Nigerian Entrepreneurs

Full Name: Femi Otedola.
Date of Birth: April 10, 1957.
Parents: Sir Michael Otedola (Lagos State governor 1991-92)
Net Worth: $3.5 billion
Nationality: Nigerian
Source Of Wealth: Petroleum, Hospitality, Insurance and shipping..
Marrital Status: Married.
Education: Obafemi Awolowo University (1980–1985)
Spouse: Nana Otedola
Children: Florence “Cuppy” Otedola. (DJ Cuppy), Temi Otedola, Olawunmi Christy Otedola


Otedola is the son of former Lagos State governor Sir Michael Otedola. Femi Otedola is married to Nana, with three daughters and one son, including the British DJ and socialite Florence “Cuppy” Otedola. The family all reside in London.

Mr. Femi Otedola is a Nigerian billionaire and Chairman of African Petroleum. Mr. Otedola is also the chairman of Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Zenon Petroleum & Gas Limited, Seaforce Shipping Company Limited, Atlas Shipping Agency Company Limited, F. O. Transport Limited, F.O. Properties Limited, Swift Insurance Brokers Limited and Garment Care Limited.

In 1994, after consolidating his father’s businesses, Mr. Otedola diversified and set up his own company, Centreforce Limited, specializing in finance, investment and trading.
In 1999, he ventured into the oil and gas sector and incorporated Zenon Petroleum & Gas Limited, an indigenous company engaged in the procurement, storage, marketing and distribution of petroleum products i.e, Petrol, Diesel, Kerosene, Gas, Fuels Oils and Lubricants.

In 2001 he incorporated Seaforce Shipping Company Limited and currently owns and manages a modern tanker fleet of four vessels, namely Mt. Sir Micheal, Mt. Lady Doja, Mt. Nana and Mt. Zenon Conquest, aggregating 60,158 metric tons {deadweight) that transport petroleum products.

Mr. Femi Otedola was appointed member of the Governing Council of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC), in January 2004. In December 2004, he was appointed a member of the committee with the task of fostering business relationship between Nigerian and South African private sectors.

In March 2005 he was appointed a pioneer director of the Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc and also elected president of the Nigeria Chamber of Shipping in April 2005. Mr. Otedola is a fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Shipping.The reasons behind Femi Otedola’s astonishingly swift rise from relative anonymity to a position where his company, Zenon Petroleum and Gas enjoyed a near monopoly on Nigeria’s lucrative market in diesel have attracted interest and speculation in equal measure.

The son of Michael Otedola, briefly governor of Lagos state in the Third Republic (1991-92) the Zenon boss puts his success down to “hard-work and staying focused on what you want.”Femi Otedola’s business formula seemed to win favour from former president Obasanjo, under whose patronage Zenon became a force.

Zenon has diversified into shipping and has ambitions in upstream exploration, and in distribution and retail in Nigeria.According to Forbes magazine, the “politician’s son used a majority stake in African Petroleum to get himself appointed its chief executive last year. Now he plans to merge it with his private firm, Zenon, to create the continent’s largest oil company.

Forbes magazine estimates Femi Otedola’s net worth at $1.2 billion and ranks him as the 601st richest person in the world. According to Encomium magazine, Femi Otedola’s net worth is $3.5 billion.
Note that Forbes bases individuals’ net worths on the quoted and verified values of companies and individual shares the individuals own. Given that a lot of Nigerian billionaires’ assets include privately-held companies, Forbes’ estimates should be regarded as minimum net worth estimates.