Femi Otedola when he lost everything
This is a true life story of Nigerian billionaire Femi Otedola on the day he lost everything Life was rosy for Femi Otedola until it took a sudden turn leaving him billions in the red. He had to start all Over again.
In 2008, a shipment containing one million tons of diesel set sail, heading for the shores of Nigeria. The owner of the vessel, Femi Otedola, Chairman of Forte Oil, a petroleum and power generation company, had grown the company to one of the largest in Nigeria, with over 500 filling stations, according to Forbes.
The growth had been rapid & profits were at an all-time high. Then disaster struck. “I had about 93 percent of the diesel market on my fingertips. All of a sudden oil prices collapsed andi had over one million tons of diesel on the high seas & the price dropped from $146 to $34”-Femi Otedola. That was only the beginning of his problems.
The naira was subsequently devalued and interest began to skyrocket. When the dust settled, Otedola had lost over $480 million due to the plunge in oil prices, $258 million through the devaluation of the naira, a further $320 million due to accruing interest and then finally $160 million when the stocks crashed. “I had two options, either to commit suicide or to weather the storm.