The Richest Woman in the World

Oprah Winfrey is no longer the world’s richest black woman. That distinction now belongs to Nigerian oil baroness and fashionista Folorunsho Alakija.

Alakija is worth at least $3.3 billion — about $300 million more than American television personality Oprah — Ventures Africa reports.

The 62-year-old started her career as a secretary at the erstwhile Merchant Bank of Nigeria, but moved to England in the early 1980s to study fashion design. She then returned to her native country and set up a high-end label called Supreme Stitches.

Although she amassed some wealth from the label, a significant proportion of Alakija’s fortune comes from an oil-exploration license granted to her company Famfa Ltd. in 1993. The 617,000-acre oil block would go on to become the highly lucrative OML 127, in which Alakija’s family retains a 60% stake.

According to Ventures Africa, her assets include a real estate portfolio worth over $100 million and a $46 million private jet.