A Nigerian billionaire oil tycoon, Fashion designer and philanthropist who is worth at least $3.3 billion, 61-year-old Folorunsho Alakija, was born into a wealthy, polygamous Nigerian family.

In the early 80s, Alakija quit her job and went on to study Fashion design in England, returning to Nigeria shortly afterwards to start Supreme Stitches, a premium Nigerian fashion label, selling high-end Nigerian clothing to fashionable wives of military bigwigs and society women.

Oil Prospecting License

In May 1993 Alakija applied for an allocation of an Oil Prospecting License (OPL). The license to explore for oil on a 617,000 acre block – (now referred to as OPL 216) was granted to Alakija's company, Famfa Limited. The block is located approximately 220 miles South East of Lagos and 70 miles offshore Nigeria in the central Niger Delta.

Alakija was intelligent! She had no expertise or experience in running an oil field, but she decided not to sell off her license. In September 1996, she entered into a joint venture agreement with Star Deep Water Petroleum Limited (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Texaco) and appointed the company as a technical adviser for the exploration of the license, transferring 40 percent of her 100 percent stake to Star Deep.

Till date, Folorunsho Alakija and her family owned 60 percent.

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