The murky waters of corporate Nigeria aren’t exactly awash with successful women, and it’s still a territory controlled predominantly by the male folk. Interestingly, since money and wealth is not gender-biased, the changing times seem to be giving women better chances to compete with their menfolk in the rich list. The richest women in Nigeria are the most successful philanthropic businesswomen. Although some had help, others built their wealth from scratch. These women have managed to build empires for themselves through wise investments and running some of the most successful businesses in the country. Check out our top 10 list of the richest women in Nigeria and their net worth.
1. Folorunsho Alakija
- Net Worth: $1 billion
- Age: 73 years old
- Industry: Oil and gas
- Marital Status: Married (Mr. Modupe Alakija)
- No. of Children: 4 sons
Top of the league of richest women in Nigeria is Folorunsho Alakija, a 73-year-old Lagos-born business baroness ranked as the 20th richest Africa’s billionaire by Forbes 2020.
- Folorunsho made her first millions from fashion Industry
Coming from an upper-middle-class family of Chief L. A. Ogbara of Ikorodu, Lagos State, Folorunsho is a graduate of Secretarial Studies from the Pitmans Central College London. She started her career working briefly as an executive secretary of Sijuade enterprise located in Lagos, Nigeria, before she began a twelve-year long career in the banking world, working as an executive secretary at FinBank, which is now acquired by First City Monument Bank (FCMB), and as a Head of the Corporate Affairs Department of the International Merchant Bank of Nigeria (formerly First National Bank of Chicago).
She left the banking world to pursue her passion for making clothes and set up her first fashion label, Supreme Stitches, which metamorphosed into Rose Of Sharon House Of Fashion over the years. The fashion house is specialized in making clothing for the elites. Part of her clientele included the wife of the then military head of state Ibrahim Babangida. Following the success of her fashion business, Folorusho Alakija diversified into more lucrative businesses and oil being the most lucrative at the time, was her next business target. She received an oil prospecting license (OPL) for her company, Famfa Oil Limited, to explore oil on a 617,000-acre block.
Gaining much ground in the oil business, she entered into a joint venture agreement with Star Deep Water Petroleum Limited and grew her wealth from there. Today, she is one o the top oil moguls in the country. Folorunsho is currently the Vice Chairman of Famfa Oil, an exploration company with a 60% stake in oil block OML 127 located at the Agbim oil field, one of Nigeria’s largest deepwater oil reserves. Alakija reached a new milestone in 2014 when she was listed among the world’s 100 most powerful women alongside Nigeria’s then-Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
The oil tycoon is keeping the management of her oil company within her family circle with her husband, Mr. Modupe Alakija, standing as the chairman, and her two sons, Ladi and Dele, sitting on the board of directors.
Other Sources of Folorunsho Alakija’s Net Worth
While oil and gas business remains Mrs. Alakija’s major source of wealth, she has some other ventures that are quite successful as well:
- She Owns a Printing Business
The oil mogul has a printing business known as The Rose of Sharon Printing. The company specializes in large printing formats, promotional prints, design and offset printing, industrial and corporate signage. It prints on items like uniforms, towels, table cloths, bedsheets, etc.
- She is into real Estate
The real estate business is one other big business with millions of profit the likes of Alakija will never ignore. She is the chairperson of Dayspring Property Development Company. The company is apparently behind the Famfa and Rose of Sharon tower project.
- She is also a Reputable Author
Folorunso Alakija is a preacher of the gospel. Hence, most of her publications are Christian-based. She went ahead to display her expertise in writing and has got several publications under her belt. list o her books include:
- Growing with the Hand that Gives the Rose
- Window Shop for your Spouse
- The Cry of Widows and Orphans
- Wish for it? Pray for It (Scriptures for Wives)
- Wish for it? Pray for It (Scriptures for Husbands)
- Alone with God
- His Name Is
Summary of all Florunsho Alakija’s Source of Wealth
- Rose of Sharon Fashion House
- Famfa Oil Limited
- Digital Reality Prints Limited
- The Rose of Sharon Printing and Promotion
- Dayspring Property Development Company Limited
How Mrs. Alakija Spends Her Money
As one of the powerful and richest women in Nigeria, Folorusho Alakija also lives up to her social status. She has landed properties in strategic areas around the world. Her home, which is located in the Ikoyi area of Lagos State, is reported to be over $900 million, ranking as the most beautiful and expensive house in Nigeria. Her obsession for Mercedes has seen her acquire fleets of its brands, including 4 G-Wagons for her sons and a Mercedes S class limousine for her husband. You can easily identify her cars with the number plate “FLO.” She also owns a private jet, Bombardier Global Express XRS, which is worth a whopping $46 million.
2. Hajia Bola Shagaya
- Net Worth: $950 million
- Age: 65
- Industry: Oil and Gas, Real Estate
- Marital Status: Married (Alhaji Shagaya)
- No. of Children: 6
Also listed as one of the most successful and richest women in Nigeria is Hagiya Shagaya, a 65-year-old Kwara state indigene and daughter of a Sudanese seamstress, who like her billionaire counterpart, Folorunsho Alakija, began as a banker before her business metamorphosed into oil and gas.
- Shagaya’s first major source of wealth was photographic equipment
Mrs. Shagaya started her sojourn into corporate Nigeria when she joined the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as an audit staff. She left Apex bank in 1983 to pursue other business interests. Under the trade name Bolmus International (Nigeria) Limited., Shagaya went into importation and distribution of photographic materials such as roll papers, films, and chemicals. With the success of the business, she became the sole West African agent of the then-leading photographic company, Konica.
Through her Konica brand of photographic materials were introduced in Nigeria and the rest of West African markets. Seeing opportunities in the Nigerian photography industry, Shagaya expanded her Konica marketing operations to photo laboratories. Hence the birth of a photo laboratory company, Fotofair (Nigeria) Limited, in 1997.
- She became one of the indigenous oil marketers in the late 1980s
With profits from her photo laboratories and photographic equipment, Bola Shagaya ventured into the oil and gas business, establishing Practoil Limited, which is currently one of the largest importers and distributors of base oil in Nigeria. The company also has its lubricating plant in Kirikiri and produces multi-grade oils and lubricants useful for local lubricants blending plants.
In 2011, Bola Shagaya founded Voyage Oil and Gas Limited, another oil and gas industry operating as a Crude Oil trading and export company. Since its official launching in 2012, the company has been on the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) crude oil term contract with about 30,000 barrels of oil produced per day. Voyage has also operated as a dealer and independent marketer of oil, petroleum products, and gas. Currently, the company is involved in selling petroleum products, haulage, marketing, and storage, all of which have added greatly to her net worth.
Hajia Bola Shagaya’s Other Net Worth Sources
It is common to have a business tycoon like bola Shagaya spreading their business tentacles to other lucrative sectors. Shagaya targeted the Real Estate business as it was (and still is) one of the most lucrative business ventures globally.
Hajia Bola Shgya’s Bolmus Group International is also into real estate investments. The company owns housing estates in several major cities in Nigeria and properties in the US and Europe. These investments also contribute to her wealth; however, what she makes from the real estate business is unknown.
The 57-year-old socialite boasts close ties with some of the most powerful people in the land, including the former military head of state Ibrahim Babangida. During the last political dispensation, she was a frequent visitor to the villa to see the former first lady, Patience Jonathan.
Summary of Hajia Bola Shagaya Source of Wealth
- Bolmus Group International – importation/ distribution of photographic materials, Real Estate investment
- Fotofair (Nigeria) Limited – Photo Lab Company
- Practoil Limited – Importer and distributor of base oil
- Voyage Oil and Gas – Crude Oil trading and export company
A Peek into Bola Shagaya’s luxurious Lifestyle
For someone with huge investments in some of the biggest economic hubs, it is only natural to have Bola Shagaya use some of the world’s most expensive things. The business tycoon has state-of-the-art mansions in Lagos, Abuja, and even in her hometown in Illorin. Her state-of-the-art business property at Kirikiri is among the most expensive in the country. As for her fleet of cars, Hajia Shagaya owns a Rolls-Royce Phantom and a Rolls Royce Ghost, both valued at a whopping sum of ₦90 million.
3. Daisy Danjuma
- Net Worth: $900 million
- Age: 72 years old
- Industry: Politics
- Marital Status: Married (Theophilus Danjuma)
- No. of Children: NA
Daisy Ehanire Danjuma is another business magnate who made it on our list of richest women in Nigeria, with her net worth estimated at $900 million. Currently 72 year of age, Daisy is a businesswoman and a politician best recognized as the former senator representing the Edo South Senatorial District. Daisy makes much of her monies from politics and other investments.
Daisy Danjuma, who hails from Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria, is a Law graduate who was called to the Nigerian Bar as a practicing lawyer in 1977. She started her career as a State Counsel at the Department of Public Prosecutions in the Lagos State Ministry of Justice. Her successful law career saw her occupying various high positions in public and private firms.
She served as a pioneer Legal Counsel to the Legal Aid Council of Nigeria before leaving for the investment bank Nigerian Acceptances Ltd. (NAL). Daisy spent her next decade as Company Secretary/Legal Adviser to the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) before moving into private practice.
- She earned the majority of her wealth from her Political career
Passionate about serving her people, Daisy joined politics under the Action Congress Party (AC) and was elected Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 2003. Serving from 2003 to 2007, she was a member of numerous committees, most notably as a Member, Senate Committees on Health, Education, Finance, and Land Transport of the National Assembly. With her successful career experience in the law firm and the Nigerian parliament, daisy became Chairman of the ECOWAS Parliament’s Women and Children’s Rights Committee and Senate Committee Chairman on Women Affairs and Youth Development.
Mrs. Danjuma contested for the second tenure for her senate office during the 2011 Nigeria general election, but she lost it to Ehigie Edobor Uzumere with a margin that almost doubled her votes. Although she is currently not holding any political office, it is believed that she garnered so much wealth from her four-year career at the Senate.
Other Sources of Daisy Dnjuma’s Net Worth
While a detailed list of businesses and investments attached to Daisy’s name cannot be found, it is largely believed that she has made some notable investments. In 2019, she was appointed the chairman of May & Baker Nigeria PLC, a leading pharmaceutical manufacturing company. Currently, she is an Executive Vice Chairman of a Nigerian oil and gas exploration and production company known as South Atlantic Petroleum (SAPETRO).
As for how Disy spends her money, daisy is entirely private with that aspect of her life. Hence, there’s nothing known about social life as she keeps them off the media.
4. Fifi Ejindu
- Net Worth: $850 million
- Age:d 62 years old
- Industry: Architecture, Real Estate
- Marital Status: Married (Amechi Ejindu)
- No. of Children: 1 son
Offiong Ekanem Ejindu, otherwise known as Princess Fifi Ejindu, is one successful woman who is blessed with the proverbial Midas touch. Everything she touches turns into gold. Fifi is one cosmopolitan businesswoman who sees opportunities everywhere. Her ability to dive into every opportunity that comes her way has made her one of the most successful and richest women in Nigeria.
Blessed with beauty and uncommon genes, Fifi is the great-granddaughter of King James Ekpo Bassey of Cobham Town in Calabar, Cross Rivers State. She was born on May 21, 1962, and her father, Professor Sylvester Joseph Una, is from Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. Fifi started her career in 1995 after obtaining various academic certifications that qualify her as a successful architect. She established Starcrest Group of companies that comprises Starcrest Investment Ltd., Starcrest Associates Ltd., and Starcrest Industries Ltd, all involved in real estate, oil and gas, building construction, project management, and youth empowerment.
Through her Starcrest Associates, she designs buildings, constructs residential villas and estates, carries out architectural services, urban planning, engineering services, and interior decorating. The Spanish Ambassador’s apartment in Maitama, Abuja, is a perfect example of Ffi’s architecture expertise. She also is behind the design of the official apartment of Professor Charles Soludo, a one-time governor of the Central Bank Of Nigeria.
Fifi’s Net Worth Majorly Comes from her Group of Companies
It is unknown how much Fifi charges for her architectural designs. There is no doubt she earns much, considering the caliber of people and firms she has worked for. With her neo-traditional kind of architecture, Fifi is now named among female pioneers in the fields of Architecture and Business on an appearance on CNN’s African Voices. She is also a member of the Nigerian National Heritage Council. Her excellent career has also earned her many awards and recommendations, including the “African Female Economic Champion” in 2013 and a recommendation from the Georgia House of Representatives, USA.
How Fifi Spends her wealth
This stylish showstopper knows how best to pamper herself with just anything money can buy. Anytime she attends social functions, it is always in grand opulence, ready to make a fashion statement. When it comes to car brands, she buys most of the most expensive cars she lays her hands on. During her 51st birthday in 2015, this society lady pampered herself with a Rolls Royce Ghost worth N30 million.
- She is into Charity
Princess Ejindu is humanitarian to the core. She puts part wealth into humanitarian service. Her charity and philanthropy speak volumes of her persona as a cheerful giver.
5. Dr. Stella Okoli
- Net Worth: $800 million
- Age: 80 years old
- Industry: Healthcare
- Marital Status: Married (Late Barrister Christopher Okoli)
- No. of Children: 3 (Uzoma Okoli, Emeka Okoli, (Late) Chike Okoli.)
Stella Chinyelu Okoli (MON, OON) makes it on our list of the top five richest women in Nigeria. She is a renowned entrepreneur, pharmacist, philanthropist, and certainly one of the successful women in Nigeria. She is best known as the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Emzor Pharmaceutical.
A native of Nnewi in Anambra State, Stella was born on July 30, 1944, in Kano State, to the family of Felix Ebelechukwu and Margaret Modebelu. She began her career working several years for pharmaceutical firms, including Boots the Chemists Limited, Middlesex Hospital, London, and Pharma-Deko. After gaining much knowledge and experience in the field, she established a small pharmacy retail shop in 1977 and named it “Emzor Chemists Limited.”
The retail shop, located in Somulu, Lagos State, later grew from buying and selling already produced drugs to manufacturing its drugs. And today, it has grown to have a range of over 50 products, including the popular, very affordable, and effective Emzor Paracetamol. The company began producing its drugs in 1985, and less than three years, it had established itself as a pharmaceutical manufacturing company in the western region, with Emzor Paracetamol being its leading brand of analgesic in Nigeria and even across Sub Saharan Africa.
Today, Dr. Stella’s Emzor Pharmaceuticals has become one of Nigeria’s most respected, indigenous multi-billion naira pharmaceutical companies known for attracting foreign missions, students, and scholars of pharmacy, microbiology, and chemistry. The company is also popular for manufacturing over 120 products across analgesic, anti-malaria, anti-helminthic, antibiotics, vitamin/haematinics /multivitamin supplement, and therapeutic categories. The company posted a net income of N1.47 billion as of December 2019.
- A Large Chunk of Stella Okoli’s et Worth came from her company
As the founder and Group Managing Director of Emzor Pharmaceutical Industries Limited, Dr. Stella Chinyelu Okoli has not only earned massively from her company, but it has also helped her achieve her dream of reaching millions of lives across Sub Saharan Africa. For her works, Stella has received awards like International Entrepreneurial Challenge (IWEC) Award and the 2014 CePATHonors Lifetime Achievement Award.
- Much of Stella’s Wealth Goes to Philanthropy
In addition to giving herself and her family the best that money could buy, Stella dedicated chunks of her income to help people. She founded Chike Okoli Foundation (COF) in 2006 in memory of her beloved son, Chike, who passed away in 2005. Through the foundation, she established a Centre for Entrepreneurial Studies at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, which trains over 250 students in entrepreneurship every year.
6. Bimbo Alase
- Net Worth: $750 million
- Age: 73 years old
- Industry: Furniture
- Marital Status: Married (Late Kunle Arawole)
- No. of Children:
Opportunities come in various ways; for Bimbo Alase Arawole, it is in the leather world. The Yoruba businesswoman, who was born in 1962 and bаggеd а Роѕt Graduate Degree in Іntеrіоr Dеѕіgn frоm thе Lоndоn Dеѕіgn Ѕсhооl, is one woman who has broken unpenetrable grounds in Nigeria and beyond. She started her entrepreneurial career with a mini gift store and a beauty salon she named Glamour. The store, located in Apapa, Lagos, paid off quite well for the young entrepreneur who then saw a better opportunity in the furniture business and seized it.
Leatherworld Furniture company was founded in 1994 following Bimbo’s bid to meet the need for quality furniture in the Nigerian market. Partnering with Italian luxury brands, the company specializes in the retail of premium-quality furniture and accessories. Four years after its establishment, Leatherworld expanded to the nation’s capital Abuja. In 2003, the company also established a spectacular showroom in Raymond Nkoju, Ikoyi Lagos, with a few more branches across Lagos.
Bimbo’s establishment of Concourse Industry, through Leatherworld company, in 2005, helped her achieve her longtime dream of satisfying her clients’ taste for quality furniture. Concourse Industry became the first truly Nigerian furniture manufacturing company that serves the local market with a continental franchise. The assembling and manufacturing plant in the Calabar Free Trade Zone is known for exporting finished furniture across West African countries.
Bimbo’s Net worth is largely generated from her furniture companies
While Leatherworld and Concourse Industry continue to make giant strides in the furniture world, its owner and founder, Bimbo Alashe, is busy enjoying the profits. It is not known if this gorgeous entrepreneur has an investment in other businesses, but there’s no doubt a larger chunk came from her furniture business. As for how she spends her money, a woman of her caliber knows how to enjoy her wealth by buying luxurious cars and accessories. However, her private lifestyle makes it difficult for people to know more about her.
7. Mo Abudu
- Net Worth: $650 million
- Age: 60 years old
- Industry: Media
- Marital Status: Divoced (Tokunbo Abudu)
- No. of Children: 2 children (Temidayo and Kojo Abudu)
Mo is a successful TV producer, media mogul, human resources management consultant, serial entrepreneur, and philanthropist, making her one of the most powerful and richest women in Nigerian. Her successes in the media industry have earned her so much respect in Nigeria and beyond. Even Hollywood Reporter once listed her as one of the 25 most Powerful Women in Global TV.
Born in the UK on September 11, 1964, where she spent most of her formative years, Mosunmola Abudu holds a Master’s Degree in Human Resource Management from the University of Westminster, London. She started her career in the UK as a recruitment consultant in 1987. She went on to work for the Starform Group, managing Corporate Credit Management from 1990 to 1992. In 1993, she joined Exxon Mobil to Head Human Resources and Training.
- Mo’s Abudu’s net worth majorly comes from Ebonylife TV
Forbes has described her as Africa’s most successful woman. Driven by a passion for changing the narrative about Africa, she moved beyond her very successful show “Moments with Mo” to found Ebony Life TV, Africa’s first global black entertainment network. With a mix of original reality programming, drama series, news magazines, and talk shows – Mo has created a signature brand oozing class. Ebony Life TV now airs across Africa, the U.K., and the Caribbean.
EbonyLife TV, with an asset base of N2 billion, keeps expanding its frontiers, exporting Nigerian stories to the world as was evident with “Fifty,” EbonyLife’s first feature film, which was picked up by Netflix and released worldwide on the streaming platform two weeks after its Nigerian theatrical premiere, its no surprise she is called Africa Queen of TV.
- She also earns massively as a film producer and show host
Mo has produced many powerful films that have continued to receive positive remarks from critics. Notable among TV drama series hi entrepreneur has executive-produced and/or produced include Desperate Housewives Africa, Sons Of The Caliphate, Castle & Castle, On the Real, and The Governor. Mo also is the Executive Producer and host of the TV talk show ‘Moments with Mo,’ which covers lifestyle, health, culture, politics, and entertainment.
Her show has seen her feature A-list personalities like Hilary Clinton, Bola Tinubu, Goodluck Jonathan, R Kelly, Olusegun Obasanjo, General Ibrahim Babangida, Christine Lagarde, Muhammadu Buhari, Diane von Furstenberg Prof. Wole Soyinka, among others.
Today, Mo has generated so much income from the media. Her EbonyLife channel generates billions of naira on DSTV alone, with over 15million viewers in 44 countries.
How Mo Abudu Enjoys Her Money
As one of the richest women in Nigeria, Mo has not failed to live up to her standard. She is one woman you will meet and be wowed by her stunning looks. This is because she spends time and money to give herself the best. There are reports that she gets most of her outfits after it is launched on the runway abroad. Her jewelry and other accessories are also very expensive. Mo’s house isn’t less expensive either.
She lives in the Banana Island area of Lagos in a ₦600 million-worth mansion. Even her EbonyLife Place in Victoria Island shows how much she is a woman of great taste. The building is the only multipurpose venue in Lagos, with five screening rooms for more than two hundred guests.
- She is also into charity
Aside from spending money on herself and her family, Mo Abudu also gives portions of hr monies to charity. She has established various non-profit-making trusts and charity organizations to uplift the poor and downtrodden in her country. ‘The Inspire Africa Foundation’ is Mo’s foundation that focused on raising funds to implement social transformation initiatives.
- Mo has some of the best cars in her garage
As for her car collection, this successful woman loves beautiful expensive cars and has many of them in her garage, including a black Mercedes Benz SUV worth over N20m. One of the pictures she posted on the internet has her posing with Escalade ESV, one of the biggest and best SUVs. As a show of class, Mo Abudu’s car collection includes:
- Mercedes-Benz G-Wagon,
- Escalade ESV SUV,
- Lexus LX570
- Mercedes-Benz S-Class
8. Stella Oduah
- Net Worth: $600 million
- Age: 62 years old
- Industry: Oil & Gas, Politics
- Marital Status: Married (Engr. Chris Ogiemwonyi)
- No. of Children: Unknown
Only a few women in the Nigerian political system have been able to emerge successful in their political careers, competing with their male counterparts in terms of wealth and life achievements. One of such successful women is Stella Oduah Ogiemwony, a Nigerian Senator and former Minister of Aviation.
- Stella Owns an Oil and Gas Company
Born on January 5, 1962, in Ogbaru L.G.A. of Anambra State, Stella began her career in 1983 after obtaining a degree in accounting and a master’s degree in Business administration from prestigious universities in the US. Her first job was at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, where she worked for nine years before leaving in 1992 to establish the Sea Petroleum & Gas Company Limited (SPG), an independent marketer of petroleum products in Nigeria.
While managing her company, she received an appointment to serve as Minister of Aviation on July 4, 2011. She was, however, relieved of her duties on February 12, 2014, after she was involved in the controversial purchase of $1.6 million worth of BMW bullet-proof cars without following due process.
- Part of her wealth comes from her Salaries and Allowances as a Senator
Getting herself back into politics, she became the campaign Director of Administration and Finance for former President Goodluck’s re-election in the 2015 elections. At the same time, she contested for the senatorial seat of Anambra North Senatorial District on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Luckily, she won the election, pulling over 143 thousand votes.
Stella Oduah was one of the only seven women elected to the 8th National Assembly. Others were Biodun Olujimi, Rose Okojie Oko, Oluremi Tinubu, Uche Ekwunife, Fatimat Raji Rasaki, and Binta Garba. Oduah was re-elected to a second term in the Senate in 2019.
How much does Stella earn as Senator?
Nigerian senators are among the wealthiest globally, thanks to their massive income as salaries and allowances. Senators like Stella Oduah reportedly receive the sum of N750,000 as a basic salary and about N13.5 million monthly allowance. This sums to a whopping N171 million annually. Receiving such a huge amount for eight years of her service gives the princess massive income in the end.
How Stella Spends her Money
While politicians like Stella’s social and financial activities are kept private, the Senator’s involvement in several money laundry issues in the country has given the public a glimpse into her life. She reportedly owns four properties worth N5 billion in the UK.
9. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala
- Net Worth: $550 million
- Age: 72 years old
- Industry: Finance
- Marital Status: Married (Ikemba Iweala)
- No. of Children: 4
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is one of the most successful and richest women in Nigeria, with a net worth estimated at $550 million. She is one woman who has helped to drive the Nigerian economy to a level of great repute through various reform programs that helped improve governmental transparency and stabilize the economy. Her net worth of about $550 million is just part of her many successful life achievements.
Born on June 13, 1952, the Delta State Indigene started her career at the World Bank in Washington DC, where she was employed as a development economist, and through hard work, she rose to the position of managing director and was in charge of World Bank’s $81 billion operational portfolios in Africa, Central Asia, Europe, and South Asia.
In Nigeria, she served first served as Finance Minister and then as Minister of Foreign Affairs. She was the first woman to hold both positions. Her terms in office as Finance Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs saw her helping the country to wipe off US$30 billion debt, promote transparency in governance by introducing the practice of publishing the state’s monthly financial allocation from the Federal Government of Nigeria in the newspapers, and spearhead the country’s obtaining of its first-ever sovereign credit rating (of BB minus) from Fitch Ratings and Standard & Poor’s in 2006, among many other achievements.
In addition to the positions she held in her home country, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala was actively involved in world affairs. She was part of the Growth Commission board led by Professor Micheal Spence from 2006-2009; she co-headed the Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation; was a member of the International Commission on Financing Global Education Opportunity, and she was one of the Eminent Persons Group on Global Financial Governance.
In June 2020, Okonjo-Iweala was a nominee for the office of the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO). She competed for the seat along with South Korea’s Yoo Myung-hee. Yoo Myung-hee later withdrew from the race and left Okonjo-Iweala as the only candidacy. On February 15, 2021, she was unanimously appointed the DG of the World Trade Organization (WTO). Her appointment commenced on March 1, 2021, and is expected to expire on August 31, 2025.
How much is Okonjo Iweala’s Salary?
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s profile boasts of many top positions she has occupied in different capacities, both in Nigeria and abroad. While her exact salary as WTO director is unknown, it is largely believed to earn impressively as salaries and allowance. Other areas she is believed to earn an impressive income are from corporate bodies like Danone, Twitter, Standard Chartered, Lazard, where she holds important positions. As an Independent Non-Executive Director of Standard Chartered Plc, she reportedly made £142,000 in total compensation in 2020.
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She also earns income from her published books
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has many interesting works to her credit. The books she has so far authored include:
- Reforming the Unreformable: Lessons from Nigeria (2012),
- Fighting Corruption is Dangerous: The Story Behind the Headlines (2018);
- Fighting Corruption Is Dangerous: The Story Behind the Headlines (MIT Press)
- Women and Leadership: Real Lives, Real Lessons;
- Chinua Achebe: Teacher of Light, A Biography
Much of Okonjo-Iweala’s Income Goes to Charity
Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala is involved in many non-profit organizations. Among all, she is best known for her support for women, especially in helping them gain professional advancement. Some of the organizations she is involved in include Friends of the Global Fund Africa, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security, and Rockefeller Foundation.
10. Diezani Alison Madueke
- Net Worth: $500 million
- Age: 63 years old
- Industry: Politics
- Marital Status: Married (Admiral Allison Madueke (retired))
- No. of Children: 6
One of Nigeria’s richest and most controversial women in Nigeria is Diezani K. Alison-Madueke, who was Nigeria’s Minister of Petroleum under Goodluck Ebele Jonathan‘s administration. Diezani had held many positions since 2008 when she received her first call to service. The Port Harcourt-born daughter of Chief Frederick Abiye Agama started her career with Shell Nigeria after bagging several academic certificates, including a Bachelor of Architecture. As an architectural consultant, she resumed work at the Lagos office of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC).
In less than a decade of service at the company, she was already promoted to the position of Head of Civil Infrastructures. In 1997, she was yet promoted to Head of Corporate Issues and Crisis Management Unit. When she completed her Master’s in Architecture, she moved further to the position of Lead Joint Ventures Representation Adviser. In 2006, she emerged as Shell’s first female Executive Director in Nigeria.
Getting herself at the top echelon of the oil company, Diezani deemed it fit and profiting to join politics. As one of the strong financiers of the then ruling peoples Democratic Party, she was rewarded with a ministerial seat by late Musa Yar’adua. The following year, she became the Minister of Mines and Steel Development. In April 2010, Alison-Madueke was appointed Minister for Petroleum Resources, and she served in that capacity until 2015 when she left for the Commonwealth of Dominica, where she is the Trade and Investment Commissioner.
How Much did Alison-Madueke Earn as Minister?
Ministers in Nigeria receive handsome pays as salaries, although not as much as senators do. According to the Revenue Mobilization, Allocation, and Fiscal Commission (RMOAF), a Nigerian minister receives N487 million, including allowances and bonuses. This remuneration includes N2,026,400 as basic salary, N1,519,000 as car refueling, N911,800 as entertainment allowance, and N1,519,000 as domestic allowance. Considering the number of years Diezani served as minister, there is no doubt that her net worth received a massive boost from it.
Aside from her earnings as a minister, the former minister of petroleum has been accused of stealing funds worth billions of dollars during her time in office. If all the allegations leveled against her were true, Diezani would be worth billions of Naira. About 76 properties in Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt were linked to her. The properties were valued at about ₦23 billion. However, a reliable source has her net worth placed at $500 Million.
How She Spends Her Wealth
Diezanni is one of the few female politicians whose names have been dragged for spending so many public funds on themselves. Following allegations against her, the former minister had pieces of jewelry worth $40 million. Among other things allegedly found in her possession include a bra worth $12.5million, and foreign currency worth $153 million, a private yacht worth $80 million.
Recap of the 10 Richest Women in Nigerian and Their Net Worth
- Folorunsho Alakija – $1 billion
- Hajia Bola Shagaya – $950 million
- Daisy Danjuma – $900 million
- Fifi Ejindu – $850 million
- Dr. Stella Okoli – $800 million
- Bimbo Alase – $750 million
- Mo Abudu – $650 million
- Stella Oduah – $600 million
- Ngozi Okonjo Iweala – $550 million
- Diezani Alison – $500 million