MEET FIRST NIGERIAN BILLIONAIRE WHO WAS WORTH OVER $4 BILLION IN 1950s

Not many people knew about Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu, but a greater number of people knew his son, Late Chief Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu .

Sir Louis odumegwu ojukwu , the first-ever recorded Nigerian Billionaire. He was considered the wealthiest person in Nigeria and Africa as at that time. His Net-Worth calculated to be Over 4 billion dollars as of 1950s.

He was the founder of ojukwu Transport, Ojukwu stores, and Ojukwu Textiles. He was the first and founding president and of the Nigerian Stock exchange Market. He was also the chairman of the board of many profitable companies in Nigeria then such as shell oil company, Guinness Nigeria limited.

He started his professional career at the agricultural department before leaving to join John Holt as a Tyre sales clerk before diversifying into the textile and transport sector exhibiting the entrepreneurial spirit of the South East.

He was also reportedly the first Nigerian Billionaire man to own a Mercedes Benz in all of Nigeria then. Starting as a low-level employee to a billionaire shows that hard work, focus and determination pay off. It was also reported that his rolls Royce was used to carry the queen of England on her first visit to Nigeria, he was the only African man that own a limousine.

The record of his Net-Worth at a time was not able to be calculated, becasue he was into real estate and owns up to 70% of landed properties in Lagos.

Great man Indeed. Igbo Amaka

Seen

Some people will not be impressed with his tribe.

But all the same....IGBO AMAKA!

Odogwu indeed. If we had a level playing ground now no tribe will surpass the Igbos in riches. Not minding the Holigans, Igbos are industrious and blessed.

Shortly before Nigeria’s independence in 1960, Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu, reportedly Nigeria’s first black billionaire, and founding president of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II.

The royal honor came after he helped the British during World War II with his fleet of trucks. He was so wealthy that during the Queen’s visit in 1956, she was chauffeured around in his Rolls-Royce – apparently the only one in the country at the time – on the request of the colonial Administration

Profiled in September 1965 by TIME magazine, Ojukwu made his money by importing dried fish for resale, and diversifying into textiles, cement and transport. When he died a year later, his wealth was an estimated $4 billion in today’s economic value.

His son, Chukwuemeka, who also ended up a billionaire, returned from Oxford University at 22 with a master’s degree in history and led his fellow Igbos into the Nigerian civil war as head of the secessionist state of Biafra in 1967.

Their hometown Nnewi, in the southeastern state of Anambra, either by good fortune or hard work, has bred more naira billionaires than any other town in Nigeria, and possibly Africa.

The Igbos, who sometimes refer to themselves as the ‘Jews of Africa’, have entrepreneurship in their blood. They have built themselves from the ground up, with little help from the government, after a controversial policy left them all with 20 pounds each, regardless of their bank balance, at the end of the Nigerian civil war in 1970.

Nicknamed the Japan of Africa, Nnewi is famous as a hub for automobile spare part dealers, and most recently, Innoson, Nigeria’s first indigenous car assembly plant. The town is also known for its factories that manufacture household goods and is home to the biggest road transport companies in the country.

Nnewi, with a little over two million residents, is a 30-minute drive from the Onitsha – the biggest outdoor market in West Africa – on the banks of the Niger River

The reason why Nigeria will never catch up with the rest of the industrialized world is because we dont want to enthrone merit system and level playing field for growth. And that's because we have tribes who believe that meritocracy, hardwork and level playing field confers advantage to igbos (can you imagine that), so they jettison these qualities and embrace tribalism, nepotism, and federal character. At the end, they wonder why Nigeria is not growing.
While trying to hold igbos down, they too stay down. An igbo proverb says, "to hold somebody to the ground, you too will have to stay on the ground''.
Selah.

yea he was no small man

plusfield:
The reason why Nigeria will never catch up with the rest of the industrialized world is because we dont want to enthrone merit system and level playing field for growth. And that's because we have tribes who believe that meritocracy, hardwork and level playing field confers advantage to igbos (can you imagine that), so they jettison these qualities and embrace tribalism, nepotism, and federal character. At the end, they wonder why Nigeria is not growing.
While trying to hold igbos down, they too stay down. An igbo proverb says, "to hold somebody to the ground, you too will have to stay on the ground''.
Selah.

Igbo's are too smart for anybody liking thats why all the tribes waged war against us n won't allow us have our own country ( cause they know in 20 years they can never match us )

plusfield:
The reason why Nigeria will never catch up with the rest of the industrialized world is because we dont want to enthrone merit system and level playing field for growth. And that's because we have tribes who believe that meritocracy, hardwork and level playing field confers advantage to igbos (can you imagine that), so they jettison these qualities and embrace tribalism, nepotism, and federal character. At the end, they wonder why Nigeria is not growing.
While trying to hold igbos down, they too stay down. An igbo proverb says, "to hold somebody to the ground, you too will have to stay on the ground''.
Selah.

Excuse me sir, in the world of business, all these nepotism, tribalism and victim mentality don't hold water.

Nigeria and indeed Africa have so many developmental needs. If you are able to solve one or two of these needs, you will make your money regardless of your ethnic backgrounds.

For instance ,

1) incandescent electric bulbs are gradually being phased out in Developed countries but they are still the main electric bulbs in Nigeria, so if you can be the leading supplier of 10W Plastic LED bulbs to Kwara, Niger and Kogi States, you will become a Millionaire irrespective of your ethnic background.

2) There is abundant solar energy in Nigeria, especially in Northern Nigeria. If you can invest in the Solar energy business (the future of Energy Business), you will hit it big.

3) Millions of People are walking bare footed in our Neighbouring Countries. Start exporting our locally produced slippers to Niger, Chad and Central Africa Republic. Irrespective of your ethnic background, you will make millions.

4) Nigeria is a rice eating Nation and used to spend billions of Naira to import rice, tooth picks, shoe polish, Sugar etc. Start producing one of these locally in your State and watch your mouth rewards.

Hhmm this thread is gonna be hot oo

419 tribe.....

See flat head oo lol.. Everyone knows Dantata ruled the 40s and 50s, but anybody is free to write any trash without source to boost low self esteem

the dull O.P silently disregard this part of the article he posted

" Regarded as the richest man in the British West African colonies, in 1929, Dantata deposited 20-camel-loads of silver coins in the newly opened Kano branch of Bank of West Africa "

these is the full article and Dantata was clearly called the richest, dishonest people cant even post the real article, this is why we don't trust them with our Aso Rock

https://punchng.com/old-money-10-super-rich-men-of-independence-era/

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oyatz:




Excuse me sir, in the world of business, all these nepotism, tribalism and victim mentality don't hold water.

Nigeria and indeed Africa have so many developmental needs. If you are able to solve one or two of these needs, you will make your money regardless of your ethnic backgrounds.

For instance ,

1) incandescent electric bulbs are gradually being phased out in Developed countries but they are still the main electric bulbs in Nigeria, so if you can be the leading supplier of 10W Plastic LED bulbs to Kwara, Niger and Kogi States, you will become a Millionaire irrespective of your ethnic background.

2) There is abundant solar energy in Nigeria, especially in Northern Nigeria. If you can invest in the Solar energy business (the future of Energy Business), you will hit it big.

3) Millions of People are walking bare footed in our Neighbouring Countries. Start exporting our locally produced slippers to Niger, Chad and Central Africa Republic. Irrespective of your ethnic background, you will make millions.

4) Nigeria is a rice eating Nation and used to spend billions of Naira to import rice, tooth picks, shoe polish, Sugar etc. Start producing one of these locally in your State and watch your mouth rewards.

Let me start with your no 3. Are you aware that more than 50% of the footwears worn in these poor African nations are made in aba. Dont take my word for it. Visit Ariaria market in ABA, go to the bakassi end of the market where the footwears are made and find out who their markets are. There you will see customers from these African countries loading footwears, what did the federal government do? They closed the borders. That has accounted for loss of billions in revenue to these hardworking industrialists. The FGN knew what they were doing. They claim it's to stop illegal imports but killing legitimate exports. Enyinnaya Abaribe who represents that Constituency cried out. Did they listen? No. As along as its igbos, they can go to hell.

On your no 2. Yes, there is abundance of sun in the north. Are they harnessing it? No. What of the mineral deposits like gold that is there? They are killing any stranger that dares to come mine it with them while they still control ownership of over 65% of the oil wells in the Niger delta. And also, with regards to the power generation, I spoke once with a former boss of NERC and he told me that the law in place as we speak states that if you generate anything more than 1 megawatt of power, it must be handed to the national grid. So that stifles competitiveness and hardwork.

On no 4, I can assure you that though the south east had lagged behind in the area of industrial agriculture and farming, a lot of investment is going on as we speak in that regards by private industrialists and we pray that they reap the dividends of their investments because those who tried in the past had their fingers burnt because the govt put up policies that conferred huge advantage and favour to some competitors in the north. But for now, a silent revolution is growing in that sector now and self sufficiency and exports is the goal.

I dont know much about that no 1 point raised. Will look it up.

Adeoludt:
419 tribe.....

Is it not better than
1. Ritual killing tribe and
2. Terrorists tribe

itsme01:



See flat head oo lol.. Everyone knows Dantata ruled the 40s and 50s, but anybody is free to write any trash without source to boost low self esteem

.

Adeoludt:
419 tribe.....

chai! **in mama peace' voice**

See painment

That was part of what gave Odimegwu Ojukwu the gut to start the war; he used his father's wealth to kick-start Biafra and reason Igbos value and respect him more than Nnamdi Azikiwe and Aguiyi Ironsi.


Ojukwu was truly the richest man in Africa then, Igbos lost so much to the unfortunate civil war, even my own family lost a lot because they were also topping in our region as at that time, reading and listening to my father and late uncles tell the tales hurt so bad.



Nzeogwu and Ifeajuna messed up the coup....and Ironsi did the final mess up by not executing the coupists to pacify the high-tensed north, and Igbos paid dearly for that mistake of 1966 and still paying till date

itsme01:



See flat head oo lol.. Everyone knows Dantata ruled the 40s and 50s, but anybody is free to write any trash without source to boost low self esteem

.

Dantata was rich yes, but Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu was the first Nigerian billionaire in $ and the richest man in Nigeria in the 1950s. His investments, lifestyle, acquisitions were proofs too. This has nothing to do with tribal war.



You know that if not for the civil war and the later marginalization politics against the East after the war, Igbos would have been the top....they were before the war, and part of the anger of the North after the coup that led them to carry out the pogrom!!



See the proof that Ojukwu was the richest Nigerian and African in the 1950s https://punchng.com/old-money-10-super-rich-men-of-independence-era/


Another person is Joseph Karakitie Azigbo (read about him here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Karakitie_Azigbo)

mrvitalis:

Igbo's are too smart for anybody liking thats why all the tribes waged war against us n won't allow us have our own country ( cause they know in 20 years they can never match us )

They are not smart as they think


That is why smaller tribes maintained Igboland as a farm or or poultry for slaves for centuries

Ask Asari Dokubo

Before colonialism there wasn't a single town in Igboland

franchasng:
Dantata was rich yes, but Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu was the richest man in Nigeria in the 1950s. His investments, lifestyle, acquisitions were proofs too. This has nothing to do with tribal war.



You know that if not for the civil war and the later marginalization politics against the East after the war, Igbos would have been the top....they were before the war, and part of the anger of the North after the coup that led them to carry out the pogrom!!

Even till date Ojukwus asset litters lagos, mostly his real estates

No doubt he was very rich, but so was Alhasan dantata, and quite frankly there was know forbes list then so its all left to information you independently have about the two, and personally i think Alhassan's business far outshine The Ojjuukwus.. and Dantata is pretty more popular with the british,

Ibos can't be marginalised as they are among the three largest ethnic group in nigeria and arguebly among top 10 in africa, so the marginalisation is a ruse used by politicians .. reason why Ibos are not the top is simply geographical, especially access to Sea, no matter how hard ibos work if they still use lagos, portharcout or SS ports other people would keep on getting rich out of that

The article say $4bn in today's value. So it might have even been 80m dollars in 1966. QED. Stop these silly self worship and aggrandizement.

R

Igbo men & money, chai... Sensible Yorubas knows Igbos are top grade humans we should align ourselves with as citizens.

Las las, Davido go marry Chioma... me sef go marry Ifeoma

Onye Siri na ndi Igbo anaghi agba mboo? Ya puta ka anyi huu ya ....Mara na odogwu aburo guy name

itsme01:


Even till date Ojukwus asset litters lagos, mostly his real estates

No doubt he was very rich, but so was Alhasan dantata, and quite frankly there was know forbes list then so its all left to information you independently have about the two, and personally i think Alhassan's business far outshine The Ojjuukwus.. and Dantata is pretty more popular with the british,

Ibos can't be marginalised as they are among the three largest ethnic group in nigeria and arguebly among top 10 in africa, so the marginalisation is a ruse used by politicians .. reason why Ibos are not the top is simply geographical, especially access to Sea, no matter how hard ibos work if they still use lagos, portharcout or SS ports other people would keep on getting rich out of that

Dantata's wealth is the one you could say was just more of audio without proof aside his groundnut businesses (the famous groundnut pyramids) that were well known in the north, but Sir Louis Ojukwu's wealth was known even to the British and had value attached like today, check this link https://punchng.com/old-money-10-super-rich-men-of-independence-era/

Oyichasiri chukwuemeka

Daviddson:
The article say $4bn in today's value. So it might have even been 80m dollars in 1966. QED. Stop these silly self worship and aggrandizement.

That was physical cash in British bank.....not his investments in Nigeria; Lagos, Enugu, Ghana, etc


The man was so rich that he helped the British government during world war II in military transport....you can imagine such feat

plusfield:
The reason why Nigeria will never catch up with the rest of the industrialized world is because we dont want to enthrone merit system and level playing field for growth. And that's because we have tribes who believe that meritocracy, hardwork and level playing field confers advantage to igbos (can you imagine that), so they jettison these qualities and embrace tribalism, nepotism, and federal character. At the end, they wonder why Nigeria is not growing.
While trying to hold igbos down, they too stay down. An igbo proverb says, "to hold somebody to the ground, you too will have to stay on the ground''.
Selah.

iji okwu dia

franchasng:
That was physical cash in British bank.....not his investments in Nigeria; Lagos, Enugu, Ghana, etc


The man was so rich that he helped the British government during world war II in military transport....you can imagine such feat

My point is that he wasn't worth up to 4bn dollars like the headline is claiming. And no mention was made of cash in any British bank, so I wonder where you brought that from.

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itsme01:



See flat head oo lol.. Everyone knows Dantata ruled the 40s and 50s, but anybody is free to write any trash without source to boost low self esteem

.

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