According to Billionaires.Africa, a combination of currency depreciation and economic uncertainty has cost him more than $2.8 billion this year alone.
His net wealth has fallen from $6.1 billion in the beginning of 2023 to $3.2 billion as of Tuesday. Despite the dip in his net worth, the Nigerian remains one of the world’s top billionaires and the third richest person in Nigeria.
Despite originating from a relatively prosperous household, his entrepreneurial career began in the trenches. His father was a successful trader, while his mother was a teacher.To make money, Adenuga sold lace supplies and distributed refreshments. He had made his first million at the age of 26. Since then, he has developed a thriving corporate empire that has propelled him into Forbes’ list of billionaires.
His economic empire is mostly focused on telecommunications and oil & gas. In 2003, he entered the telecom industry by establishing Globacom. He entered the company at a period when many Nigerians couldn’t afford sim cards or airtime.
He transformed the industry by making sim cards and airtime affordable to the average Nigerian. Glo, as it is colloquially known, quickly became a household name in Nigeria and nearby Ghana. Glo now has over 55 million customers.
Adenuga also entered the Nigerian oil and gas industry by establishing Conoil Producing. He was the first Nigerian to discover commercial quantities of oil. He discovered oil in an unexpected location, 50 to 60 kilometers northeast of Okitipupa, Ondo State.
Many specialists dismissed the area as unsuitable for oil exploration. Adenuga’s instincts and studies, on the other hand, suggested otherwise. He explained why he remained optimistic about discovering oil despite expert warnings:
“It takes God to strike oil. The man who knows never tells you where the oil and gas are. Even God doesn’t tell you. You must make the effort to find it. That is the challenge. You must look for it. God has put it there but you must use technology, you must use everything you can to get it. When you get it, you are lucky. If you don’t get it, you go back and you sharpen your pencil again. In oil and gas, you never say die.”
He now owns and controls six oil blocks in the Niger Delta.
Adenuga is a mother of seven children. He graduated with honors from Pace University in New York, where he supported himself as a student by working as a cab driver.
