Background:
Kolawole Aluko was born in Lagos on 20 October, 1969. His mother is a pharmacist while his father, Chief Akanni Aluko, is a high chief in Ilesa, Osun State. He attended Igbobi College in Lagos. Speaking about his growing up years, Aluko was once quoted, "I was from an early age very ambitious and I always knew I wanted to work for myself."
Business career:
Recently, according to Forbes, Seven Energy, a leading energy firm which was co-founded by Aluko, closed a financing round that now values the company at nearly $1 billion. Temasek, the investment holding company owned by the government of Singapore, made a $150 million investment in Seven Energy, a privately-held Nigerian oil and gas exploration company that Aluko co-founded in 2004.
In a press release issued by Seven Energy, the company said it plans to use the funds to develop its growing portfolio of assets in Nigeria:
Aluko founded oil exploration company, Exoro Energy, in 2004 after a successful career in oil trading. That same year, Exoro partnered with Energy Ventures International, a Nigerian subsidiary of Weatherford, a Swiss-based oil and gas servicing firm, to market the latter's exploration and production technology in Nigeria. Energy Ventures subsequently changed its name to Seven Energy, and in 2007, Aluko led a management buy-out of Seven Energy. The company began acquiring Nigerian oil producing assets in 2009. Aluko left the company's management and board in 2011.
According to Forbes, his stake in Seven Energy is not his largest asset. This is his 50% stake in Atlantic Energy, a private upstream Oil and Gas Company that has a very lucrative, Strategic Alliance Agreement (SAA) with the government-owned Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) in relation to four oil-producing oil blocks – OML 26, OML 30, OML 34 and OML 42. NPDC, which is the operating arm of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), owns 55 per cent in each of these oil blocks, which collectively produce an average of over 108,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Under the agreement Atlantic Energy currently has with NPDC, Atlantic Energy funds NPDC's share of the operating costs of the four oil blocks by paying the latter's entire cash obligations. In return for funding NPDC's operating and capital activity costs, Atlantic Energy gets back costs, meaning that NPDC pays back to Atlantic Energy the initial money used to finance the operating costs, and also earns 35 per cent of profits on the oil blocks.
Quoting its website, Forbes said Atlantic Energy has spent a little over $500 million on the oil blocks over the last two years. The company is believed to have earned hundreds of millions of dollars from its share of profits during the period. The government-owned NPDC has not reported its share of the profits on the oil blocks it co-owns.
"As a result of his various stakes in oil companies and the profits they have thrown off, Kola Aluko has been on the radar for the annual Forbes Billionaires List and Forbes list of Africa's 50 Richest.
"Aluko, who has recently been in the media spotlight for his closeness to stars like Naomi Campbell and Hollywood A-lister Leonardo DiCaprio, is also a co-founder of the Made In Africa Foundation, a UK nonprofit that supports and funds master plans and feasibility studies for large scale infrastructure projects across Africa. Avenue in New York and other homes in Abuja and Geneva, Switzerland," said Forbes.
His passion for race cars:
According to a post on Nigeriavillagesquare, "Aluko is a passionate motor sports enthusiast. He races and competes in conjunction with Swiss-based Ferrari team, Kessel Racing.
Aluko often cites the racing car driver, Ayrton Senna, as a main inspiration, drawing parallels between racing, business and life in general. When asked on his advice for young entrepreneurs, Aluko said: "The key is focus, focus and again focus. Identify the things you are good at, your strengths, and get to work on your weaknesses. The racing car driver, Ayrton Senna, a man who inspired me greatly, is a good example. Senna was an exceptional driver, however, initially he was terrible in wet conditions, compared to racing in the dry, but he identified his weakness, and so everytime it rained, he jumped into his car, and practised, practised, practised, until he arguably became the best wet weather driver in history."
His love for mansions and yachts:
"In June 2012, he was reported to have purchased two luxury ultra-modern estates in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California for $40 million.
He owns a 65-metre Galactica Star Yacht, which is said to cost above $50 million and he lives in his $40 million home in Los Angeles and $8.6 million duplex on Fifth Avenue in New York and other homes in Abuja and Geneva, Swit.
