According to a report published by Ventures Africa, an African business magazine and news service, Oprah Winfrey is no longer the richest black woman in the world. Folorunsho Alakija, a Nigerian Fashion designer and Oil tycoon is the richest black woman in the world, and is worth an estimated $3.3 billion.



According to the report which is available on Ventures Africa’s website, the richest black woman in the world is Folorunsho Alakija, a 61 year-old Nigerian fashion designer and oil tycoon who is worth at least $3.3 billion, $500 million richer than media mogul Oprah Winfrey whose wealth Forbes magazine estimated at $2.7 billion in September.

Folorunsho Alakija is the founder and owner of Famfa oil, a Nigerian oil company which owns a 60% working interest in OML 127, an offshore oil field which produces 200,000 barrels of oil per day.
Explaining the rationale for the $3.3 billion valuation on Alakija, Douglas Imaralu, Online Editor of Ventures Africa commented, “Total E&P recently sold off its 20% stake in a similar oil field to China’s Sinopec for $2.5 billion. The oil field in question has a daily production capacity of 180,000 barrels a day. Similarly, other hand, OML 127 in which Famfa has a 60% interest produces about 200,000 barrels a day. When we did the math using the Total-Sinopec deal as a comparator, we came to the realization that Alakija’s stake is easily worth billions of dollars. We showed our calculations on ventures-africa.com. At this point, we have no doubt that she is in deed, richer than Oprah.”

“Among other things, Ventures Africa plans to be the global leader in providing qualified prospects and intelligence on ultra high net worth (UHNW) individuals in Africa,” Douglas Imaralu says.

“Through our weekly feature, Africa’s Secret Millionaires, we traverse across the continent seeking out immensely successful, yet low-key tycoons and business leaders who have been largely under-reported, and then tell their stories.


We will look through financial reports, track equity holdings around stock markets, identify specific shareholding structures in privately-held companies and consult with everyone from fund managers to investment bankers, realtors and financial analysts to find information that was has not been made public, and then we will place accurate values on the assets of these ultra-high net worth Africans.”