Edo state is home to thousands of wealthy Nigerians spread all over the world. Inhabitants of the state boasts of sterling point ranking in the political, social, business, religious, oil and gas, manufacturing, lifestyle, real estate and every other industry/sector of the Nigerian economy. The 2023 billionaire listers are richer than they have been in years. Dr. Gabriel Osawaru Igbinedion has maintained his spot unshakably For the past 10 years.

METHODOLOGY
Our list tracks the wealth of Edo based billionaires who reside in Edo state or have their primary business there, thus excluding all other extremely wealthy sons and daughters of Edo state who is involved in non self-made professions like politics and those who do not reside in the state.
Net worths were calculated using stock prices and currency exchange rates from standard algorithms. To value privately-held businesses, we start with estimates of revenues or profits and apply prevailing price-to-sale or price-to-earnings ratios for similar public companies.
Some list members grow richer or poorer within weeks or days of our measurement date.

Top ten richest people in Edo State 2022 list



1. SIR CHIEF DR. GABRIEL OSAWARU IGBINEDION & FAMILY 

Net worth: $850million

Origin of wealth: Education, Entertainment, Aviation 

Industry: Entertainment/Lifestyle 

Age: 87

Residence: Benin City 

Photo credit: Google images 


  • Gabriel Osawaru Igbinedion, Edo State’s richest person, founded Igbinedion University Okada, Nigeria’s first private university.
  • He owns thousands of land plots around Benin city (Edo State capital) and has sold many to the biggest companies in the state.
  • Hails from Okada village Edo state and Was the first to import motorcycles to Nigeria (Okada his hometown) and that’s why motorcycles are called Okada till date in Nigeria.
  • He is a very revered chief (Esama) in Benin City and the honorary Romanian consul to Edo and delta states of Nigeria.
  • The Igbinedion family owns Kada conglomerates. A business empire that consists of Igbinedion university teaching hospital IUTH, Okada Air (a now defunct airline company), TV/radio station, world class entertainment center, chain shopping malls, chain 5-star hotels, chain restaurants and more.
  • Chief Gabriel is a philanthropist. He also built schools, marketplaces and churches (including the mega St. Gabriel the archangel Cathedral, Benin City) which he donates for charity.


2. MATTHEW OKOJE

Net worth: $500 million 

Origin of wealth: Banking, real estate, oil & energy 

Industry: Diversified

Photo credit: LinkedIn 


  • Matthew okojie has served as a senior executive in Afribank Nigeria Plc, intercontinental bank PLC, Standard Trust Bank PLC, Trust bank limited, Broad bank of Nigeria and Union Bank of Nigeria.
  • He started Maynard Engineering works Ltd after which he started Clyde petroleum and gas Ltd where he presently serves as the CEO.


3. MITCHELL ELEGBE

Net worth: $500 million

Origin of wealth: Payments and transactions

Industry: FinTech

Age: 52

Residence: Benin city 



Photo credit: Google images


  • Mitchell Elegbe is the MD/CEO of Interswitch, an integrated payment and transaction company in Nigeria.
  • He was formerly with Schlumberger Wireline and Testing, and Telnet, an ICT engineering and consulting company until 2002, when he started the Interswitch group where he is currently the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.
  • He is a globally recognized and well awarded young businessman 
  • For 85 years until 2012, the Oppenheimer family occupied a controlling spot in the world’s diamond trade.
  • He was the third generation of his family to run DeBeers, and took the company private in 2001.
  • In 2014, Oppenheimer started Fireblade Aviation in Johannesburg, which operates chartered flights.
  • He owns at least 720 square miles of conservation land across South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe.


4. Julian Osula

Net worth: $305 million

Origin of wealth: Lifestyle, Luxury, Jewelry 

Industry: manufacturing

Age: 56 

Residence: Benin/Lagos

Photo credit: Opera images

  • Julian Osula is also a lawyer as he bagged his LLB then later went on to the Nigeria Law School and finished in the year 1989.
  • Julian started off his career and worked at the defunct First City Merchant Bank and the Alpha Merchant Bank, before he started his own company a few years after.
  • He the started Manla Enterprises. The company was widely known for supplies of souvenirs and printing. During this period, he serviced big clients like Elf Petroleum, Texaco, INEC, Access Bank, and the Nigerian Presidency.
  • In 2004, he got a contract to supply warships spare parts to the Nigerian Navy. After which he started two other luxury based companies.
  • In 2011, Osula started a company, Stiple Gate, which dealt with sales of solely luxury watches. And 2013 brought about Julian’s Luxury, which explored more into luxury goods from exclusive timepieces and jewelry to accessories and writing instruments.


5. JOHNSON SULEMAN

Net worth: $110 million

Origin of wealth: Religious

Industry: Religious 

Age: 51

Residence: Auchi

Photo credit: Celebration Tv 


  • Johnson Suleman is an apostle and the general overseer also known as president of the Omega fire ministry spread across the world.
  • He has traveled round all continents of the world preaching the gospel.
  • The church is best known to be a prophetic ministry with hundreds of thousands of worshippers worldwide 
  • He is the sole owner of the church and also has business registered under the ministry which includes a hotel, fueling station, water manufacturing company, laundry company, cable television station, a restaurant he built to feed one thousand people for free every day, and a transport company.
  • In recent years, Suleman has been very controversial in the media and has serially been accused of having sexual relationships with several women worldwide.


6. ARUMEMI JOHNSON AND FAMILY

NET WORTH: $100 million

Origin of wealth: Airlines, farms, Constructions

Industry: Diversified

Age: 78

Photo credit: Google images 


  • Johnson is the founder of one of Nigeria’s biggest airline companies, ARIK Air. He also owns, Ojemai investments Limited and Ojemai farms.
  • His 39yr old son Dr. Michael Arumemi Ikhide is now the MD of Arik air and one of the youngest billionaires in Nigeria
  • Johnson is sadly watching his world crumble as he’s gradually loosing ownership of majority of his establishments due to high level of debts and mismanagement.


7. MANSUR SAMBO

Net worth: $80 million

Origin of wealth: Construction and engineering 

Industry: Oil and Gas  

Age: 61

Residence: Benin City 

Photo credit: Google images

  • Mansur Sambo is the immediate past managing director of NPDC.
  • Sambo joined the services of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in 1999, and was posted to Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC) as a Mechanical/Planning Engineer, rose through the ranks over the years to become the Managing Director, of Nigerian Petroleum development company (NPDC).
  • Sambo’s achievements in the oil and gas industry include: coordinating government’s crude oil entitlement from all NNPC/ Federal Government Crude Oil Production Contracts Joint Ventures, Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs), and Modified Carry Agreements (MCAs), pioneering the establishment of a sustainable framework for the recovery of overriding crude oil royalties by marginal oil fields operators, developing of an enduring mechanism for improved government revenue shares from dispute-ridden 1993 production sharing contracts (PSCs), contributed significantly to Fund Sourcing Processes (FSPs) for various NNPC and federation projects, including cash calls arrears repayment, participated in the Petroleum Industry Bill –(PIB) reframing exercise from OGIC, participated in the development of Akpo field production – lifting agreement, established an electronic database of crude oil loading, transportation, and off-take; and participated in the development of operational guidelines, training manuals, and organising training exercises for all NNPC operators across 24 terminals.


8. OBA EWUARE II

AGE: 69 

Photo credit: Google Images


Explicit details reserved.


9. MARGARET IDAHOSA

Net worth: $68 million 

Origin of wealth: Schools 

Industry: Education

Age: 79

Residence: Benin City 

Photo credit: Google images 


  • Margaret idahosa is the chancellor of Benson Idahosa University, BIU and the proprietress of the Word of Faith group of schools with over 108 branches spread across Nigeria.
  • She is the first female chancellor of a private university in Nigeria, the proprietress of the largest nursery, primary and secondary schools in Nigeria (WOF group of schools) and she’s the first female Pentecostal Bishop/Archbishop in Africa. 
  • She is the wife of the late Archbishop Benson Idahosa and stepped into the office of the Archbishop of the Church of God mission international, CGMi (with thousands of branches worldwide) after her husband’s demise.


10. MATTHEW OKPEBHOLO

Net worth: $35 million 

Origin of wealth: Ashpalt,

Constructions/engineering 

Industry: Construction 

Age: 78

Residence: Uromi

Photo credit: Google Images 

  • Matthew Okpebholoh is the CEO of the Ray Royal construction company and founder of the Okpebholoh foundation.
  • He is heavily devoted to philanthropic activities which includes Yearly scholarships for the hundreds of randomly selected students nationwide, widows empowerment, and in 2017; construction of the entire road network of the Benson Idahosa University college of medicine.