Nigerian Billionaire Oil Tycoon Unseats Oprah As Richest Black Woman

Nigerian billionaire oil magnate, Folorunsho Alakija is now the richest black woman in the world with an estimated fortune of $7.3 billion. The 62-year old, unseats Oprah Winfrey as the richest black woman in the world. According to Forbes, Oprah Winfrey is worth $2.9 billion. Africa boasts 55 billionaires and they’re worth a staggering $143.88 billion in total, according to pan-African magazine Ventures Africa.

The mother-of-four started her career as a secretary in a bank in the mid 1970s, Alakija, 62, then studied fashion in London and returned to Nigeria to start a label, Supreme Stitches. But her biggest break came in oil.

In 1993, her company, Famfa Oil, was awarded an oil prospecting license, which later became OML 127, one of Nigeria’s most prolific oil blocks. The company owns a 60 per cent stake in the block, valued at around $7.3 billion, Ventures Africa reports.