealth had had very little or no effect on her marriage and whom she is, especially as she has been recently tagged the ‘richest woman in Africa’ by Forbes.
In Alakija’s words;
“I’ve never called myself the richest woman in Africa, and I just live my life. I do whatever it is that I need to do with genuine joy and pleasure. The wealth or title has not changed me; it will not change me, and no amount of money can change me, my husband, and my children. That is the way we have lived our lives; we will continue to be who we are as a family.”
On how she turned out to own unprecedented wealth, the mother of 4 stated that it was basically by the orchestration of God with the aid of an oil block nobody wanted. Alakija further says in a tweet that:
“My encounter with the glory of God. When I got to my wit’s end, I covenanted with God for blessings in return for a lifelong work and walked with Him. To say that I did not see His Glory come into my life would mean I have turned God into a liar. It is only God who could have brought me from the back burner to the front burner.”
Folorunsho Alakija also stated that she never saw herself becoming globally known, especially on such a substantial level, which is indeed humbling, but she mentioned that deep down, she knew that she would become a businesswoman.
She also pointed out that she knew God had planned that she would become successful in whatever she does, but she could never have pictured the magnitude of her current success.
With the kind of wealth and Influence Alakija has, it would only be reasonable to expect that she would venture into politics.
However, the businesswoman pointed out that she has no interest in being a politician even though women are beginning to participate in politics all around the world actively.
She believes that her calling is in the business world, and she plans on focusing on just that.
Alakija mentions that she enjoyed staying busy as it helps to keep her body and mind fit, however, sometimes she finds it quite challenging juggling her different responsibilities and striking a balance between being a businesswoman and being a family woman at the same time.
Networth, Houses And Private Jet
According to Forbes, Folorunsho Alakija is the richest woman in Nigeria, with a net worth of approximately $2.1 billion. As of 2015, Alakija was listed as Africa’s second most powerful woman after Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and also the 87th most powerful woman on the planet by Forbes.
Alakija has several landed properties both in Nigeria and outside the Country what one of the most notable properties she has is one that costs 700 million dollars and stands as the most expensive residential building in the African continent.
The residential building is a masterpiece which was designed by Idina Coker consultants Limited and was built by Julius Berger construction company. Alakija 700 million dollars residence is only a 2-minute walk from the Lagos Lagoon and Omenka gallery.
Also, not many people can boast of having a private jet, let alone a Nigerian woman. In this case, however, Folunsho Alakija is up to the task as her humungous net worth backs her up. She has one private jet, which costs a whopping 46 million dollars.
While in Nigeria, the people who boast of having private jets are pastors and politicians Folunsho Alakija stands as one woman in Nigeria that owns a private jet. This doesn’t come as a surprise as her high net worth can afford it.
