Femi Otedola is a renowned businessman. He is the founder and former chairman of Forte Oil with investments in other industries like energy, real estate, finance and power. No Nigerian youth doesn’t know him as a business mogul. Femi is the son of the former governor of Lagos State, Sir Michael Otedola. He was born in Ibadan, Oyo Nigeria on 4th November 1962. He is the second son of four boys.
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Femi Otedola’s Education
Femi attended Olivet Baptist high school before he proceeded to obtain a bachelor’s degree from Obafemi Awolowo University in 1985.
How did Femi Otedola become rich?
Mr Otedola was destined for success. His dad was a one time governor and worked at Mobil. He started business at the age of 6. Then what he does is groom his parents guest nails and they pay him for the service.
After graduating from the university, he joined the family’s printing business before starting his own company.
He established CentreForce Ltd in 1994. This company was a finance, trading and investment company.
Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited
Femi Otedola started Zenon Petroleum and Gas Limited in 2003. And by 2005 he became one of the biggest suppliers of Diesel after investing ₦15Billion into the business.
African Petroleum (AP)
In 2007, he became the highest shareholder of African Petroleum (AP) after purchasing 58% of the company’s stake. He also went on to become a major shareholder of other companies like Zenith and UBA.
In 2010, he restructured AP and changed its name to Forte Oil. This exercise brought better technology and corporate structure to the company. And by 2012, Forte was back in profit.
Forte Oil
In 2013, he invested 57% of Forte Oil subsidiary Amperion Ltd to procure 414 MW Geregu Power Plant for $132 million. This move increased Forte’s share price by over a thousand per cent.
In 2015, Forte Oil joined the international market after selling 17% of its stock to Mercuria Energy Group (a Swiss commodity trader) for $200million.
In 2019, he announced that he would step down as Forte Oil’s Chairman to focus on his power company Geregu Power Plc.
Femi’s Family
Mr Otedola has 3 daughters (Tolani, Ifeoluwa and Temi) and a son (Fewa) from two women.
His first love, Olayinka Odukoya, had Tolani Otedola for him. But due to family issues, they couldn’t tie the knots. He ended up marrying Nana Otedola who gave birth to Ifeoluwa, Temi and Fewa for him. Nana Otedola is of mixed heritage. She is both Nigerian and Ghanian.
Tolani Otedola is a singer and songwriter. This graduate of Psychology has done well in dropping 5 tracks with her lovely voice. These songs are; Bad Man, Lair, Ba Mi Lo Ft Reekado Banks, Maybe Baby and Tenderoni Ft Skales.
Ifeoluwa Otedola is an artist, producer and disk jockey popularly known as DJ Cuppy. She has featured in numerous songs and produced many more. DJ Cuppy is a tourism ambassador for Nigeria.
Temi Otedola is a fashion blogger, Youtuber and award-winning actress. She has worked with several fashion brands like Orange Culture, Very UK etc and was featured in the movie “Citation“. She is in a relationship with Mr Eazi.
Fewa Otedola is the last child and only son of Femi and Nana Otedola. He is suffering from a neurodevelopment disorder called Autism.
On 17th September 2021, he shocked his children and the world with brand new Ferrari Portofino cars for each of his three daughters. Each car costs $218,750.
How old is Femi Otedola
Femi was born in November 1962. Today he is 61 years old. AT his age, he is not scared of the gym. He spends at least one hour at the gym daily.
How much is Femi Otedola net worth?
Femi is the second Nigerian to appear on the Forbes list after Alico Dangote. He debuted in 2009 with a net worth of $1.2billion.
Forbes last valued Mr Otedola in 2016 and as at that time, he was worth $1.8billion. It is believed that this business magnate is currently missing on the Forbes list of billionaires. But personally appearing on such a list is a remarkable feat.
Does Otedola own First Bank?
Business mogul, Femi Otedola is currently the highest shareholder of FirstBank with 7.57% of company stock. He doesn’t have the intention of being the Charman, even though he has the highest voting right.
Does Femi Otedola have a private jet?
Yes, Femi owns a private jet. See him in his beautiful jet here.
Philanthropy
Femi is a philanthropist that has focussed on assisting his fellow Nigerians in any possible way. Almost all his donations have been to his motherland, Nigeria.
He is the chief sponsor of the Michael Otedola University Scholarship Scheme. This scholarship scheme is designed to support Lagos residents that cannot afford a university education. He has supported the scheme with over ₦200Million over the years.
In 2005, he supported CAN’s church building project with ₦300 million.
He donated ₦200 million to the Lagos State Security Trust Fund to corb criminal acts in the state in 2007.
In 2018, he donated ₦500,000 to the building of the Engineering Faculty at Augustine University.
He and Dangote promised $50,000 for the Super Eagles team and $25,000 for each goal scored in their semi-final game against Algeria in AFCON 2019.
In 2019, he gave ₦5billion to an NGO, Save the Children. This organisation has done well in providing food and protection to internally displaced children in Northeast Nigeria.