The End! Rise and Fall of Nigeria’s Most Celebrated Fraudster ‘Ramon Hushpuppi’ …How High Society, Top Politicians Courted him in His Heydays

Obscene opulence, raw wealth and flagrant flamboyance seep through the Instagram page of Ramon Hushpuppi, the young man popularly known as ‘Gucci billionaire’. Welcome to the world of Hushpuppi, the wealthy young man who commands relentless fawning and obsequiousness from celebrities and ordinary Nigerians.

He is not modest about his vast fortune; he displays it for the world to see through his fast cars – regarded as one of the most expensive fleets in Dubai – his rock-star globetrotting to the most idyllic locations in the world and designer wears. 

Oh Hushpuppi fancies expensive champagnes and cognacs and buys them in clubs whether in Dubai or Abu Dhabi in tray-loads. Whichever club he appears, he makes it rain drinks and money. And the ladies love him for his generousity and living la Vida Loca lifestyle while the men kowtow before him for living their wildest fantasies. 

Without doubt, Ray Hushpuppi, the extravagant Dubai-based socialite mastered the art of living large and loud to the awe and admiration of mere mortals but he didn’t learn what it means to walk alone, down an abyss where there is no end in sight or friends, hangers-on and a fawning fandom to cheer him on. He must be learning that now especially since he was arrested by the International Police, Interpol, in Dubai, Tuesday evening, alongside his partner otherwise known as Mr Woodyberry over their involvement in an alleged $35million ventilator scam. 

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI, had reportedly been on the trail of Hushpuppi, particularly, for some time due largely to his mysterious wealth and obscene flamboyance on Instagram. An avid user of the photo and video-sharing social networking servicewhere he had morphed into an influencer of sort and recently celebrated hitting 2million followers, he gleefully posted the kind of luxury legitimate money makers would not allow the world to see. His excuse was; “I post few of these things so that someone can see my page someday and decide not to give up.” Many of Nigeria’s male and female celebrities openly courted and fawned over his page, liking and commenting on his posts while literally tripping over themselves to be noticed by the young moneyman.

For many Nigerian socialites, politicians and celebrities, Hushpuppi was the go-to guy to explore and enjoy optimally the Dubai nightlife. Whenever Hushpuppi went to the club, whether in Lagos or Dubai or anywhere in the world, he made it rain with expensive champagnes and cognacs and he usually had for a company some of the finest species of the womenfolk flown from all over the world. Of a truth, he came to national consciousness when he blew N11million on drinks at the popular Quilox Nite Club owned by Shina Peller, now a member of the House of Representatives. He became the toast of high society and top society ladies and celebrities therefrom.

Over time, he had hosted in Dubai, where he had made a home, among other top Nigerians, Senator Dino Melaye, Davido, Wizkid and others. He had also been seen in pictures with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar who is also living in Dubai. He and Davido were quite close and pictures of them abound on the internet. In fact, at Davido’s brother’s wedding in Dubai recently, Hushpuppi was seen spraying $100 notes like it was going out of fashion while cavorting with guests like a member of the family. Same Davido, and many other celebrities and bootlickers, like Tosin Adegbite, Toke Makinwa, have unfollowed him on Instagram. 

From a young man who used to hawk second-hand clothes all over mainland Lagos to a jet-setting King of designer apparels, Hushpuppi enjoyed a lavish lifestyle that included international trips by private jets, relentless supplies of designer apparels and footwears, gourmet meals at expensive restaurants and permanent residency at the Palazzo Versace, Dubai. He acquired the money habit and lived life to the fullest.

It was either Diamond-crusted Hublot, Patek Phillippe, Rolex or Richard Mille wristwatches or nothing and he once got himself a piece of the latter for a princely $150, 000. He also had a fleet of luxury cars like Ferrari, Bugatti, Bentley and had just taken delivery of a specially-ordered Rolls Royce Cullinan a few days before his arrest. This is aside from his bespoke black badge Rolls Royce Wraith and a Bentley Bentayga he bought to celebrate Valentine 2019. Three months after, he bought himself an S650 Maybach just because he wanted to.

When he flew to the Abu Dhabi F1 Grand Prix last November, it was in a chartered helicopter, saying, “My driver already waiting with my Rolls Royce and some bad bitches in my Ferrari too.” 

Some months earlier, he had posted on IG as always, “(I) had a helicopter pull up on my Mykonos villa to take me and some supermodels to Scorpios where the party (is) at. Arab money don’t stress.” Mykonos is known as the Ibiza of Greece as it is famous for its cosmopolitan atmosphere and lively nightlife. It is also famous for its vast array of whitewashed churches, shops, museums and other structures that date back to the 16th century.

So much was he into designer brands that Louis Vuitton officially invited him for the Virgil Abloh SS20 fashion show in Paris. He counted among his very good friends Abloh, the top-rated American fashion designer. He was, according to him, the only black person invited by Fendi to its fashion show in Rome, Italy, in 2018.

Hushpuppi wrote about the experience; “Last night was really amazing for me, not just because I was invited by Fendi to dine with a lot of amazing, strong societal giants and strong personalities but also the fact that people of my kind from a dark and blurry background from the slums can get here on this level, not only make it out of the hood but also be able to integrate from the streets to the cooperate world which I know I am not the only one who has made it enough to be able to achieve this but a lot of people who made it only still care about being a champion in the street and the hood. 

“For me, I know I was not created to be a champion in a local market and I know for a fact I have been inspiring a lot of people not just from Africa but every part of the world on how to live life better and more greatly in the fashion world, I have been able to expose a lot of people to see the light (You all are welcome lol) and I hope someday I will be inspiring more young people to join me on this path. Being the only black person that was invited there last night, I hope to see many of you black kings and queens in this type of gatherings next time and not just in those your little gossip, hating on each other gatherings.”

There is no official statement about his arrest yet but reports on social media maintain that the suspects may have been flown to Washington DC, headquarters of the FBI. If convicted, Hushpuppi may be gone for a long time, signalling an end to the reign of a young man whose insatiable appetite for luxury living and source of wealth remains the stuff of legend in contemporary Nigeria.