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Biography of Tony Elumelu [Investor, Entrepreneur, & Philanthropist]

December 19, 2023

Biography of Tony Elumelu [Investor, Entrepreneur, & Philanthropist]

Anthony Onyemaechi Elumelu better known as Tony Elumelu. He’s a Nigerian investor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist and also the founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation.

Born on March 22, 1963, into a Christian household in Jos, Plateau state, Nigeria, to Mr. Dominic and Mrs. Suzanne Elumelu.

In 1993, Tony Elumelu married Mrs. Awele Vivien Elumelu, a medical professional. They are blessed with 7 children – 5 girls and 2 twin boys.

Tony O. Elumelu is one of Africa’s leading investors and philanthropists. He is the Founder and Chairman of Heirs Holdings, his family-owned investment company. A company committed to improving lives and transforming Africa, through long-term investments in strategic sectors of the African economy. Including financial services, hospitality, power, energy, technology, and healthcare.

Tony is the Chairman of the pan-African financial services group, the United Bank for Africa (UBA). UBA operates in 20 countries across Africa, the United Kingdom, France, and the UAE. And is the only African bank with a commercial deposit-taking presence in the United States.

UBA provides corporate, commercial, SME, and consumer banking services to more than 35 million customers globally. He also chairs Nigeria’s largest quoted conglomerate, Transcorp, whose subsidiaries include Transcorp Power, one of the leading producers of electricity in Nigeria, and Transcorp Hotels Plc, Nigeria’s foremost hospitality brand.

He is the Founder and Chairman of Heirs Oil & Gas, an upstream oil and gas company, whose assets include Nigerian oil block OML17, with a current production capacity of 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and 2P reserves of 1.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent, with an additional 1 billion barrels of oil equivalent resources of further exploration potential. Heirs Oil & Gas is committed to creating resource-based added value on the African continent.

Tony Elumelu Education and the Beginning of His Entrepreneurship

He studied Economics at Bendel State University (now Ambrose Alli University) obtaining a Bachelor of Science with a Lower Second Class (2:2). Afterward, he studied and received a Master of Science degree in Economics at the University of Lagos.

Elumelu worked in the Nigerian Bank Union Bank as a Youth Corp member during his National Youth Service Corps in 1985, before starting his career as a salesman.

In his early career, he said: “I started my career as a salesman, a copier salesman to be specific, young, hungry, and hardworking, but the reality was that I was just one of the thousands of young Nigerian graduates, all eager to succeed.”

A year after earning his Master’s degree in Economics from the University of Lagos. Tony applied to join Allstates Trust Bank, despite not meeting the qualification criteria. By a stroke of luck, the CEO of the bank came across his application letter, and he was handpicked to interview. He subsequently got the job.

Opportunity of a lifetime

At 26, Tony was offered the opportunity of a lifetime to become a branch manager at AllStates Trust Bank. Making him the youngest bank branch manager in the country at the time. This opportunity influenced his life, prompting him to give young employees the same opportunity he was given. Tony’s success in this role ignited his passion for investing in the lives of young people.

Tony led a group of small investors to take over a struggling bank

In 1997, Elumelu led a small group of investors to take over a struggling Crystal Bank (later renamed Standard Trust Bank). Audacious at 34 – and the country’s youngest banking CEO. An action that earned him and his circle of peers the endearing nickname – “the cowboys of banking”. He renamed the struggling bank Standard Trust Bank (STB) and pursued an aggressive strategy that catapulted STB from obscurity into becoming Nigeria’s fifth-largest bank within seven years.

In 2005, being given 20 million Dollars by billionaire Femi Otedola, Tony led one of the largest mergers in the banking sector in Sub-Saharan Africa by acquiring United Bank for Africa (UBA), which at the time was Nigeria’s 3rd largest financial services institution.

In less than ten years, he transformed UBA from a single-country bank to a pan-African institution with over 1 million customers. Operating in 20 African countries, and offices in Paris, London, and New York. This action sealed his reputation as a business turnaround expert and one of Africa’s most influential business leaders.

Following the merger of Standard Trust Bank and United Bank for Africa in 2005. Elumelu led the company as Group Managing Director from a single-country banking group to a pan-African bank. Eventually, he stepped down in 2010 and currently chairs the board of the United Bank for Africa

Tony Elumelu Net Worth

According to Forbes last record of his net worth. In 2015, Tony Elumelu was number 31 on African list of richest men with a net worth of $700 million. Currently, Tony’s present net worth is unknown. He’s wealth is a result of years of toil and risk-taking, as well as serial investments and a number of other things.

To know the richest people in Africa, click here.

Tony Elumelu Foundation

In 2010, Tony left banking (UBA) for the next chapter of his life as an investor and philanthropist. Channeling his passion, commitment, and dedication to realizing the development of the African continent. Armed with the knowledge, expertise, and understanding of economic opportunities that exist in Africa. He founded Heirs Holdings (HH) in 2010.

Heirs Holdings is a family-owned African proprietary investment company committed to improving lives and transforming Africa, through long-term investments in strategic sectors of the African economy including financial services, hospitality, power, energy, technology, and healthcare. Today, HH and its investee companies employ over 30,000 people, while empowering thousands more across Africa.

Tony also set up The Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) in the same year as an extension of his unwavering belief in the youth as catalysts for Africa’s transformation. The Tony Elumelu Foundation has become the hallmark of Africa’s sustainable development and a leading champion of youth entrepreneurship on the continent.

It lives its mission, empowering young African entrepreneurs, through its flagship Entrepreneurship Programme. A 10-year $100 million commitment to identify, train, mentor, and fund 10,000 young African entrepreneurs across 54 African countries. Since its inception, the Foundation has funded just under 10,000 entrepreneurs and created a digital ecosystem of over one million Africans.

Africapitalism

Tony’s businesses and Foundation are inspired by his economic philosophy of Africapitalism, which positions the private sector. And most importantly, entrepreneurs, as the catalyst for the social and economic development of the African continent. He galvanizes support for the Foundation’s mandate by addressing world leaders at public and private convenings, as well as serving on sector and issue-specific global, regional, and local councils and committees.

Some of the boards include: the Global Advisory Council of the Harvard Kennedy School’s Centre for Public Leadership. The World Economic Forum Community of Chairmen. And the Global Board of UNICEF’s Generation Unlimited.

Named in the 2020 Time100 Most Influential People in the World. And honored with Belgium’s highest national honor recognized for his business leadership and economic empowerment of young Africans.

Awards and Honours

Tony Elumelu has received recognition and praise for his contributions to business and entrepreneurship:

In 2003, the Federal Government of Nigeria honored Elumelu with the title of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic MFR.
Awarded the National Honour of Commander of the Order of the Niger CON for his service in promoting private enterprise in 2012.
Awarded the Daily Times, Nigerian man of the year in 2016.
Awarded the All-Africa Business Leaders Awards (AABLA) Philanthropist of the Year Award in 2018 and 2019.
Bayero University Kano (BUK) – Honorary Doctor of Business degree in 2019.
Honored with the National Productivity Order of Merit Award in 2019.
TIME magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2020.
On 11 October 2022, Elumelu received the National honor of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic.

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