….As chairman of Forte Oil becomes Africa’s highest gaining billionaire
By Femi Ajayi
If Femi Otedola did not exist, who could invent him? Consider. The founder of Forte Oil has encountered fortune in common hours, for the umpteenth time. Yes, Nigeria’s billionaire oil magnate, Femi Otedola, is Africa’s highest gaining billionaire in 2015.
According to a Forbes estimate, more African billionaires saw a drop in their net worth in 2015 but Femi Otedola saw his fortunes rise by 75 percent at the end of the year to $1.81 billion from $778 million in 2014.
And unlike the fabled explorer, Christopher Columbus, who didn’t have a business plan when he discovered America, Femi Otedola had a well-thought plan when he founded his dynasty. He proved that he was no rookie in the cut-throat world of business in the country’s oil sector.
He is a gifted survivalist; for instance, just when many have written him off on the strength of his brush with few Nigerian banks over certain transactions that upset some of his businesses, Otedola made good his promise to bounce back to the economic arena more powerfully and convincingly, courtesy the rejuvenation and re-branding of AP to Forte Oil Plc.
It is charming to be in the same epoch as Femi Otedola. It is quite enlightening too. Being a witness to the Forte Oil boss’ exploits, is quite inspirational and replete with interesting anecdotes to ambitious young men and women seeking his kind of entrepreneurial success and acclaim.
As you read, there are no new worlds, no fresh battles for Femi Otedola to conquer.
Very few men excite interminable tribute of clamorous cheers in the wake of their most glorious exploits and attainments like Femi Otedola; the Chairman of Forte Oil stunningly commands the inexorable homage of unending cheers – these days it reverberates as boisterous applause for the extraordinariness of the man who taught Nigeria and the African continent to trust in his entrepreneurial depth and citizenship of humanity.
Otedola can sail an 80-foot boat with admirable finesse. He knows enough about Nana, his £12 million luxury yacht, named after his wife, Nana, to cruise it dexterously across the salty and highly silted waters of the Lagos coast. By curiosity and practiced aplomb, he can skipper a Nigerian Naval ship through fierce Atlantic gales with the skill of a yachtsman handling a racing sloop.
He is a keen student of history, he can dialogue persuasively on the neglected virtues of the Nigerian private entrepreneur, and is hip enough to fraternize appealingly across generations of peers, the elderly and youngsters.
With the exception of King Mohammed VI of Morocco, only 5 of the 21 African billionaires grew richer between December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2015. Forbes, a platform that tracks billionaires across the world, revealed how African billionaires gained more in 2015.
While Christofell Wiesse was the biggest gainer in dollar terms, Femi Otedola gained the most in terms of percentage. He, owner of more than 70 percent of Forte Oil, saw his fortune jump by more than 75 percent as Forte Oil’s stock price reached unprecedented highs on the back of fresh investments in power generation.
Last year, Forte Oil was among 21 local and international companies to be awarded a lucrative crude oil lifting contract by the NNPC which led to an increase in the company’s stock price more than 60 percent and Femi Otedola closed the year with a net worth of $1.81 billion (75 percent increase from 2014).
