Nigerian billionaires have leveraged the power of social media to share their experiences and connect with their numerous followers across the world.
These billionaires, however, have been noted to have more followers on their personal accounts compared to their well known businesses.
It is important to note that most Forbes-recognised Nigerian billionaires are absent from the list as they have chosen to either maintain a low profile or stay away from the platforms entirely.
Most active Nigerian billionaires on social media
Based on the real-time information, here are some Nigerian billionaires with strong more social media presence:
1. Aliko Dangote
According to Forbes, Aliko Dangote, the chairman of Dangote Group emerged as Africa's richest man with a net worth of about $13.4 billion as at April 2024. Dangote has an active presence on social media, particularly on platforms like Twitter and Facebook.
He currently has one million followers on Twitter. Dangote Industries, however, has just 308k followers on Facebook, Dangote Group has 346.4k followers on Twitter, while Dangote Cement has 37.1k followers on Twitter.
2. Femi Otedola
Femi Otedola is a Nigerian billionaire businessman, and chairman of Geregu Power Plc and First Bank of Nigeria holdings. Otedola has a net worth of $1.7 billion, which makes him one of Africa's Forbes-recognised billionaires.
Otedola has 802.6k followers on Twitter and 2.4 million followers on Instagram. FBN has 877.2k followers on Twitter and 4.7 million followers on Facebook.
3. Tony Elumelu
Tony Elumelu, a well known Nigerian banker, entrepreneur and philanthropist, has solidified his presence on social media with his personal and business posts which tend to draw all age classes to his page. As of 2015, a Forbes report put Elumelu’s net worth at $700 million.
Elumelu's pages mainly share insights into entrepreneurship, leadership, and economic development in Africa. He has 1.3 million followers on Twitter, 968k followers on Facebook and 1.9 million followers on Instagram. His companies which include Transcorp, UBA Group and Heirs Holding have 23.7k, 491K and 68.5k Instagram followers respectively. The UBA group has one million followers on Twitter and 3.8 million followers on Facebook.
4. Folorunso Alakija
Folorunso Alakija is the vice chair of Famfa Oil, a Nigerian oil exploration company. She is also the managing director of The Rose of Sharon Group. A 2020 Forbes report puts Alakija's net worth at $1 billion making her one of the top African billionaires and Nigeria’s richest woman.
She maintains a social media presence where she shares both business and religious content with her followers.
Alakija has 46.4k followers on Twitter, 147k followers on Facebook and 235k followers on Instagram. Her company, Famfa Oil has just about 5k followers on Facebook, and 6.3k on Instagram.
Other Forbes-recognised Nigerian billionaires like Mike Adenuga, the chairman of Globacom, and Abdul Samad Rabiu, chairman and founder of BUA Group have been noted to maintain very low social media presence thus their absence from the list.