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| Energy and Finance Entrepreneur Femi Otedola (left) with Energy Analyst Gaurav Sharma in London, UK |
Late last month, the Oilholic had the pleasure of a very special meeting in London with an extraordinary energy and finance entrepreneur - none other than Nigerian billionaire and noted philanthropist Femi Otedola - who made his fortune with Forte Oil, a company he subsequently sold for a handsome profit.
These days Otedola is the Chairman and majority owner of Geregu Power, a power generation company in Nigeria, and has sizeable stakes in Zenith Bank and FBN Holdings.
The serial entrepreneur sat down for a meeting with yours truly late last month to discuss his life's journey, investment philosophy and his first book - Making it big: Lessons from a life in Business (currently trending on Amazon's Best Sellers list in business books category).
Read the Oilholic's latest Forbes exclusive for more on Otedola's entrepreneurship, philanthropy, inspiring journey, and why he felt it was the right time to publish his first book.
In the book, the self-made billionaire recounts that he always felt his true calling was in "business" and not academia, and that he started dreaming about it before he was even 10 years old. It also lays bare the ups and downs he faced, the challenges he met and the opportunities he took advantage of to get to where he is today.
But what really stood was his passion for researching and conviction investing. "To this day, I follow the courage of my convictions and research when going for an asset acquisition."
"I tend not to rely on an army of advisers. It may not be everyone's thing, but it is mine. I cannot say that there haven't been challenges in such an approach. Of course, there have been - but you learn from them to make your beliefs and investment approach stronger," he added.
Overall, a most remarkable encounter with a great industry captain. That's all for now folks. More musings to follow soon. Keep reading, keep it here, keep it 'crude'!
