Femi Otedola: I lost N200bn to oil crash, missed bets

Femi Otedola: I lost N200bn to oil crash, missed bets

Billionaire investor Femi Otedola has laid bare one of the most turbulent periods of his business career, recounting how a mix of market turmoil and costly decisions wiped out close to N200 billion of his wealth.

In his new memoir, Otedola: An Autobiography, the oil magnate recalls how Zenon Petroleum & Gas, his once-thriving energy trading company, was crippled by the 2008 global crude oil collapse.

According to Otedola, his troubles began when crude oil prices soared to $147 per barrel. Convinced the boom would last, he placed a diesel order worth $500 million for import into Nigeria. But within weeks, oil prices crashed to $37 per barrel.

“The diesel I’d ordered when the price was astronomically higher was already on the high seas,” he recounted. “Now, it was worth a fraction of my purchase price. I said to myself, I’m finished.”

The situation worsened as the naira was devalued following declining oil revenues. Loans he had secured at N117/$1 suddenly had to be repaid at N165/$1.“I watched N60 billion evaporate before my eyes, alongside N40 billion in interest payments,” Otedola said.

READ ALSO:

• Court restrains police from summoning Nedu Wazobia over business dispute
• 50 bodies recovered after Katsina mosque attack, search continues
• Nigeria’s FX reserves at $41bn highest in four years

At the same time, Otedola’s major stakes in Nigeria’s banking sector also took a hit. He held 2.3 billion shares in Zenith Bank—about 8 percent ownership—and another 6 percent in UBA. He bought Zenith shares at N12 and saw them soar to N60, a surge that could have earned him N191 billion had he sold on time.

But he didn’t exit. Then the global financial crisis arrived, dragging share prices down alongside crude oil. His holdings, once valued in the hundreds of billions, collapsed.“It remains one of my biggest regrets,” he admitted. “If only I had followed my instincts.”

By the end of the crisis, Otedola’s debt burden had ballooned to N220 billion. To survive, he reached an agreement with the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), created to rescue banks from toxic assets.

As part of the settlement, Otedola said he gave up estates in Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt, along with truck parks, filling stations, storage tank farms in Apapa, substantial bank and oil holdings, and even his Bombardier private jet.“It was a lifeboat in the storm,” he wrote. “I had to concede that if you sink, you sink, and if you grab a preserver, you’ll stay afloat. I gave it all up to start anew.”

Reflecting on the loss, Otedola describes the experience as humbling but ultimately transformative. The collapse of his empire, he says, forced him to rebuild with greater discipline.

Now Chairman of FBN Holdings Plc and one of Nigeria’s most influential investors, Otedola’s memoir—released on August 18, 2025—offers a stark reminder that even billionaires are vulnerable to market upheaval.

Femi Otedola: I lost N200bn to oil crash, missed bets

(NAIRAMETRICS)