That she was born into affluence
didn’t stop herfrom a strong drive
for greater affluence. Today, she is
worth billions of naira and known
worldwide.
Her humanitarian gestures have
been a special trade mark that has
endured her in the minds of the
poor. Through her foundation, she
has been able to assist widows
going through crisis, young
orphans and youths who have the
Opportunity to work in her
numerous companies. We present
to you, Folorunsho Alakija; a
mother, sister, icon and lover of
children, who was named the
richest woman in Africa by Forbes
Magazine…Enjoy!
Ageless Folorunsho Alakija, no
doubt, is one of the richest women
in the Africa. She was said to
worth about $600m in 2012 and
makes about $1m daily from her
oil business. She also has a real
estate portfolio worth over $100
million.
Alakija is an oil magnate and a
publisher. In addition to her real
estate business, she is a fashion-
designer and a philanthropist. She
is an Executive Vice Chairman of
FAMFA Oil – an indigenous
Nigerian oil and gas exploration
and Production Company.
She is also the group managing
director of The Rose of Sharon
Group which consists of the Rose
of Sharon Prints & Promotions
Limited and Digital Reality Prints
Limited. She was ranked the
richest woman in Nigeria with an
estimated net worth of $2.5billion
as of 2014. She is also listed as
the 96th most powerful women in
the world by Forbes.
She was born on July 15, 1951
into a large and famous family of
52 children to Chief L.A Ogbara
from Ikorodu Lagos. Folorunsho
Alakija’s mum was her father’s
first wife. Folorunsho left for the
United Kingdom to begin a four
year primary school programme at
the age of seven. She returned to
attend an Islamic School at
Sagamu, Ogun state at the age of
eleven. Flo, as she was called by
her friends at the primary school
in Wales, also went further to
study fashion designing while in
London at an American College of
Fashion.
Businesses
She commenced her career in 1974
as an executive Secretary at
Sijuade Enterprises, Lagos. She
moved up the ladder to work at
the former First National Bank of
Chicago, which later became
FinBank, and now FCMB. She
established her own clothing lines
called Supreme Stitches after
working with the bank for some
years. Her clothe line rose to
prominence and gave birth to the
brand’s name, Rose of Sharon
House of Fashion.
She took a break from her very
busy life to tie the nuptial knot;
married her heart-throb, Barrister
Modupe Alakija in 1976. That
union is blessed with four
handsome boys.
While building her name as a
designer, she applied for an oil
prospecting license through her
company, FAMFA Oil, which was
granted to her in 1993.
Although she didn’t know much
about the Oil and Gas business,
she ventured into it knowing well
that she would get better on the
job like she had done in some
other businesses she was doing. It
paid off eventually. She has used
that platform to build an empire in
Oil and Gas, making her one of the
biggest names in the sector.
Today, she is worth at least $3.3
billion.
Properties and private Jet
Recently, she purchased a $102
million property at one Hyde Park
in London as well as a private jet
(Bombardier Global Express 6000
jet) which is worth $46 million.
Cars
She recently bought four SUVs
worth N88m for her boys.
According to report, she spent a
whooping sum of N22m each for a
brand new G-Wagon SUV which
was quietly shipped into the
country. The SUVs were
customized for her sons.
Foundation
Her foundation is called the Rose
of Sharon, which specializes in
empowering poor orphans and
widows by giving them or their
children scholarships and business
grants.
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