Billionaires are usually very busy people, so it is expected that they won’t have much time to spend on social media. However, since the Internet has grown into a platform not only for social activities but business as well, quite a number of billionaires are active on social media for a variety of reasons. Society Plus takes a look at the social media activities of some of these men of means
Tony Elumelu
Tony Elumelu is the Chairman of United Bank of Africa and Heirs Holdings. He is also the founder of Tony Elumelu Foundation. The business mogul does not just create time for his family, he documents those moments on his social media pages.
He has about 903,000 followers on Instagram, where he makes posts about regular happenings in his life. The father-of-seven also shares his work achievements, business meetings, dinners and gym time with his followers.
He is also on Facebook and Twitter, where he has about 458,000 and 1.2m followers respectively. On the average, he posts about three times a week. His posts attract an average of 30,000 ‘likes’.
In one of his Monday motivational quotes on August 1, 2022, he wrote on Facebook, “Let’s dream big but realise that hard work, resilience, discipline, staying focused, and making short-term sacrifices are the critical components for success.” The post had 5,000 likes, 385 comments and 396 shares.
Femi Otedola
Femi Otedola is another billionaire who does not joke with his family, and he usually makes posts about them on social media.
Some of his children are entertainers— Tolani (Olawunmi), DJ Cuppy (Florence) and Temi Otedola, and that adds to his appeal to the youth on social media.
He often posts fond moments with his family, business partners, and other activities he participates in.
On Instagram, Otedola has 1.4million followers. In his last post (as of the time of filing this report), he wished his wife ‘a happy birthday’ and it attracted reactions from several people, including fellow billionaire, Tony Elumelu.
In another post on March 13, 2022, Otedola had written, “When I feel cold, I go straight to my fireplace.” Elumelu commented with a ‘thumbs up’ emoji and wrote, “Fine home.”
On Twitter, Otedola has about 712,000 followers where he also posts about his family, work, and business activities. However, his posts on Twitter are not as frequent as those on Instagram. His posts on family usually has more engagement, especially those which are about his daughter, Temi, and her music artiste fiancé, Mr Eazi.
Whenever he goes on vacation to different parts of the world where he owns houses, he shares the pictures with his social media followers.
In a post talking about his friendship with the Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, he described the latter as his “good friend, brother and indefatigable leader”, whom he always delights in “catching up” with. The post, which was made on July 6, 2022, had 21,259 ‘likes’ and 1,367 comments.
On July 5, 2022, Otedola trended online when he endorsed the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, on Twitter and Instagram. The post was greeted with mixed reactions as some people bashed him for his actions. Nevertheless, others felt it was within his right to support any candidate he desires.
Otedola has proven that one can run successful businesses and still create time for social media without losing track of any.
Terry Waya
Terry Waya is the father of a former Big Brother Naija housemate, Kiddwaya. He is also known as Mr Versace because of his love for the luxury brand. He has 192k followers on Instagram.
Most of his posts are about his holiday moments in various countries including France, Spain and Turkey, where he attends high profile parties. His posts do not come weekly but when he does, it is usually about him relaxing with family and friends.
On his Instagram page, he describes himself as a ‘public figure, an agro-allied industrialist and investor’. His love for Versace is evident in his posts as most of his outfits are usually by the designer.
Orji Kalu
Orji Kalu is a billionaire businessman and a former governor of Abia State (1999 to 2007). He is the chairman of Slok Holdings.
On Instagram, he has 21,500 followers and on Facebook, he has 184,000 followers, where he regularly talks about his activities as a Senator representing Abia North federal constituency in the National Assembly.
In his latest Instagram post on August 18, he wrote, “Rumours can make you dislike innocent people. Don’t judge people from what others are saying about them. Be wise, get to know them for yourself, then form your own opinion. The one talking to you may be the one you need to stay away from.”
He is also known as a lover of sports and has often supported the Nigerian national teams. At times, he adorns the Nigerian tracksuit to events.
Recall that on Saturday, August 13, 2022, he made a post on Facebook about popular England football club, Manchester United, who were beaten 4:0 by Brentford. According to the politician, it will be the first time in 84 years that the club will experience such a result from Brentford.
His post attracted mixed reactions from the youth, who linked the defeat of Manchester United to him and his political party, the All Progressives Congress. Some people commented that in the coming elections in 2023, Kalu and his party will be defeated at the polls too.
This made the 62-year-old to caution the youths commenting on his page.
In a video, Kalu said, “Instead of Nigerian youths to face what the business is about, they are facing what is not the business. When we talk about Man United, they should reply to the club, not to be abusing a statesman like me that this is how my party will end and all that.
“We should learn. You don’t insult your elders and become successful. I don’t want to curse anybody in Nigeria because I did not behave like this as a youth. When I was 25, I was already very successful.”
Ned Nwoko
Billionaire businessman and politician, Ned Nwoko has 508,000 followers on Instagram, where he describes himself as a ‘lawyer, environmentalist, philanthropist and Antarctica explorer’.
On Twitter, he has 5,026 followers.
He regularly posts about his family, especially his young wife and actress, Regina Daniels. He uses his page to talk about sports and environmental issues; as well as clear the air on rumours about him.
On February 20, 2022, he dispelled rumours of him getting married to another wife. He wrote, “Ned Nwoko marries another wife. This is fake news and you should not help to propagate it. If I want to marry, it will not be done in secret.” The post had 15,885 ‘likes’ and 1,325 comments.
He also congratulated popular athlete, Tobi Amusan, who became the first Nigerian to win a gold medal at the 2022 World Athletics Championships.
On May 12, 2022, he posted the certificate of approval for his Sports University in Idumuje-Ugboko, Delta State. It generated 9,736 ‘likes’ and 637 comments.
