Femi Otedola, a Nigerian billionaire businessman, has opened up on how he was hit by misfortune in 2009.
He said the sharp drop in oil prices, combined with a naira devaluation from N120 to N167 per dollar in 2009, led to losses of $480 million and $258 million, respectively.
Otedola, now chairman of Geregu Power Plc and First Bank Nigeria Holdings, said he also lost another $160 million when the stocks crashed. The total figure of financial loss amounted to $898 million, according to the businessman.
In excerpts from his upcoming memoir titled ‘Making It Big: Lessons from a Life in Business’, slated for release on August 18, 2025, Otedola narrated that trouble began after his former company, Forte Oil Plc, ordered a diesel shipment in 2008, when crude oil was priced at $147 per barrel, and it was delivered after the market had crashed to $40 per barrel.
“All told, I lost more than US$480 million to the plunge in oil prices, US$258 million through the devaluation of the naira, US$320 million because of accruing interest, and another US$160 million when the stocks crashed,” Otedola narrated.
