FOLORUNSHO ALAKIJA, BECOMES WORLD'S RICHEST BLACK WOMAN

Few weeks ago, the name Folorunsho Alakija was added to the billionaire's club in Africa.

She was not the only woman to break into the very elusive and exclusive club of persons living in riches; she was joined by Isabel dos Santos of Angola.

She can boast to be a 'bigger man' than the likes of Jim Ovia, Abdulsamad Rabiu and a handful of retired generals living on government patronage.

With a wealth estimated to be at about $3.3 billion, only Africa's wealthiest man, Aliko Dangote, and business mogul, Mike Adenuga, can claim to possess more coins than her within Nigeria's border.

But it is beyond the shores of Nigeria that she is now making waves. Alakija has officially dethroned America's entertainment icon, Oprah Winfrey, as the richest black woman in the world.

Winfrey, previously the only black woman in Forbes rich list, is a media mogul, television host, actress, producer and philanthropist. While Alakija's wealth is attributed to oil and gas, she has had to work her way to where she is.

Oprah Winfrey has reportedly lost her long-held title as the richest black woman in the world to a Nigerian oil tycoon.

According to an African business magazine, Ventures Africa, Folorunsho Alakija, a 61-year-old woman from Nigeria who arguably worths $3.3 billion, or roughly $500 million more than Oprah's $2.7 billion net worth, has comfortably edged Oprah out.

Alakija is the founder and owner of Famfa Oil, which owns a 60 per cent interest in OML 127, an offshore oil field which produces roughly 200,000 barrels of oil per day and is worth an estimated $6.44 billion.

A fashion designer and philanthropist, Alakija is married and blessed with sons, as well as a grandchild. She owns at least $100 million in real estate and $46 million private jet, Ventures Africa has reported.

Born into a wealthy Nigerian family, Alakija started out as a secretary in the mid-1970s at the now defunct International Merchant Bank of Nigeria.

Several years later, she quit her job and moved to London, where she studied fashion design. She later returned to Nigeria and launched her fashion line, Supreme Stitches, which catered to upscale, high-society women.

reference: allafrica