Friday, February 27, 2015

Meet the woman who surpassed Oprah as the world’s richest black woman Caroline McMillan Portillo, Bizwomen reporter

Folorunsho Alakija
Oprah may be the world's most recognizable black female billionaire, but her $3 billion net worth no longer makes her the richest.
Nigerian oil baroness and fashion designer Folorunsho Alakija — worth an estimated $3.3 billion — now holds the title, Time magazine reported.
Alakija, 62, was born into a wealthy, polygamous Nigerian family, reported Ventures Africa, which broke the story. She launched her career as a secretary at the International Merchant Bank of Nigeria before quitting her job to study fashion design in England.
Soon after she returned to Nigeria to launch Supreme Stitches, an upscale label that became a staple in the closets of "fashionable wives of military bigwigs and society women," Venture Africa reported.
Though she's found great success with her fashion business, Alakija's wealth comes largely from her family's company, Famfa Oil Limited, which owns a 60 percent stake in an oil block that produces 200,000 barrels of oil per day.
Oprah wasn't the first black female billionaire, either. That title goes to Sheila Johnson, co-founder of the Black Entertainment (BET) network and now CEO of Salamander Hotels & Resort s. (For more on her, click here.)
Some other fun facts Ventures Africa reported about Alakija:
  • She bought a Bombardier Global Express 6000 private jet for $46 million.
  • She is the founder of the Rose of Sharon foundation, a Christian charity that gives small grants to widows.
  • She and her husband, Modupe Alakija, have four sons who run Famfa Oil. Her husband is the chairman.

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