Billionaire businessman and Chairman of Geregu Power Plc, Femi Otedola, has revealed how a series of financial downturns in 2009 wiped out a staggering $898 million from his wealth.
Otedola, who also chairs FBN Holdings, made the revelation in excerpts from his forthcoming memoir, “Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business”, scheduled for release on August 18, 2025.
In the memoir, the oil mogul detailed how the crash in global crude oil prices, naira devaluation, stock market collapse, and accruing interest on loans crippled his financial empire during the global financial crisis.
According to Otedola, the trouble began in 2008 when Forte Oil, then under his leadership, ordered a diesel shipment at the peak price of $147 per barrel. However, by the time the shipment arrived, oil prices had crashed to $40 per barrel.
“All told, I lost more than $480 million to the plunge in oil prices, $258 million through the devaluation of the naira, $320 million because of accruing interest, and another $160 million when the stocks crashed,” he wrote.
The naira, he noted, depreciated from N120 to N167 per dollar, significantly compounding his losses.
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