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It’s pretty difficult to make a billion bucks —and even harder to earn it back once you have lost it. History is a mixed bag when it comes to how the wealthy react to economic declines. Some moguls lose vast sums and then make it back again. Others get a taste of billionairehood and then quickly lose it forever. But there are exceptions as some members of the Forbes billionaires’ gang have made a ten digit fortune not once but twice. Among them is Nigeria’s energy magnate, Olufemi Peters Otedola. This Odoragushin, Epe, Lagos-born billionaire should be declared the undisputed King of comeback. Otedola’s financial trajectory has seen him enter and exit Forbes’ billionaire list over the years, with his notable inclusion in 2009. A little over a decade ago, Otedola was taken out of the Forbes Billionaire list following a drop in his net-worth. He bounced back to reclaim his spot on the Forbes rich list with a subsequent re-entry in 2014 wealthier and wiser with a net worth of $1.8 billion. Couple of years later, the billionaire once again saw his value plummet after a drastic crash in the share price of Forte Oil Plc —a company he owns as a majority shareholder but later sold. Otedola’s fluctuations were influenced by various economic conditions, including the oil price slump in 2009 and the share price fluctuations of his oil company, Forte Oil, in subsequent years. But he never stays out in the cold for too long as the tycoon always quickly regains the slot. In fact, the wealth tracker once dubbed him ‘The Billionaire Who Bounced Back’ and he even covers the financial magazine wearing his signature white Nigerian traditional attire.
There is no doubt it has been a prosperous year 2023 for the chairman, Geregu Power Plc, the first power firm admitted to the Nigerian Exchange Limited’s (NGX) main board. Otedola’s net-worth rises to $1.2 billion and he rejoins Forbes billionaire list as he surged to the position of Nigeria’s 4th richest. This recent reassessment is attributed to his ownership of over 70% of Geregu Power, a power generation business. The market has valued Otedola’s Geregu Power like a start up, probably because of its fast growth. It makes about $60 million in revenue, $20 million in profit and it’s valued at $1 billion. In the years 2022 and 2023, Otedola strategically sold down his Geregu stake from over 95 per cent, welcoming institutional investors into the business. Key investors in Geregu include the Afrexim Fund for Export Development in Africa, the State Grid Corporation of China as well as some pension funds and institutional investors. Apart from his energy ventures, Otedola holds significant real estate assets in Lagos, Dubai, London, and Monaco. He also owns shares in Zenith Bank and FBN Holdings. The NGX data showed that the billionaire investor posted the biggest wealth growth since last year, as Geregu Power and First Bank each hit a $1 billion valuation. As Otedola returns to the rich list with a small slice of history of making a billion, losing it and clawing it back, pundits already predicted a brighter future and increase in his $1.2 billion wealth. The valuation update coincides with Otedola’s philanthropic gesture of donating N1 billion to the Lagos State Security Trust Fund, underscoring his commitment to giving back.
