Mike Adenuga is a Nigerian businessman with a net worth of $6.7 billion, making him the second richest man in Nigeria and the seventh richest in Africa.
Adenuga is widely known for owning Globacom, a telecommunications company with operations in Nigeria, Benin Republic, and Ghana. He also has interests in the oil sector and other sectors of the economy.
How Mike Adenuga’s Net Worth of $6.7 Billion Accrued
Mike Adenuga’s net worth of $6.7 billion has ranked him among the richest men in Nigeria and Africa as a whole. The billionaire started off little before he experienced a meteoric rise in his finances, which has taken him to where he is today.
Mike Adenuga Started Off as a Taxi Driver
He didn’t have it all rosy at the beginning, as he took part in any legal business that brought money to the table. He started off early when he was in university by driving a cab, which he also used to finance his education.
The billionaire upgraded and started trading in lace and soft drinks. In 1976, Mike Adenuga, who was just 26 years old at the time, made his first million through the sales of lace and soft drinks. He saw this as a pathway to making it huge, and he grabbed the opportunity to get to where he is today.
He Founded Conoil Producing Limited and Its Subsidiaries (Chairman)
Mike Adenuga developed an interest in the oil sector in the 80s and started applying to gain a license. It wasn’t easy for him to achieve this over the years until the regime of Nigerian military president General Ibrahim where Professor Jubril Aminu served as the oil minister. The minister introduced a new law that permitted individuals to enter into the business of oil exploration and exploitation.
In the year 1984, Adenuga was given a drilling license and started his operations under the name Consolidated Oil Nigeria Limited. The company is focused on the exploration, production, and sales of crude oil. Subsequently, the company changed to Conoil Producing Limited. It was the first indigenous company that started drilling under the shallow waters of Ondo state. By 1991, the company started producing in commercial quantity.
Conoil Producing Limited has grown to become one of the major independent exploration companies in Nigeria. They have been able to cross the threshold of producing about 100,000 barrels of oil daily and operate in six oil blocks in the Niger Delta. Currently, the billionaire serves as the Chairman of the company and holds a 74.4 percent stake in it.
Asides from Conoil Producing Limited, Mike Adenuga’s net worth has also experienced an increase through one of his companies known as Belbop Nigeria Limited. The company, which was founded in 1993, deals in oil field services. Though the current status of the company is unknown, the billionaire has made quite a fortune from the business.
Globacom Limited (Chairman)
Mike Adenuga is seen to be one who loves exploring, especially when it comes to profitable businesses. In the 90s, towards the return of democracy, the billionaire developed an interest in telecommunication and kicked off with a feasibility study. He started looking for a GSM license, which was granted in 1999.
His license was revoked, but he wasn’t discouraged and kept pushing forward to achieve his dreams. In 2003, he got a second license from an auction held by the Federal Government of Nigeria and used it to found one of the leading telecommunication companies known as Globacom today.
The company, which is also known as Glo, has its operations in Nigeria and has also expanded its wings to other African countries like Cote de Ivorie, Benin Republic, and Ghana. It has turned out to be the major competitor of one of the leading network providers in Nigeria, known as MTN.
In May 2015, he made a takeover bid for the Ivorian mobile telecoms operator, Comium, for $600 million. The bid turned out to be successful as he is currently running the affairs of the company.
He is Involved in the Banking Sector as a Stake Holder
The billionaire also ventured into the banking sector and has acquired shares in various banks. Below are the banks that he holds shares in:
Sterling Bank Plc (Stakeholder)
Mike Adenuga’s net worth has also experienced a meteoric rise with his ventures in the banking sector. He founded the Devcom Merchant Bank on March 1, 1990, and the Equitorial Trust Bank on January 1, 1990. The two banks operated independently before Devcom Merchant Bank merged with Equitorial Trust Bank in 2005. In 2011, Equitorial Trust Bank merged with Sterling Bank Plc.
Mike Adenuga sits on the Board of Directors of the bank and owns about 5.63 percent of the bank’s unit shares, making him the fourth largest stakeholder in the bank. Apart from Sterling Bank Plc, the billionaire also has stakes in Stanbic IBTC bank.
He Also Owns Stakes in Other Sectors of the Economy
Mike Adenuga’s net worth has also received a significant rise through the stakes that he holds in other companies. Below are the stakes and companies that the billionaire holds:
He holds a 25.1 percent stake or 401,834,494 ordinary shares in Julius Berger through Goldstones Estates Limited. Julius Berger is one of the top construction companies in Nigeria that has taken part in both private and civil infrastructural development in Nigeria. With a 25.1 percent stake in the company, he has turned out to be the company’s highest individual shareholder.
Has Mike Adenuga Lost Money Recently?
For someone like the Nigerian billionaire who has various business ventures and investments, counting losses are inevitable. In as much as Mike Adenuga counts lots of profit and has been able to rank high in the list of richest people in Nigeria and Africa, he also counts losses.
On April 4, 2022, the Nigerian government barred subscribers who have not linked their National Identification Number (NIN) to their SIM. This affected the revenues that network providers in Nigeria generate from outgoing calls, of which Glo is one of them. Due to the inability of many to link their NIN to their SIMs, the profit of the network provider is still affected.
Mike Adenuga’s Houses
Having accrued such huge net worth, Mike Adenug has been able to afford a lavish lifestyle. He doesn’t look back when it comes to spending his money. The billionaire is seen splashing a huge sum on his house.
Mike Adenuga’s Banana Island Estate
Mike Adenuga has an estate in Banana Island, Lagos State, which cost about N7 billion when built. The estate, which occupies three hectares of land, consists of nine luxurious duplexes that serve different purposes. Eight of the duplexes are used to house visitors and family members while one of the duplexes serves as an office and home to the billionaire.
The windows and doors of the mansion are painted brown. There is also another house built with glass and concrete within the estate. The inner part of the building can be seen from the outside. The building, which is guarded with high fences, also has two watchtowers. There are other features of the estate which include:
- A church
- 200 sitter meeting hall
- Heliport
- Luxurious car park
- Yacht berths
- Mosque
- Large swimming pools within doors
Mike Adenuga Tower
The billionaire has a tower in Lagos that was built in 2004. The tower, Mike Adenuga Towers, Lagos, was named after the billionaire. The 13-story building with 11,482 square meters of office space serves as the headquarters of his telecommunication company, Globacom.
The tower, which took 13 years to be completed, has an extraordinary gold-colored glass canopy supported by galvanized cast iron. It is decorated with a gold-plated bull sculpture in front, which is more visible at night because of the colorful light that reflects. The bull represents the personal totem of the billionaire.
Mike Adenuga’s Philanthropic Activities
Mike Adenuga is not just in the business of making money, he is also known to be a giver. The billionaire is highly involved in philanthropy and has touched many lives with the Mike Adenuga Foundation, which he established in January 2009. It is a pan-African philanthropic foundation set up with the aim of helping Nigerians and other Africans improve their lives.
Though much information about the activities of the foundation is unknown, it once made a N500 million donation to Bayelsa State to help the victims of a flood in 2002. It also donated N1.5 billion during the COVID-19 pandemic to help Nigeria curb the spread of the virus. The philanthropist has also contributed immensely to the education sector.
Mike Adenuga has donated comfortable learning chairs and has constructed computer labs to various schools, including his alma mater, Ibadan Grammar School. The billionaire has donated huge amounts to sports in Nigeria and African countries like Ghana. He also extended his hands to the religious bodies and has donated extensively to the things of God.