Obi Cubana’s mother’s burial was the talk of the town among the old and young, rich & poor, male & females including all over social media. It was a party attended by the big boys of the Nigerian entertainment industry, politicians, to mention a few. Oba, a very quiet village in Anambra was shaken to its foundation as visitors and well-wishers – friends of Obi Cubana stormed the village in their numbers. Some of these were veteran Kanayo O. Kanayo, former Super Eagles striker Emmanuel Emenike, billionaire friends like Cubana Chief Priest, Ned Nwoko, E-Money, Musicians D’Banj, Phyno, Davido, politician & Owner of Quilox club Shina Peller and C.EO of Nairabet, Akin Alabi.
The show of wealth which spearheaded various activities that took place was the headline of the event. From the 30M naira casket, over 400 cows donated by friends, the $100,000 diamond pendant, 67 private jets that landed Oba to the fleet of over 500 luxury cars on display. The event was filled with lots of grandeur such that even ‘the dead’ in Oba felt the ripple effect of wealth on display.
In fact, Pretty Mike, a Lagos socialite claimed Cubana told him that his late mother’s burial “would make people crave death with relish”.
The party raised lots of talk both online and offline centered on the wealth of ‘Igbo boys’. Some were of the opinion that Igbo boys just like flaunting their money and not as rich as the other two major tribes. Some opposing views claim that the Igbos are actually richer than the other tribes; they opined that the Igbos don’t even disclose their wealth . They stated that the show off at Oba is little compared to the worth of the wealthiest men from the Southeastern tribe.
Therefore, let’s probe into this matter to really unravel the top 10 richest Igbo men alive as at July 2021.
Leo Stan Ekeh – Estimated Net Worth: $1 Billion
Leonard Stanley Nnamdi Ekeh popularly known as ‘Leo Stan was born on 22 February, 1956 in Ubomiri Mbaitoli LGA, Imo State. He is the founder and chairman of Zinox Group, as well as the chairman of Konga.com.
As an entrepreneur, Leo Stan Ekeh is known to have spearheaded the creation of the following companies: Technology Distribution Limited, Task Systems Limited, Zinox Technologies, Buyright Africa Dotcom Limited, Task Direct Limited, ITEC Solutions and many more. He is well known as a successful founder of Zinox Technologies Limited. Zinox which he formed in 2001 became the first internationally certified branded computer OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer) in West Africa. In addition, Zinox is the first to receive Windows Hardware Quality Labs (WHQL) certification, and also the first computer hardware manufacturing company and ICT Integration Company in Nigeria to receive ISO 9001-2000.
The Zinox group acquired 99% of Konga and concluded the acquisition of the e-commerce powerhouse, Konga, on Feb. 5 2018. Zinox assumed the ownership of Konga.com, KongaPay, and KOS-Express. Zinox acquired Konga.com because of their interest in e-commerce business. The e-company is said to worth $34 million. On May 1, 2018, Konga was merged with Zinox’s retail outfit: Yudala, forming the biggest e-commerce and retail company in Africa. They retained the brand name Konga.
Leo Stan Ekeh attended Punjab University, India where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics. He had his postgraduate degree program in Risk Management at the Nottingham University, England.
Leo Stan Ekeh is married to Chioma Ekeh and they are blessed with five children.
Pascal Dozie – Estimated Net Worth: Over $1.1 Billion
Pascal Gabriel Dozie was born in 1939 in Egbu village of Owerri, Imo State. He is a graduate of economics from City University in the UK. He served an official purpose in the National Economic Development Office afterward. After taking several official roles abroad, Pascal returned to Nigeria and initiated his own enterprise, African Development Consulting Group Limited in 1972. He founded Diamond Bank and was CEO of Diamond Bank from 1991 to 2006
Dozie was also a one-time President of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. He currently owns shares in MTN Group and was Chairman of the company before he was succeeded by the former NCC boss Ernest Ndukwe.
He has been decorated with many awards with the most prestigious being National Award of the order of the Niger (OON), Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) and AABLA (All Africa Business Leader Award)-Lifetime Achievement Award winner.
Cosmas Maduka – Estimated Net Worth: Over $1 Billion
Cosmas Maduka, the CEO of Coscharis Group of Companies, was born in December 24, 1958 into an Igbo family in Nnewi, Anambra state. He was not born with a silver spoon, so his story was of ‘Grass to Grace’. Maduka began his entrepreneurial journey at the age of six, two years after his father died. He dropped out of primary school and started hawking Akara, a popular Nigerian food staple made from beans to support his mother.
In 1982, Coscharis was among ten motor companies selected and granted import license by the Nigeria government. This was the turnaround for Maduka in his entrepreneurial journey. Today the Coscharis Group is a conglomerate with a net-worth of $500million with several subsidiaries including Manufacturing, ICT, Petrochemical, Auto care and Auto Components, Automobile Sales and Services, Agric and Agro Allied business sectors. Coscharis Motors is also leading distributors of several brands of luxuries cars including Range Rover, Ford and Jaguar.
In 2015, Coscharis Motors became the sole distributors of the BMW in Nigeria and the first company to build an Assembly Plant of Ford Ranger in Nigeria. In 2016 the Anambra State approved 5000 hectare of land for Coscharis Farms to cultivate rice, the project has been reported to generate 3000 jobs upon completion. The Coscharis Group is rated one of the top 50 brands in Nigeria by Top 50 Brands Nigeria. Cosmas Maduka seats on the board of several reputable companies and organization. He served as a Director in Access Bank Plc.
In 2015, Cosmos Maduka appeared on Forbes Africa Cover as the man who turned $0 dollar to $500million in an exclusive interview of Forbes Africa TV Series “My Worst Day with Peace Hyde”. Coscharis also won the Auto Brand of the Year at the Marketing World Awards held in Ghana that same year.
In 2003 Cosmas Maduka received an Honorary Doctor of Business Administration (PhD) University of Nigeria, Nsukka. In 2012 he was inducted as a Harvard Business School Alumni having completed an Executive Education Program. Cosmos Maduka was among the few persons honoured by President Goodluck Jonathan with the National Honours of the Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) in 2012.
Tony Elumelu – Estimated Net Worth: $1.2 Billion
Tony Onyemaechi Elumelu is a Nigerian economist, entrepreneur and philanthropist. He was born 22 March 1963 in Jos, Plateau Nigerian to parents of Deltan descent. He is the chairman of Heirs Holdings, the owner and originator of the Tony Elumelu Foundation. Tony is also the chairman of UBA Group. Mr. Elumelu also invests in the real estate, finance, energy, agriculture, and health sectors.
Tony Elumelu has a bachelor’s degree and Master of Science degree in Economics from Ambrose Alli University and University of Lagos.
He came into the limelight in 1997 when he led a small group of investors to take over a small floundering commercial bank in Lagos. In few years, he turned this bank into profitable venture, merging it with UBA to form UBA Group.
Tony also owns a controlling interest in Transcorp, a publicly traded Nigerian conglomerate with interests in hospitality, agriculture, oil production and power generation.
In recognition of his business expertise, he has been decorated with several Nigerian honours. In an impression published by Forbes a number of years ago, his name appeared in the list of 20 most powerful Africans.
In 2003, Tony Elumelu received the title of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR). He was awarded the National Honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) in 2012. He has also received National and International recognitions for his excellence in leadership, philanthropic work and business success.
ABC Orjiakor – Estimated Net Worth: $1.7 Billion
Dr. Bryant (ABC) Orjiako is the CEO and co-founder of SEPLAT Petroleum Development. SEPLAT is a leading Nigerian independent oil and gas company listed on the London and Nigerian stock exchanges with a strategic focus in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. With asset cutting across different fields, health, Oil & Gas, Shipping, Banking, and Real Estate, he is believed to be the owner of Neimeth Pharmaceutical International Plc.
Under his watch, SEPLAT pioneered dual listing of its shares on the Nigerian and London stock exchanges in 2014. In recognition of the company’s achievements, SEPLAT won the Best Africa listing 2014 award by Africa Investors (Ai), “Mid-Cap Company of The Year 2014” award by the Oil and Gas Council and was named a “Global Growth Company 2014” by the World Economic Forum in 2014.
ABC Orjiiakor was born in Lagos on the 1st of October, 1960 to the family of Daniel Orjiako, a native of Uli, Anambra State. He obtained an M.B.B.Ch. degree in 1985 from the College of Medical Sciences, University of Calabar, Nigeria; he trained as a General Surgeon at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Lagos. He later sub-specialised in orthopaedic and trauma surgery and became a fellow of the West African College of Surgeons in 1996. In 2006, he completed the OPM program of the Harvard Business School.
He has received lots of awards which includes Platinum Award of the West African College of Surgeons in 2006; National Honours as an Officer of the Federal Republic (“OFR”), conferred on him by the President of Nigeria in 2012; the coveted Zik (Nnamdi Azikiwe) Prize in the Professional Leadership category by the Public Policy Research and Analysis Centre (PPRAC) and African Business Executive of the Year 2014, by the Oil and Gas Council.
Ifeanyi Ubah – Estimated Net Worth: $1.7 Billion
Ifeanyi Ubah is a Nigerian business person, business investor, and humanitarian. He is also a senator representing Anambra South Senatorial District in the Nigerian Senate. Ifeanyi Ubah was born 3 September 1971 in Nnewi, Anambra State.
He is the CEO of Capital Oil and Gas Industries Limited, one of the significant parts of the Oil and Gas industry in Nigeria working in downstream tasks. He founded the company in 2001. He is also the founder of Authority Newspaper.
Ifeanyi Ubah is likewise, the proprietor of Ifeanyi Ubah F.C., a Nigerian football club.
He is married to Uchenna Ubah with whom he has 5 children.
Benedict Peters – Estimated Net Worth: Over $2.7 Billion
Businessman Benedict Peters is another Southeastern man making strides as a billionaire. He is the founder and CEO of Aiteo Group,a company involved in the energy and gas sector, and touted as Nigeria’s largest indigenous oil producing firm. Aiteo Group is reported to have huge stakes in Oil Mining Lease 29 (OML) as well as the Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL) in the Eastern Niger Delta. Peters founded the Aiteo group (Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Company Limited in February 2008. The company owns one of the largest petroleum tank farms in Nigeria. Benedict Peters has his degree in Geography and Urban Planning from the University of Benin. He is ranked by Ventures Africa as the 17th richest person in Africa and the 7th richest in Nigeria.
He was born on the 5th December 1966 in Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, though his parents are from Delta State. Benedict Peters is a proud family man; he is married to Mrs. Ella Peters and they are blessed with four happy children.
Emeka Offor – Estimated Net Worth: Over $2.9 Billion
Emeka Offor was born on the 10th of February 1957 to Mr. and Mrs. Benneth Offor in Kafachan, Kaduna, Nigeria. He hails from Irefi Oraifite in Ekwusigo LGA of Anambra State, Nigeria.
Emeka Offor is the Chairman of The Chrome Group. He is a Nigerian businessman, an oil tycoon, and a Philanthropist.
In Delta, he found a new line of work with Rivways Lines Nigeria Ltd – an organization that imports bitumen items. While working with Rivways Lines, he met his mentor Pa Abadi who urged him to become familiar with the fundamentals of the business. With the help of Pa Abadi, Emeka began purchase and distribution of bitumen to modest organizations. In a space of two years, Emeka Offor began providing bitumen to greater organizations like Julius Berger Nig. Ltd, Guffanti Nigeria Ltd, Fougerolle Nigeria Ltd.
He created the Sir Emeka Offor Foundation (SEOF) “to help people in need become independent and self-sufficient”.
Cletus Ibeto – Estimated Net Worth: Over $3.8 Billion
Cletus Ibeto is a Nigerian entrepreneur, manufacturer, and philanthropist. He is the founder and Chairman of The IBETO Group, referred to as the largest outfit in the manufacture of automotive spare parts in Nigeria and the largest conglomerate in the Eastern part of Nigeria. The company is involved in real estate, banking, and finance, cement production, automotive coupling, Petrochemical, etc. The IBETO Group has been. Some of the companies that formed IBETO GROUP include Union Autoparts manufacturing Co. Ltd, Ibeto Petrochemical Industries Ltd, Ibeto Cement Company Ltd, Ibeto Cement Company Ltd, Kings’s Palace Hotels Ltd, Ibeto Energy Development Ltd, Palmex Agencies Ltd, Ibeto Hotels Ltd
Cletus Ibeto was born on the 6th of November, 1952 in Nnewi city of Anambra State. Ibeto who never had proper formal education in his youthful age, sat for his WASSCE at the age of 48. He successfully got a Bachelor’s degree in Accountancy from University of Nigeria, Nsukka at the age of 54. He was subsequently honoured with a Doctor of Business Administration degree from the same University.
In 2008 Ibeto received the national Honour of Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) from the Federal Republic of Nigeria for his outstanding contributions to the country through his manufacturing enterprise. In 2012 he was awarded the Honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger (CON) for his continued outstanding service to the nation. He was also listed amongst Forbes’ Most Prominent Naira Billionaire from Nnewi in 2017.
Arthur Eze – Estimated Net Worth: Over $5.8 Billion
Arthur Eze is the richest Igbo business man alive with estimated net worth of over $5.8 Billion, he is currently the Chief Executive Officer of Atlas Oranto Petroleum; he is also a Philanthropist and a Politician. He was born on the 27th of November 1948 in Ukp, Dunukofia LGA, in Anambra State. Arthur Eze is also a Prince born into a traditional Royal Family. His elder brother is the King of Ukpo Village; the traditional title bestowed upon Arthur Eze is ‘Ozoigbondu’ of Ndi Igbo.
Atlas Oranto Petroleum was founded by Arthur Eze in 1991. The company currently has 22 oil and gas licenses in 12 jurisdictions across Africa. It has assets in Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, and several Atlas Oranto operated blocks. To date, the company is the largest holder of oil exploration and production blocks in Africa.
Arthur Eze is the owner of a Falcon plane which he bought in 2015. Other than that, the legitimate business mogul claims a costly Bombardier stream assessed in an overabundance of $25 million.
In 2011, former President Goodluck Jonathan conferred him with the distinguished award of the ‘Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR)’ in recognition of his contribution towards the development of the nation’s economy and humanitarian gesture to the Nigerian people. Enugu City Centre Rotary District 9142 named him “Outstanding Citizen of the World” in 2015. The coveted Zik Prize in leadership awards honoured him with the ‘Zik Leadership Awards’ in the business category in 2018.