Nigeria is home to some of Africa’s boldest, richest and most successful business minds. From tech innovators to industrial titans and financial trailblazers, Nigerian entrepreneurs have built empires that not only shape the local economy but also influence business across the continent and the world.
Whether it’s groundbreaking startups or family-built conglomerates, these business owners prove that vision, resilience, and strategic risk-taking can unlock extraordinary wealth even in tough markets.
In this article, we countdown the Top 10 Richest Entrepreneurs and Business Owners in Nigeria. The people whose names are synonymous with business leadership, innovation, and financial success. Some are self-made founders who built their fortunes from scratch, while others expanded legacy companies into global players.
But one thing they share is influence: their decisions ripple through industries like banking, energy, telecommunications, tech, and manufacturing.
Whether you’re a business enthusiast, aspiring entrepreneur, or just curious about who holds the biggest stakes in Nigeria’s corporate world, this list gives you a snapshot of wealth, strategy, and impact in Africa’s largest economy.
Nigeria’s top entrepreneurs have continued to reap the benefits of having built successful businesses that are currently worth billions of naira. Here’s the complete list of the richest entrepreneurs in Nigeria.
1. Aliko Dangote.
Aliko Dangote is widely recognised as the richest person in Africa, with a personal fortune estimated at around $28–30 Billion according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index and other wealth trackers. Born on the 10th of April 1957, Dangote is the founder and chairman of Dangote Group, Africa’s largest industrial conglomerate with diverse interests spanning cement, oil refining, fertiliser, sugar, salt, and other manufacturing sectors.
He built his fortune through Dangote Group, a massive industrial conglomerate with interests in cement, sugar, flour, and now oil refining — including one of the largest petroleum refineries in Africa.
The Dangote Group dominates key markets across the continent. Its flagship company, Dangote Cement Plc, is the largest cement producer in sub‑Saharan Africa, with operations in multiple countries including Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, and South Africa, and an installed production capacity exceeding tens of millions of tonnes annually.
Also Read: 7 Amazing Books On How To Better Manage Your Money.
2. Abdul Samad Rabiu.
Abdul Samad Isyaku Rabiu (born 4 August 1960) is a Nigerian billionaire and founder of BUA Group, a leading conglomerate with interests in cement, sugar refining, food production, logistics, and port operations. As of February 2026, his net worth is estimated at $10–11 billion, making him one of Nigeria’s richest people and a top gainer over the past few years.
Rabiu started his career in 1988, importing rice, sugar, edible oils, and steel, before expanding into manufacturing and infrastructure. BUA Cement and BUA Foods are now major players in Nigeria’s construction and consumer goods sectors, while he continues to grow his business footprint and engage in philanthropic initiatives.
Also Read: Top 10 Early-Stage Startup Investors And VCs In Nigeria.
3. Mike Adenuga Jr.
Michael Adeniyi Adenuga Jr. (born 29 April 1953) is a Nigerian billionaire businessman, and one of the wealthiest individuals in Africa. According to Forbes, his net worth is currently estimated at $6.5–7 billion, placing him among the world’s top 500 richest people and Africa’s leading business figures.
Adenuga built his fortune through telecommunications, oil production, banking, and other diversified investments. He is the founder and chairman of Globacom Limited (Glo), Nigeria’s second‑largest mobile telecommunications operator, which serves over 60 million subscribers in Nigeria and has a presence in neighbouring countries such as Ghana and Benin.
His oil exploration outfit, Conoil Producing, operates 6 oil blocks in the Niger Delta.
4. Femi Otedola.
Femi Otedola (born 4 November 1962) is a Nigerian billionaire businessman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist known for his significant contributions to the energy and financial sectors. As of 2025, Otedola’s net worth is estimated at around $1.5 billion – 3 billion placing him among the richest individuals in Nigeria according to the Forbes Billionaires List.
Otedola built his wealth initially through fuel marketing and commodities before pivoting strategically into power generation and finance. He was the long‑time chairman of Forte Oil Plc (formerly African Petroleum), a major fuel marketing company he led through expansion and technological upgrades before selling his controlling stake in 2019 to focus on broader energy ventures.
He is the chairman and majority shareholder of Geregu Power Plc, one of Nigeria’s prominent power generation companies listed on the Nigerian Exchange, where institutional investors, including the Nigerian government and the Afrexim Fund for Export Development in Africa, hold stakes alongside him.
Otedola is also the founder of Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd, and the owner of a number of other businesses across shipping, real estate, and finance. He has recently invested in power generation as part of the liberalization of the sector in Nigeria.
5. Tony Elumelu.
Tony Onyemaechi Elumelu (born 22 March 1963) is a Nigerian economist, entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist best known as the Chairman of Heirs Holdings, United Bank for Africa (UBA), and Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp), as well as the founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation. Elumelu is widely recognised for promoting entrepreneurship across Africa through his foundation’s flagship programmes and advocacy for Africapitalism.
As of 2025, his net worth is estimated at $1 billion – 2.5 billion, a significant increase from earlier estimates, reflecting growth in his holdings across banking, power, energy, hospitality, and financial services through Heirs Holdings and stakes in Transcorp and UBA.
Beyond business, the Tony Elumelu Foundation has made a major impact by empowering thousands of African entrepreneurs through training, mentorship, and seed funding, and its Entrepreneurship Programme has become a flagship initiative supporting business growth across the continent.
6. Jim Ovia.
Jim James Ovia (born November 4, 1951) is a Nigerian businessman and founder of Zenith Bank one of the largest commercial banks in Nigeria. He is the chairman and largest individual shareholder with a stake of slightly more than 9% stake.
His networth is estimated to be around $1 billion – 1.5 billion. Jim Ovia has been a long-standing key figure in Nigerian banking. His investments also span property and technology.
Ovia launched Zenith Bank in 1990 with around ₦20 million in capital, and the bank has grown into a major African financial services group with billions of dollars in assets and shareholders’ funds, expanding across West Africa, the UK, and the UAE.
Beyond banking, Ovia founded Visafone Communications Limited, a mobile network that was later acquired by MTN Nigeria, thereby strengthening his diversified business portfolio. He also has interests in real estate, insurance, IT, and education, including founding James Hope University and funding scholarships through the Jim Ovia Foundation.
Also Read: How To Invest In The Nigerian Stock Exchange.
7. Folorunso Alakija.
Folorunso Alakija (born 15 of July 1951) is a Nigerian billionaire businesswoman, one of the richest African women, and one of the richest black women in the world. Often cited as Nigeria’s richest woman, Folorunso Alakija gained wealth through Famfa Oil (with a stake in the Agbami Oilfield), real estate (Dayspring Property), and earlier ventures in fashion.
She is also known for philanthropic work. According to Forbes, her net-worth is estimated to be aroundd $900 million – $1.2 billion
Alakija is the Executive Vice‑Chairman of Famfa Oil Limited, a Nigerian oil and gas exploration company that holds significant interests in the Agbami Oilfield, one of the country’s largest deepwater producing assets.
Famfa Oil operates jointly with major international partners, including Chevron and Petrobras, and has been a key contributor to Nigeria’s crude supply since the field began production.
Before her success in oil and gas, Alakija built her first business, a fashion label called Supreme Stitches (later evolving into The Rose of Sharon Group), which became a leading fashion brand in Nigeria, catering to elite clients and helping launch her entrepreneurial journey.
8. Theophilus Danjuma.
Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma (born 9 December 1938) is a Nigerian retired army general, businessman, and philanthropist. He is the founder and chairman of South Atlantic Petroleum (SAPETRO), an oil exploration and production company with upstream interests in Nigeria and other African countries.
As of 2025, Danjuma’s estimated net worth is around $800 – 1.1 billion, reflecting his diversified holdings in oil, shipping, real estate, and industrial investments, making him one of Nigeria’s wealthiest individuals.
In addition to SAPETRO, Danjuma has business interests in maritime shipping through the NAL‑Comet Group, and he expanded into the fertilizer sector with a major acquisition of Notore Chemical Industries Plc alongside partners. This $150 million deal aims to revive Nigeria’s fertilizer production capacity.
He also owns real estate plus a stake in Notore Chemical Industries, a manufacturer of urea fertilizer, as well as a stake in NALComet, one of Nigeria’s largest shipping companies. His net worth fell from a year ago due to the sustained weakness in oil prices.
Also Read: How To Invest In The Nigerian Stock Exchange.
9. Oba Otudeko.
Oba Otudeko (born 18 August 1943) is a Nigerian entrepreneur, industrialist, and philanthropist best known as the founder and chairman of the Honeywell Group, a diversified conglomerate with interests in oil and gas, flour milling, real estate, logistics, and marine transport.
Over the decades, Otudeko has held leadership roles in several major Nigerian institutions. He has served on the boards of First Bank of Nigeria/First HoldCo, Airtel Nigeria, Fan Milk Nigeria, and Ecobank Transnational Inc., and he was President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange from 2006 to 2009.
As of 2026, estimates of Otudeko’s net worth vary due to market changes and private holdings; past rankings placed him at around $550 million.
Beyond business, he founded the Oba Otudeko Foundation, a philanthropic organization supporting education, health, and community development in Nigeria.
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