Hey, Millionaire! Americans don't think of Africa as a place of wealth. That has
a lot to do with news stories about starving children. But did you know that some African
countries are home to super-wealthy families? Nigeria is one of those places. That's one
reason those "Nigerian prince" email scams work - people know there's a lot of money
in Nigeria if you know where to look. They're even home to the third largest film production
area in the world! But, if you're looking for examples of wealthy Nigerian families,
we're here for you! These are the 15 wealthiest families in Nigeria. And remember - all these
figures are in US dollars. These families are wealthy by everyone's standards.
15. Danjuma family
The Danjuma family's wealth was all thanks to one man: General Theophilus Yakubu Danjuma. He was
once the Minister of Defense in Nigeria before founding South Atlantic Petroleum, which earned
him a fortune. He became the first Nigerian businessman to establish a family office to
run all his assets. Since then, he's branched out into more industries than anyone can keep track
of. He has business branches in pharmaceuticals, film production, and boutique hotels spread across
the world! According to Forbes, TY Danjuma has a personal net worth of $750 million,
but the number would be much higher if you combined the net worth of all his family members.
14. Tinubu Family
There are a lot of prominent political families in Nigeria, and the Tinubu family are one of the
most important - and the wealthiest. At the head of the family is the one-time Governor of Lagos,
Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He wasn’t only an influential politician, he also earned loads of cash during
his time as a politician. He’s reported to have a net worth of $30 million! That puts
him up there with the richest politicians in a country full of rich politicians. But he’s
not the only wealthy member of the family. His wife, Oluremi, is also earning money in
politics. She’s a Nigerian senator, so you can bet she’s adding a lot to the family’s wealth.
13. Okoya Family Chief Razaq Okoya is truly a self-made
millionaire. He started out in his father's shop, where he did small fixes on clothes. He saved up
about $20 working there and decided to invest it into a retail company. With a little loan,
he bought buttons and other materials for clothes from a company in Japan, and he'd sold out before
he even received his first stock shipment. He was just 17 at the time! These days, he's the
Chairman of the Eleganza Group, which manufactures everything from jewelry and cutlery to plastics
and soap. He also owns the RAO Property Investment Company, which owns several properties around
Lagos. All of these business ventures have earned him a fortune of about $1 billion! He
shares his wealth with his many wives - some even have senior positions in his companies!
12. Tejuoso Family The Tejuoso Family has so many prominent
members it's hard to keep track of them all. You could say the real head of the family was Chief
Bisoye Tejuso. She established Teju Industries, which specialized in foam manufacturing and made
millions. Sadly, she was murdered in her mansion by 10 gunmen in 1996. Adefunmilayo, the wife of
Prince Kayode Tejuoso, is another prominent and very wealthy member of the family. She's a lawyer,
politician, and chairperson of the Lagos State House of Assembly Committee on Finance. We could
keep talking for ages about this family, with so many members of political bodies and royalty,
but you can probably tell this family is pretty powerful. With so many members,
it's impossible to know their net worth - but we guarantee it's a lot.
11. Ibru Family Michael Ibru started
out distributing fish around Nigeria in 1957. But that was just the beginning of what would
become an empire. The Ibru Organization expanded into just about every industry you can think of,
including agriculture, shipping, banking, and oil. By the time of his death in 2017,
his company had grown into a multi-billion dollar business. But it's not just his net worth growing
the family. He has 16 children, and many of them have gone on to become prominent businesspeople
and politicians. They still started a huge fight over the inheritance when Michael died, though.
People as rich as these families earn money every second, even when they're asleep! You might not
be able to do that, but if you hit subscribe in the next 5 seconds, you might learn how! 5...
4... 3... 2... 1! Now keep watching to learn more about the richest families in Nigeria.
10. Briggs family
You know you're looking at a wealthy family when both husband and wife are successful
businesspeople in their own right. Chief Olu Benson Lulu-Briggs, was the founder of Moni Pulo
Limited, a very successful oil company. He was one of the first people in Nigeria to get an oil and
mining exploration license, and he held onto it when everyone else sold theirs. That was pretty
smart - he didn't just keep the license - he kept the fortune that came with it. He died at the age
of 92. His wife, Seinye, is the founder of Rachael Hotels Limited, among other business ventures. She
took over her husband's company when he died and continues to grow his fortune as well as her own.
9. Folawiyo family Chief Wahab Folawiyo
is the founder of Yinka Folawiyo and sons, an import and export company that made his family
into multi-millionaires. He later expanded into agriculture, shipping, energy, and real
estate. His son, Tunde, took over this empire and continued in his father's footsteps to grow the
business. His personal net worth is currently around $650 million, according to Forbes.
8. Saraki family The Saraki family is
known as one of the most prominent and, of course, wealthiest political families in Nigeria. Olusola
was the first member of the family to make a name for himself as Senator of the Second Republic,
and he made even more money as Chairman of the Societe General Bank. He passed away in 2012,
but the family's wealth didn't stop growing. His son became President of the Federal Republic, and
his sister is a Senator. Together, their family has gathered a huge amount of money between them.
7. Fajemirokun family Henry Oloyede Fajemirokun isn't a name you'll
see on rich lists very often, but they have more than enough money to deserve a spot. Henry was a
trade unionist and prominent philanthropist who later became one of the country's most
successful industrialists and businessmen. He even led negotiations that led to the creation
of the Nigerian-American Merchant Bank. He made even more money in oil, being the first
person ever to get an offshore exploration license in Nigeria. His net worth was kept super secret,
but it's estimated to be in the billions. After his death, his son did not inherit his business,
but he did inherit his talent for making money, and he continued to grow the family fortune.
6. Dantata family
This family is actually related to the family in our number 1 spot through marriage,
but they're super wealthy in their own right too. The family's wealth started with Alhassan Dantata,
who made a fortune trading goods to Nigerian companies and British Trading companies. He
was one of the wealthiest men in Africa when he died. The family kept growing their wealth
without him. Three of his sons are wealthy businessmen, while another is a politician,
and he even has a billionaire great-grandson! Now that's what I call a successful family.
Which rich family is your favorite? Let us know in the comments! And keep watching to
find out which family in Nigeria is the richest in the whole country.
5. Abiola family MKO Abiola died back in 1998,
but before that, he made such a huge fortune that his family is still rich today. The businessman,
publisher, and philanthropist almost became president of Nigeria but was overthrown by
the militant leader who had control of the country at the time. But that didn't stop
him from succeeding in multiple business ventures. He founded companies in oil,
banking, radio, ocean liners, newspapers, bookshops, bakeries, farming, and he even
owned his own football club! At the time of his death, he was worth over $1 billion.
4. Otedola family The Otedola Family owes their wealth to their
father, Femi Otedola. The self-made billionaire made his fortune in natural gas, and the company
became so strong that it even survived a major tax fraud scandal. He made about $300 million
in personal wealth before switching businesses to focus on power generation instead. In 2016,
Forbes listed his net worth at $1.8 billion! But that wealth allowed his family members
to go off and make money of their own. Several other members of the family are successful now,
too, including his daughter, who is a popular DJ going by the name of DJ Cuppy!
3. Adeleke family
There are so many super-wealthy members of the Adeleke family we'd need another video to name
them all. Adedeji is probably the wealthiest member of the family, which isn't surprising
since he is the dad in the house. He's CEO of Pacific Holdings Limited and President of
Adeleke University, with a personal net worth of about $1 billion! He's also the dad of the most
famous member of the family - Davido. Davido, whose real name is David, is a super popular
musician with a personal net worth of around $60 million. His brother, Adewale, is even wealthier,
with a net worth of about $80 million thanks to his record label and position as Executive
Director of Pacific Energy. But, as I said, there are so many more members of this family,
all with huge net worths. This family's combined wealth is much more than a billion dollars.
2. Adenuga family
The Adenuga family would never have been super-rich if Mike Adenuga Jr. hadn't been
a super-smart businessman. He paid his own way through university by working as a taxi driver,
and then he put his knowledge to good use. He founded two hugely successful businesses - one
in telecommunications and one in oil and gas exploration. He's now the sixth richest person
on the African continent, with an incredible net worth of between $5.7 and $6.7 billion!
And finally, the richest family in Nigeria is...
1. Dangote family
Aliko Dangote isn't just the richest person in Nigeria - he's the richest person on the entire
African continent! He probably caught the business bug from his grandfather,
who became pretty successful trading rice and oats in Nigeria. But Dangote's fortune is much
bigger than his grandfather ever predicted. He started with Dangote Cement - one of the
continent's biggest cement producers with operations in 10 countries! He also has a
new fertilizer plant in Nigeria, and he's busy building an operation that looks set to become
one of the largest oil refineries in the world. His current net worth is a whopping $12.5 billion!