Top 10 Richest Men In Edo State 2023
The richest men in Edo State are some of the top names in the state that has long been very important; producing some of the country’s finest captains of industry in the banking, media and publications, and now manufacturing industries. Edo state remains very prominent in the political structure of the country, and politics has a way of rubbing off on the business.
The wealthiest members of Edo society have established themselves within the social and economic fabric of the Nigeria. The businesses that these powerful men have established are scattered all over the country, and they contribute to the local economies, and of those of the nation overall.
Money is impossible to hide; while some of the people on this list have tried to live their lives out of the public radar, the weight of their establishments have made their names popular.
Top 10 Richest Men In Edo State
1. Chief Gabriel Osawaru Igbinedion & Family
Net worth: $600 million
Origin of wealth: Education, Entertainment, Aviation
Industry: Diversified
The grand old man of Edo State, Gabriel Osawaru Igbinedion, is the richest person, as well as the second most powerful figure in the state after the Oba of Benin. Chief Igbinedion is more popularly known by his traditional title; the Esama of Benin, with which he amassed so much fame around the world, even eclipsing the Oba at a point.
Chief Igbinedion has a long history of entrepreneurship genius; he worked with Leventis Nigeria, and then had the inspiration to start his own auto distribution business. He started Mid Motors which imported motorcycles. The venture was located in Okada, and people came there from all over the country to purchase their motorbikes, leading to the name Okada being used to identify motorcycles till today.
He later established the first private university in Nigeria; Igbinedion University, Okada, and the now defunct Okada Air – a passenger and freight airline. He is now heavily into hotels, media, and retail commerce.
2. Matthew Okojie
Net worth: $500 million
Origin of wealth: Banking, real estate, oil & energy
Industry: Diversified
Matthew Okojie is best known as the Chairman of Clyde Petroleum and Gas, however, he has had a distinguished career long before the founding of that company. He has served as a senior executive in Afribank Nigeria Plc, Intercontinental Bank PLC, Standard Trust Bank PLC, and Union Bank of Nigeria.
After his time in the banking industry, he started Maynard Engineering works Ltd, which does road and building construction, and which has undertaken several huge projects across the country.
From there he entered into the Oil and Gas business with the establishment of Clyde petroleum and gas Ltd where he presently serves as the CEO.
3. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede
Net worth: $400
Source of Wealth: Banking, Stocks
Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede is one of Nigeria’s biggest names in the banking industry; he was group Managing Director of Access Bank PLC during the critical period of the company’s growth, and he oversaw the company branching out into other African countries, and positioning itself as one of the biggest banks in the county.
4. Mitchell Elegbe
Net worth: $350 million
Origin of wealth: Payments and Transfers
Industry: FinTech
Mitchell Elegbe is one of Nigeria’s most respected Fintech bosses; he is the MD/CEO of Interswitch; the biggest name in the online money transfer industry. Interswitch is used by most big banks and point of sale distribution companies in Nigeria.
Mitchell Elegbe earned his stripes at Schlumberger Wireline and Testing, and then at Telnet which is an ICT engineering and consulting company. In 2002 he decided it was time to take the risk himself, and so he started Interswitch, which facilitates secure bank to bank payments. He is currently the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.
5. Julian Osula
Net worth: $305 million
Origin of wealth: Lifestyle, Luxury, Jewelry
Julian Osula is not one of the most famous people in Edo State, but he is certainly one of the wealthiest. This is a very accomplished person; he is a lawyer, banker, and a media and publicity specialist; earning top marks for all these endeavors.
Julian started off his career at the First City Merchant Bank and then worked at Alpha Merchant Bank, before he started his own company a few years after.
He established Manla Enterprises; a company which does all kinds of designs and printing works. The company does branding as well as media and publicity for big clients like Elf Petroleum, Texaco, INEC, Access Bank, and the Nigerian Presidency.
In 2011, Julian Osula started Stiple Gate, a company that retails luxury watches. From there he has gone further into the luxury goods market.
6. Chris Oyakhilome
Net Worth: $300
Source of Wealth: Publishing, Preaching, and so on.
Chris Oyakhilome is one of the pioneers of televangelism in Nigeria; he is the President of Loveworld Incorporated which oversees the Christ Embassy Church. A core part of his ministry includes Miracle Nights, and these events are very popular. Christ Embassy churches are in almost every part of the world.
He is also a very savvy author and publisher, and his church also does musicals which are also sold all over the world.
7. Johnson Suleman
Net worth: $210 million
Origin of wealth: Religious
Johnson Suleman is another preacher from Edo State; he is popularly known as Apostle Sulaiman, and he is the General Overseer of the Omega Fire Ministry which is spread out across the country and the world. He is well known for reaching out to the poor among the church and society.
8. Arumemi Joseph Ikhide And Family
Net Worth: $200 million
Origin of wealth: Airlines, farms, Constructions
Arumemi Johnson is one of Edo’s richest men; he is the founder of Arik Air; one of the country’s biggest airlines, with two major hubs, and an impressive fleet of planes flying to top destinations like London, Trinidad and Tobago, Dubai, and so on.
Arumemi Joseph Ikhide is probably a lot richer than this estimate, but it must be recalled the airline had some financial troubles a few years ago, forcing the chairman to forfeit some assets.
9. Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki
Net Worth: $200 million
Origin of wealth: Stocks, Investments
Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki is the governor of Edo State; but before becoming a politician he was already an established professional in the banking sector and financial services industries.
A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Stock Brokers, Nigeria, he founded Afrinvest, a stock analysis and trading company, which he grew to become one of the biggest in the country. He stepped down from the role of CEO of Afrinvest to pursue a career in politics.
10. Hakeem Belo-Osagie
Net Worth: $200 million
Origin of wealth: Stocks, Diversified Investments
Hakeem Belo-Osagie is a Nigerian businessman of repute and fame. He is the chairman of Metis Capital Partners, and investment servicing company. The company brokers large-ticket transactions in Africa to select blue chip international investment houses all over the world. The investments may be stock investments, or other kinds of investment.
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Closing
The richest men in Edo State are involved in all kinds of business; including stocks, banking, publishing and so on. Of course, there are many other son and daughters of Edo State who are high net worth individuals scattered around the world. As their money bags increase they will gradually fill in the spaces on this list.
