Asking African Moguls How They Got Rich!

I have just arrived in Nigeria, one of the most powerful countries in Africa. But this country wasn't supposed to be like this. For years, Americans have been warned about coming here. Travel advisories, corruption, inflation. A business environment so difficult that most people would never even attempt to build here. But to the surprise of many, Nigeria has become home to some of the richest people in Africa. Millionaires who build empires in banking, oil and gas, tech, and real estate. So the big question is, how do they do it? And why are these Nigerian millionaires and billionaires so successful? Let's go find out. Guys, we're on our way right now to our first interview out here in Lagos, Nigeria. And the person we're about to interview did something insane and changed the game out here in Nigeria forever. Do you know what a unicorn is? A unicorn is a business that grows to become a billion-dollar company. The person we're about to interview was the youngest person ever in all of Africa to build a billion-dollar company. But the story gets even crazier because he built not just one, but two billion-dollar companies out here in Nigeria. And we're about to go interview him where he made it all happen to figure out how he got rich and made his billions, you guys. Come on. How are you doing, my friend? Nice to meet you. I just saw your missed call. No, it's all good, my friend. Nice to see you. Yeah. How are you doing, sir? Very well. How are you doing? I'm good to meet you, man. I'm happy to be out here. Yes, yes. You know, this is my first interview ever in Africa. Amazing. Yeah. So good to see you. It's great to see you as well. And you've had an incredible career already. How old are you? I am just 35. Is it true that you were the youngest Nigerian to build a unicorn, to build a billion-dollar company? Well, I'm not counting, but yes, it seems so. So you built not one, but two billion-dollar companies. Yes, I did help build out Andela and Flutterwave, which are both billion-dollar companies. Congratulations, man. Did you have any idea growing up that was going to be possible, man? No, no, actually. I wasn't intending to build billion-dollar companies. But, you know, I just thought if people elsewhere in the world could do it, there was no reason why somebody here in Africa couldn't do it as well. I love it, my man. Well, look, I came all the way out here from America to make this interview happen, to make this content happen. I have one rule for all my interviews. There's no holding back. We're going to give the younger generation a blueprint on how to build a billion-dollar company in today's world. Can we make that happen? Of course, absolutely. No holding back. Let's do it, my man. Did you come from a lot of money growing up? No, no. My father is actually a pastor. So I didn't come from a lot of money. And we started out very humble, but in this neighborhood. And God's grace, we've been where we are today. What country are we in right now? Yes, we're in Nigeria. In Nigeria, we're in Yabba specifically. And Mark Zuckerberg actually walked the streets about 10 years ago when he came to visit Nigeria. So this is a very interesting neighborhood. It's famous for technology. My first time ever here. Exactly. Welcome to Nigeria. Why Africa? Why are so many successful entrepreneurs coming out of Africa? Well, that's because Africa has the largest proportion of young people under the age of 30. Wealth is a function of your productivity, right? So what's happening is you have a lot of young people with a lot of needs. And you've got a bunch of other entrepreneurs who need to meet those needs. And that's how you're seeing a lot of wealth grow from Africa. And this trend is going to keep going for the foreseeable future because that's just how the world works. Have you done business in America as well? Yeah, I went to school in Canada. And I spent a lot of time in the U.S. doing cooperative education terms like working and learning. My companies, all my companies are incorporated in Delaware. So I actually know America really, really well. What's the biggest difference between business in America versus Nigeria? Very interesting. In Nigeria, if you don't make other people money, you don't get to make money. In America, if you don't make money, you can't make other people money. So it's very different. It's very different. But here, sustainable wealth comes from helping other people. So for me, we took people who are earning $100 a month, either on a government job or even unemployed, and took them into careers where they're earning $300,000, $400,000 a year. That's life-changing. And that's how I became wealthy. So it's a remarkably different place. What was your turning point becoming an entrepreneur then? Honestly, I watched the social network. And I was like, Mark Zuckerberg's just my age. You know, he built this business at 19. I can do the same. And right there in college, when I watched it, I decided I was going to become an entrepreneur. Now, you had two companies that reached billion-dollar valuations. So at those businesses, what was the most amount of money you made in a single year? I mean, both businesses have done well over $100 million. What was your secret to scaling? Well, it's all about systems. So when you want to scale, the most important thing that you need to do is you need to make things automatic. So for example, I recruit every week, every month. We onboard new employees, new talent every quarter. And at the end of the year, we do a review. Once you can get to a systemic thing like that, you can go on for years doing the same thing. And you just keep growing if nothing breaks. So building systems and aligning people. Very important. One day, my mentor, his name is Joe Lonsdale, takes me out to dinner at the MoMA in New York. And he says, E, I want you to remember this. A billion-dollar company is just a bunch of people who could have individually built $10 million businesses who decided to come together and build one business. So the way they build a billion-dollar company, it's the team. Exactly. It's the team. The most important thing is the team. I never forgot that. So I, like I said, my superpower is finding alignment with teams. Let's come together, let's build something big as opposed to each of us individually build something small. So aligning people's interests is so important. This is game right here. You know that, right? Absolutely. I want everybody to know this I have a mentor, an incredible guy in the U.S., also a billionaire. And what he told me, that was game-changing. He said, make money for your friends and you'll never have to worry about money in your life. The more money you make other people, the more money you're going to make yourself. I'm going to challenge you. Take me back to the most life-changing conversation that you ever had. What is the greatest piece of advice you received throughout your career? Two poor men cannot help each other. It's the law. So what you're saying is, you got to get some rich friends is what you're saying. Well, I got where I am because of friendships with people who are going somewhere. Do you have any networking advice for people? Because you mentioned Joe Lonsdale. He's one of the biggest entrepreneurs in America. For somebody that wants to attach themselves, connect with the right people, what would your advice be to them? What's your advice? I started out as his intern, right? I was an intern. So the biggest advice for networking is serve people. How can I help? Those four words are the most powerful words in the world. Don't be a taker. Give, give, give, give, give. And eventually it will be given unto you. I have to ask you this. Do you believe in God? Absolutely. Who is your God? Jehovah. I mean, I believe in God. Everything that I have, and by the way, I was raised, I mean, this is all I have, right? The belief in God and doing his will. I always make sure that I am consistently doing God's will and I consider myself just a steward of his resources to work the earth and to keep it. How old are you now? I'm 35. And if me and you died tomorrow and you could leave one more message with the younger generation, what would that be? Built, built. So much of the world still needs to be built. There's an opportunity for you to build there and be of service to humanity and you'll probably find wealth along the way. You got amazing advice, my friend. Thank you. Thank you for your time. I like to connect with all the billionaires that I interview. Could I get your contact? Absolutely. So he became a millionaire at 23 and built $2 billion companies. And I think my favorite part about that entire interview is when he said the reason he became an entrepreneur is because he watched the social network and later Mark Zuckerberg himself, one of the richest men in the world, became an investor in his company. He just gave us an incredible interview and he talked about what people from all over the world should not be overlooking Africa because they have the largest population of young people in the entire world. We got to keep this thing rolling. Nigeria just got off to a crazy start, you guys. We got to go find our next millionaire or billionaire out here, you guys. Come on. Guys, we're on our way right now to our next interview but I want to point something out that's crazy about Nigeria. A lot of people don't even realize this but there are 220 million people that live in the country of Nigeria alone. Okay, the continent of Africa is absolutely massive. There's so much opportunity out here right now, you guys. And beyond that, there's a ton of billionaires that live out here in Nigeria and we're going to be meeting up with them throughout this entire video like we already have been, you guys. So let's go see who else we can find. How you doing, sir? It's good to meet you. James. Thank you for having us out here, man. We appreciate that. And you're, are you building, are you developing all this right here? Yes, yes, yes. Congratulations, man. Thank you, thank you. How long have you been a developer for? 21 years. 21 years, man. And did you grow up in the real estate business or how did you get into real estate? I got into real estate by accident. So a friend of mine gave me the opportunity to do a bit of agency work with him doing youth service and from that, I was able to make my first sale and subsequently start developing myself. Wow. How many projects to date have you done? Well, I'm sure we've done over 5,000 units. 5,000 units, man. Congratulations, man. And what was the most amount of money you made in a year at your business? $50 million. $50 million, man, congrats. Growing up, did you have any idea you were gonna build a company to that point, man? Never, you know, never imagined it. My growing up was not anything like this. There was a time we didn't have a roof over our head. You didn't have a roof? Yeah, because we were practically living in my mom's store and the landlord kicks us out so we spend some time under the bridge. Was that motivation for you? Was that motivation? Absolutely. Because you know what it is, like you don't even have a good roof over your head. So what kind of vision are you gonna have? What ambition would you have? So like I always say, the moment you give somebody a quality roof over their head, their perception of who they are, who they can become, begins to become evident in their thinking. For example, someone told me some years ago that he could not think because each time it's raining and he lives in a duplex and he gets down in the middle of the night, his living room is flooded. So he needs to swim to the door. Do you think such a man will be able to think beyond that environment? Do you think he'll be able to have an impactful business? Definitely not. You got rich off real estate. What is your secret to becoming wealthy through real estate? On the promise over the lever. Your name is the first opportunity for you to make money. What do you make out of your name? What is the integrity behind your name? You gotta keep your word is what you're saying. Keep your word. So if you tell people you deliver quality houses for them, deliver quality houses. What's the lesson about money that banks don't want people to know? Banks love everybody to keep their money, idling the banks, rather than money working for them. I'm one of those who believe strongly that for you to be successful, you need to have a huge portfolio of assets, landed assets, whether built or unbuilt, sitting behind your name. So let me ask you this right here. I'm going to challenge you. Take me back to the most life-changing conversation you've ever had. What's the greatest piece of advice you've received throughout your career? Throughout my career. What's the number one piece of advice that a mentor, somebody taught you about business that changed your life and changed the way you look at business or money? One of my mentors met me some years ago and he said to me, you're doing a whole lot, but you're not very visible. Took me to his office, sat in his boardroom, compared me to about three businesses, and he asked me, where, where, where, and where do I have sites? And I told him, and he said, do you know you are bigger than this person? You're bigger than this person, you're bigger than this person. And when he said that to me, I really checked, actually, seems like I was actually bigger than those people. And he said, but you know what? For the average person, they may not have the confidence to buy from you because they believe you may not be that big. And so they go and buy from people who haven't done the much that you have done because they perceive them, perception. So he said to me, perception is everything. And he told me again, Coca-Cola is a global name. To date, Coca-Cola is still advertising. So why would you say you are not advertising? Because I was arguing that practically all the products that we were selling had been pre-purchased from conceptualization's day. So there was no need for me to waste the money. And he said, no, that is where you're making the mistake because you have limited your potential. You have limited your growth. And that's why you may not have those opportunities that would have come to you. Branding never sleeps. Absolutely. You have to advertise what you're saying. Thank you. My last question for you, with all the knowledge, wisdom, experience that you have, if we could give the younger generation one last message, what would that be? It would be a message that Manuel saw me in Vegas and took me like his son. What he said to me, said to me at a particular point, his father called him into a room and said to him, what I'm going to give to you is the only thing I'll give to you. No assets, nothing more. I'm going to give you my name, just the same way my father left it for me. And that name is clothed in sparkling white. And so in your daily action, understand that this sparkling white name should not be tainted for immediate profits because your name will precede you in every room. And it's either you come into that room with people knowing because they don't know your capability. They've not heard you speak, but they are going to hear your name. And when they hear your name, what impression would they have of your name, of you before you get into that room? It's either they see you as somebody who is reputable, who they can sit with to have a conversation, see you as somebody who they can do business with, or see you as someone who, like you always said, if you must dine with the devil, dine with a long spoon, see you as someone they will never dine with. So never you, stay in your name. Can I tell you something? Yes. You have incredible advice, my friend. Thank you very much. Thank you for your time. Thank you. I like to connect with all the millionaires and billionaires out there. Can I get your contact? Is that cool? Yeah, absolutely. Guys, we just interviewed one of the biggest real estate developers in all of Africa. And we're headed right now to go get our next interview. But I want to emphasize what he said in that interview was the greatest piece of advice he ever received. He said his mentors told him that Coca-Cola, the biggest brands in the entire world, are still advertising to this day. Think about that. The biggest companies on earth, they never stop marketing. They never stop selling. And honestly, that is exactly why at the School of Hard Knocks, we use high level for our businesses. Because understand this, marketing gets people interested, but systems turn that interest into real revenue. High level is basically an all-in-one platform that runs our entire marketing and sales system. But this is why that's important. Because so many people pay for five or six different softwares. High level controls and handles everything in just one place. It builds out and controls our CRMs, our calendars, our funnels, our email and text automation. And it even follows up with our leads automatically so we never leave any money on the table. And that's what I've learned after interviewing billionaires all over the world. I mean, look, we're in Africa. The companies that scale aren't just better at getting attention. They're better at turning that attention into customers. High level helps us automate that entire process so we spend less time chasing leads and actually growing the business. So if you're serious about scaling your company, all you have to do is click the link down in the description of this video and start your trial using high level today. Watch your business change forever. With that being said, let's go find our next millionaire or billionaire out here in Nigeria. Excuse me, sir. Sir, question for you. How old were you when you made your first million? Well, that's a tricky question to answer just because of the nature of what I do. So I'll refrain from answering a direct question to that. What do you do? So I'm group CEO for the Stock Exchange. It's the national stock exchange in Nigeria. Probably second largest exchange in Africa. We're trying to change that narrative to be the largest exchange in Africa. Well, yes, I'm the group managing director for the exchange. You're in finance. I am in finance, yes. How is Nigeria going to become one of the largest exchanges or one of the biggest players in the African continent right now? I love that question. So many ways we're going to do it. One, we're going to play on our strengths. What is a strength? One, we've got this very youthful, very vibrant, upwardly mobile population. They love to make money. They're very entrepreneurial. Our culture is strong. There's so much we have to offer to the world. We're going to look to leverage on that as a market. Number two, we have a lot more established businesses. So that really you think of this like a supply and demand conversation. A supply of very good companies that want to raise capital on the exchange and a demand from people who want to support those businesses, people who want to make money, make wealth from the capital market. And then on top of that, I'll add creativity and ingenuity. Where we start to ask ourselves in my side of the world, how do you leverage on our culture? It's a very strong force now globally. How does the capital markets meet and bridge that divide? How did you get into the position that you are today where you're running the stock exchange out here in Nigeria? I mean, that's incredible. Very good question. One, I would like to say that I'm very privileged. You know, it's not that I'm the smartest person by any means. But yes, I've had a career that also has been able to help me get here. I schooled here in Nigeria. I did my undergraduate in Nigeria. I was very fortunate to go to the US. I got a scholarship to MIT. So I started chemical engineering there, made my way to Wall Street, traded derivatives in New York for a bit. Came back to Nigeria. I've had very broad shoulders of people to leverage on and to ride on. And, you know, the markets also have been kind to me. And some way, shape or form, I found myself in this role after several, several years of working within financial markets. What is the number one lesson about money you've learned throughout your career? You worked on Wall Street. You're running the stock exchange. What's the number one financial lesson you've learned that you would instill in the younger generation right here? Well, I would say perhaps get to a point where money starts to work for you. Invest your money is what you're saying? Invest your money, pretty much. Exactly. What's the best industry in the next one to two years that you would be investing in right now if you had some capital put to the side? I'd say artificial intelligence is definitely, you know, a path for the future. But number two, in any sectors in Nigeria where I sit, that really have to do with the future of the country. So whether that's energy sufficiency, whether that's food sufficiency, you know, as a country, it's those sorts of sectors I've been looking into agri as really the next frontier. How old are you today? I'm 45. You could leave one last message right here with the younger generation. What would that be? Tricky. No, you're making me wear another hat of mine. I am very big on sort of the mind and, you know, sort of psychology. I'd say maybe neuroplasticity. Brains continue to change. They continue to evolve. You can achieve and get your brain to do anything that you want it to be as long as you have agency, which is a desire to actually say, you know what? I can do this. I can get this done. And you have a few other things like optimism and the ability just to dream and to think. This is what I'll probably leave people with. Not anything's possible, really. Thank you so much for your time. It's a real pleasure. I really appreciate that, man. Thanks for the awesome advice, man. It means a lot. Thank you, sir. I'll give you my phone as well, please, too. So Nigeria has been insane, you guys. One of my favorite countries that I've ever been to or filmed in. But what we're about to do is do something even crazier. I'm about to interview one of the richest billionaires in Nigeria. But he's not just a billionaire. See, this guy transformed Nigerian banking forever. He built one of the biggest banking empires in the entire continent. And beyond that, he committed $100 million to helping the next generation of African entrepreneurs. Well, we're about to get $100 million with the business advice and knowledge from him. In this interview, we're about to go interview the man himself, Mr. Tony. Let's go see what he has to say. All right, you guys. So we are right now on the way to the interview. And the area that we're driving through is called Ikoi. Ikoi? Ikoi, yeah. And this is one of the wealthiest, most affluent places in all of Nigeria, you guys. So it's safe to say that we're really in billionaire's world right now. And we're about to link up with one. So come with us right now to go meet and interview a billionaire out here in Nigeria. Come on. All right, you guys, look. I don't know if I'm in Beverly Hills right now or if I'm in Nigeria, man. I mean, look at some of these compounds, man. They got some proper palm trees out here as well, man. And look, we are really in a billionaire's neighborhood right now, you guys. So this is about to be an incredible experience out here in Nigeria, you guys. Come on. Nice to meet you, my friend. Good to meet you. How are you doing? I'm doing good, man. It's nice to see you. Nice to see you. This is not Tony. I know, I know, I know, I know, I know. This way. I don't know if this is a home or we got a resort right here, man. He got the tennis court out back. So it's his home in Lagos. He's usually between Lagos, Niger, London. Now, how do you work with Tony? Like, what do you do with him? I'm his executive assistant. Oh, nice. Very cool. So I work with him in his office. So you work more closely with Tony than 99% of people will ever work with him. Let me ask you this. I always like to talk to people that are kind of in the position that you are working for. A lot of these very successful billionaire entrepreneurs. Why is Tony so successful? Everything he does is like excellence. It has to be excellent. It has to be perfect. Perfection. Yeah, I love it. So he's one of those. We're back at the front of the house for this interview, you guys. But hey, you want to know how a billionaire lives? All you got to do is look at the backyard right here, man. Take a look. Take a look right there. And we didn't even go down to the second one, man. He's got two pools, full size in the back of his house, man. So he ain't living too bad over here out in Nigeria, you guys. This is the most expensive area in all of Nigeria. Yeah, we were talking about that on the way over here, man. Bodilon Road. Okay. The most expensive. So this is Billionaire's Row in Nigeria. Bro, this property off the top of my head, I'm looking like $18, $20 million. That's crazy, man. How you doing, sir? It's nice to meet you. Yes, sir. Thank you for having us out. Thank you. I came from Texas. So we've got a channel with about 24 million followers, and we inspire entrepreneurs all over the world, highlighting people like yourself. Thank you, sir. I appreciate that. I'm trying to get like you. I appreciate that. For the people that don't know, where are you from? Are you from Nigeria? I'm a Nigerian, an African, and I'm from Delta State in Nigeria. And you've built some amazing businesses. You own one of the largest banks in all of Africa. Banking is one of our investments, yes. So I started as a banker before I got to where I am today. Today, we are diversified. And what are you doing today? I'm the founder of Ezodins. Ezodins is our family office that brings together all our investments from banking, oil and gas, power, hospitality, real estate. Do you know that you're the 60th billionaire that I've interviewed? What? You are the 60th billionaire that I've interviewed on this channel. Very good. What you're doing is good. People want to learn about those who have succeeded. They want to learn about those who have made mistakes so that they too can become more successful than some of what you have interviewed. And I have one rule for all my interviews. There's no holding back. We're going to give them the blueprint on how to become successful. Is that okay? And also teach them how to be tenacious. It's drizzling and we're here. We're still out here. That's all business entails. Can we make that happen? Yeah. Awesome. Did you come from a lot of money growing up? No, I didn't. Lower middle class. So you didn't come from a rich family, but a rich family came from you. What was your turning point to financial freedom? What was that moment in your life that you were like, I'm going to go out there and build an empire for myself? When preparation meets luck, there's opportunity. I love that right there, my friend. Was the sacrifice worth it? Significantly. You know, even deciding first time not to buy a car and rather save the money and use the money to acquire property. You didn't have a car for a long time. Yeah, I didn't have a car for a long time. But you bought an asset. You bought real estate. So this is my fourth private jet I'm flying. Your fourth private jet. Fourth one. But I didn't have a car growing up. But that is what happens when you are focused. And so a friend of mine sent me a message and said, now you can go on vacation. And I said to a friend of mine, I go on vacation for money, but I do things that give me excitement, things that give me joy. I love what I do. People should define what's important to them in life. What does wealth mean to you? You gave $100 million to young entrepreneurs in Africa. It's more today. How much money? How much money you gave to young entrepreneurs? Tell us, man, tell us. Every year, we give non-refundable seat caps to about $5,000 to each of them. Why are you doing that? We're doing it because we need to democratize prosperity. We need to realize that it is not how much we have in our bank balances that's important. It is about impact. It's about legacy. There's no reason living in so much uplands and uplands when your neighbors are begging for food. So you can't be the only tree in the forest. You need to make sure that there are more. Can't be the only tree in the forest. I love that, man. You bought your first business in the 1990s. Did you have people that thought you were crazy when you did that? Did you have people that doubted you when you did that? Yes. They thought we were jokers. I said to my team then, I said, They thought Jesus was crazy, you said. How big is that company today? Did you say $16 billion? $16 billion. So I have to ask you, are you a millionaire or a billionaire? Tell me, man. Which one? Yes, I'm a billionaire. What is the best financial advice you would give to the younger generation? Save. Savings. Savings is extremely important. That's how I started. You earn a dollar and you tell yourself, It's just a dollar. I can't save anything. When you earn a billion dollars, you won't save anything. So have that discipline. That discipline is so important. Have that discipline of saving. Earn a dollar, save some cents. You mentioned save, but you can't save your way to becoming wealthy though. You have to invest it, right? Yeah. No, that's what I'm saying. But certain point is to save. And when you save, you invest. Do you believe in God? Oh, significantly. Everything I do, God is the foundation. I mean, everything we have today is because God has prepared us for it. You wouldn't be a billionaire if it wasn't for God. We all are successful today because of God. And don't forget, success comes from God. My final question for you. 63 years old. If me and you died tomorrow and you had one more message to leave with the younger generation, what would that be? Be optimistic about the future. You always think that the times you live are the worst. It's never the worst. Just be optimistic or realize that that optimism cannot bet itself. Be optimistic, futuristic, work hard, stay focused on your vision, and above all, be hungry and you'll succeed. I love that. Thank you so much for your time. You're welcome. You got amazing advice. I connect with all the billionaires that I interview. Can I get your contact? Okay. Is that cool? Yeah, it's cool. Guys, that's a wrap on today's video, man. We just did that interview with the billionaire in the rain. His companies were $16 billion. Africa was incredible. Nigeria was incredible, you guys. I need you to stop right now. Like and subscribe for amazing content coming every single week to the School of Hard Knocks. We're going all over the world. This is, I think, the fifth country that we've filmed in for this channel, man, and we're not going to stop. So like and subscribe for amazing content coming every single week. And I want to go one more step further. I want to give you direct access to the millionaires and billionaires. We interview on this channel every week. I host live calls with the eight, nine, and 10-figure entrepreneurs I interview on the School of Hard Knocks. If you want access, all you have to do is go down, click the link in the description of this video, and I'll see you inside the School of Mentors, the number one community for entrepreneurs in the entire world. I can't wait to see you on the inside. That being said, see you in the next video.