Nigeria's
richest woman draws the bulk of her fortune from oil. Folorunsho Alakija
started her career in the mid 1970s as a secretary at the now-defunct
International Merchant Bank of Nigeria, one of the West African nation's
earliest investment banks. In the 1980s, after studying fashion design in
England, she founded Supreme Stitches, a Nigerian fashion label that catered to
upscale clientele. Her biggest break came in oil. In 1993 Nigerian President Ibrahim
Babangida awarded her company, Famfa Oil, an oil prospecting license which went
on to become OML 127, one of Nigeria's most prolific oil blocks. Famfa Oil
owned a 60% stake in the block until 2000 when the Nigerian government, led by
former President Olusegun Obasanjo, unconstitutionally acquired a 50% interest
in the block without duly compensating Alakija or her company. Famfa Oil went
to court to challenge the acquisition, and in May this year, the Nigerian
Supreme Court reinstated the 50% stake to Famfa Oil. Chevron owns the remaining
40%. Through her charity, the Rose of Sharon Foundation, Alakija supports
widows throughout Nigeria.
She is 61
years old and is married with 4 children
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