Forbes have rated Mike Adenuga, who built his fortune in telecom and oil production, Nigeria’s second richest man behind Aliko Dangote..
His mobile phone network, Globacom, is the second largest operator in Nigeria with 32 million subscribers; it also has operations in Ghana and the Republic of Benin. A higher estimate of Globacom’s revenues led Forbes to increase the value assigned to it.
With an estimate worth of $10.1BN, he is also rated the 7th richest in Africa.
Adenuga owns real estate firm Proline Investments, which has hundreds of properties throughout Nigeria.
He studied in the United States, getting an MBA at Pace University in New York, where he worked as a taxi driver to support himself.
The 62 year old Ijebu Ode indulgence returned to Nigeria and made his first fortune trading lace and Coca-Cola. Along the way he made friends with Nigerian military bigwigs who awarded him lucrative state contracts; those formed the foundation of his fortune.
Meanwhile, the multi-billionaire has made a bid to buy Ivorian mobile telecoms operator Comium Cote d’Ivoire.
According to news website Telegeography, Globacom, is lodging a $600 million takeover bid for Comium Cote d’Ivoire, a company that has been grappling with debt and cash flow problems.
If the deal goes through, Globacom will have succeeded in extending its brand presence in West Africa. Globacom, which already owns an international carrier services licence in Cote d’Ivoire, reportedly plans to invest over $1 billion in upgrading Comium-CI’s network over three years.
Source: Forbes