Jim Ovia perfected the money attitude while his peers cut their first tooth in banking. He was the enthralling magnate, who teased open fortune’s peonies, and unwrapped the seal to the tight bales of bloom in banking’s competitive halls.
Money chants its ornate poetry in Ovia’s treasure chest perhaps because he took the money shot – Cha ching! – time and over again, with the stamina of a warrior, and the agility of the quintessential marksman.
Now past the glory days of his hustle as a seasoned and foremost banker, Ovia continually looms large as a conqueror of banking and high commerce. Having established his dominance in the cutthroat world of business, where he enjoys repute as banking’s top royalty, the Zenith Bank chairman, is eager to extend the luxury of his conquests and acquisitions to his loved ones.
Just recently, he acquired three units of luxury apartments at 4, Bourdillon, an iconic residential complex in the heart of Ikoyi, Lagos.
The diminutive billionaire who does not shy from aiming high paid a total sum of $10.5m for the apartments, valued at $3.5m per unit. Ovia, it was gathered, gifted two of his sons one unit each while he may have converted the last one to a private guest house.
Located at 4, Bourdillon Road, Ikoyi, the apartment which provides an infinite luxurious experience to its residents, is a Twin Tower of 25 Floors with 41 Units of 3 and 4 Bedroom Flats and 5-Bedroom Duplex Flats and Duplex Penthouses with lush greenery, water-bodies, swimming pools, tennis court, gym and clubhouse with ample underground parking and breath-taking views.
Targeting Nigeria’s elites, the property offers penthouses that include roof gardens and each has a curved balcony, which creates an attractive curvilinear appearance and is large enough to be used as an external relaxing area. Its glazed balustrade allows uninterrupted 360-degree views of Lagos Island. A joint development between Kaizen Properties (a member of TGI Group, which amongst others owns CHI Ltd – the leading FMCG Company in Nigeria with brands like CHIVITA and HOLLANDIA) and El-Alan Group, a foremost construction company with over 38 years experience working in Nigeria, 4 Bourdillon sets new heights and standards of luxury in Lagos where living becomes a daily bliss of peace of mind.
Ovia is an unabashed lover of properties and he is reputed to own most of the properties in which Zenith Bank operates from. The 68-year-old Forbes-rated billionaire is also known as the Godfather of Banking in Nigeria.
