- Femi Otedola’s fortune has surged to $1.8 billion, marking a $500 million increase
- Otedola becomes First HoldCo’s largest shareholder, significantly growing his investment portfolio
- First HoldCo’s strong performance fuels Otedola’s wealth, with reported profits hitting $303 million
Pascal Oparada is a journalist with Legit.ng, covering technology, energy, stocks, investment, and the economy for over a decade.
Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola has staged a remarkable return to the global billionaire rankings, with his estimated fortune climbing to $1.8 billion in 2026.
The latest valuation represents a $500 million increase from the $1.3 billion fortune Forbes attributed to Otedola at the beginning of the year.
Credit: Novatis
Source: Getty Images
Otedola, who has been described by Forbes as Africa’s “poorest billionaire” shortly after achieving billionaire status, was left off the Forbes billionaire list the following year.
His fortunes have now changed dramatically, with the businessman emerging as West Africa’s fourth-wealthiest individual, according to the latest estimates.
A major driver of the increase has been the rising value of his investments, particularly his expanding stake in First HoldCo Plc, the parent company of FirstBank.
Otedola doubles down on First HoldCo
Otedola has aggressively increased his ownership of First HoldCo over the past two years, making the banking group one of the biggest components of his investment portfolio.
He became the company’s largest shareholder in 2021 and assumed the position of chairman in January 2024.
Since then, he has continued to accumulate shares through several major transactions.
His purchases included N14.8 billion worth of shares at N40.06 each in December, followed by an N43.4 billion open-market acquisition at N79 per share in May and a N29.6 billion private placement at N44 per share in June.
The transactions initially lifted his holding to about 9.29 billion shares, representing a 20.42 per cent stake. Otedola reportedly committed more than N250 billion of personal, non-leveraged cash to build the position.
Stake crosses 25 per cent
His buying spree continued as First HoldCo shares gained value.
By July 15, 2026, the value of Otedola’s stake had climbed to almost $530 million, after First HoldCo shares jumped 9.98 per cent in one trading session to a record N79.35, according to a report by Business Insider.
By the end of July, Otedola had reportedly spent another N222.21 billion on shares, taking his ownership to approximately 25.88 per cent.
Credit: Novatis
Source: Getty Images
Further purchases in August included an N18.1 billion acquisition of 12 million shares, followed by another N20.68 billion purchase involving 15.2 million shares.
Banking growth adds to his wealth
Otedola’s rising fortune also comes as First HoldCo strengthens its financial performance.
The group reported about $303 million in profit for the first nine months, supported by stronger interest income and recapitalisation efforts designed to expand its pan-African banking operations.
Femi Otedola’s First HoldCo Stake Hits 20.42%
Legit.ng earlier reported that Femi Otedola, Chairman of First HoldCo Plc, has deepened his hold over Nigeria’s most valuable banking stock after buying an additional 680.8 million shares through a private placement, pushing his ownership to 20.42% and lifting the market value of his stake to roughly N1.05 trillion.
The acquisition was completed at N44 per share, a price below the company’s July 18 closing figure of N61, according to market sources familiar with the deal.
Source: Legit.ng