Femi Otedola, billionaire energy tycoon and one of the richest men in Nigeria, turns 60 today and is celebrating it in grand style on the French Riviera in a 99.13-meter-long Yacht, Christina O, formerly owned by the late Greek shipping magnate, Aristotle Onassis.
For Otedola, celebrating in the luxury Yacht is a dream come through because Onasis has been his mentor from when he was just 13, he revealed to Nairametrics.
There lies the symbolism of the billionaire’s cruise on the storied Yacht said to have been purchased by Onasis in 1954 for $34,000.
The Christina O Yacht: The famous Yacht, Christina O, is a private motor yacht that originally belonged to millionaire Greek shipowner Aristotle Onassis, who purchased it in 1954 for $34,000. During the late 1950s, he hosted star-studded parties on board after lengthy and costly restorations. She is the 59th largest yacht in the world as of 2022, measuring 99.13 meters in length.
The yacht is luxury redefined, as it boasts of alfresco dining and bar, chaise loungers, a spacious promenade deck with an aft spa pool, the main deck, a swimming pool, Minoan bull and vaulter mosaic, and a dance floor.
2,250,000
Otedola rented the yacht for three and a half weeks for €750,000 ($745,000) per week, including taxes and fees, for a total cost of about $3 million.
Otedola was inspired to rent the yacht because he had viewed Aristotle Onassis as a role model since his teenage years and even held a vast collection of Aristotle Onassis memorabilia such as books, movies, and documentaries.
The yacht has hosted famous guests such as former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt.
About Femi Otedola: On November 4, 1962, in Ibadan, Femi Otedola was born into the family of the late Sir Michael Otedola, who served as governor of Lagos State from 1992 to 1993.
Femi Otedola led an audacious takeover of the former African Petroleum, in what later became Forte Oil Plc. That company has
Femi Otedola is a former chairman of Forte Oil Plc. Now Adrova Plc and a businessman. In addition, he founded Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd. and other companies in the maritime, real estate, and financial sectors.
Business interests: He founded Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd, a marketing and distribution business for petroleum products, in 2003. In 2004, he invested N15 billion in the construction of downstream infrastructure as the owner and chairman of Zenon and purchased a storage depot.
By 2005, Zenon held a significant portion of the Nigerian diesel market and supplied fuel to majority of the nation’s largest manufacturers, which include Dangote Group, Cadbury, Coca-Cola, etc.
Otedola was appointed chairman and CEO of Africa Petroleum in 2007, after purchasing a controlling interest in the company. In 2010, the name was changed to Forte Oil, and in 2020, Adrova Plc.
Personal worth: With an estimated net worth of $1.8 billion, Otedola joined Aliko Dangote as the second Nigerian to be listed on the Forbes list of dollar-denominated billionaires in March 2009. The billionaire also founded CentreForce Ltd. in 1994, with a focus on trading, investing, and finance. Additionally, the Swift Insurance Company was founded.
Otedola is the chief executive and president of SeaForce Shipping Company Ltd., where he got the title of Nigeria’s largest ship owner. He was made a non-executive director of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc Transcorp) in January 2006. Transcorp is a multi-sector conglomerate founded in 2004 by former president Olusegun Obasanjo to take advantage of market opportunities that required significant capital investment in Nigeria and other countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Otedola has made several real estate deals, notably Zenon’s N2.3 billion purchase of Stallion House in Lagos in February 2007.
He has served as a member of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council (NIPC) since 2004 and was appointed to join Nigeria’s National Economic Management Teamkn 2011. In October 2021, he was declared the largest single shareholder (5.07%) of First bank PLC
His latest investment is in Geregu Power Plc, one of Nigeria’s major power generation companies (Genco).
Family: Femi Otdeola is married to Nana Otedola and has four children – Tolani, Florence Ifeoluwa aka DJ Cuppy, Elizabeth Temi, and Fewa.
