A combined picture of Mr. Tony Elumelu and UBA headquarters
By Victory Oghene
In the last couple of years the number of accounts opened by Nigerians with billionaire Tony Elumelu’s led United Bank for Africa (UBA) have tremendously been on the increase. Not only that, the bank is rated as one of the few banks with a solid financial base and reputed to be reliable.
Recall that UBA which is currently one of the leading banks in Africa was incorporated in Nigeria as a limited liability company on February 23, 1961, taking over the assets and liabilities of the British and French Bank, which had been operating in Nigeria since 1949. Currently, it has over a 1000 branches on account of services rendered which culminated to the increase of account holders and makes it one of the banks with the largest distribution network in Nigeria snd beyond. UBA has a significant presence across 20 other African countries and operates in the US, UK, and France.
One man who has nurtured the UBA’s dream to fruition with his enviable team is Mr. Tony Elumelu, a billionaire by all standards and a man of untainted integrity No doubt, he could be described as the alchemist of banking industry and finance.
Elumelu gleamed like a star set aflame in ethical brilliance among his contemporaries. A man whose business ethos is rooted in trust,
profit and a progressive culture; an entrepreneur who wields principle like a blade through industry odds.
This shrewd business tycoon has perfected the art of turning keystrokes into castles. His is a mind mapped with systems, a spirit stirred by symbols of capital and trust.
Acknowledged globally and revered locally, Elumelu has done more than run a bank, he has founded a financial philosophy. One that weds innovation with integrity, data with destiny.
Under his watch, UBA has become grown in unimaginable leaps.
Through his strategic stake in UBA and other thriving enterprises such as Heirs Energies (formerly Heirs Oil & Gas), Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp)
Mr. Elumrlu has become a keystone in Nigeria’s financial edifice. His impact ripples outward, like concentric circles, touching the shores of other African countries extending through the United Kingfom and the US.
Mr. Elumelu redefines the dimensions of success with every acquisition, reform, and act of stewardship.
he has earned for himself, the reputation as a refined capitalist: elegant, ethical, and enduring.
His corporate deportment radiates a progressive culture that others emulate, signaling transparency, accountability, and sustainability of his financial empires.
An incredible man of extraordinary ideas, in no time, this billionaire business mogul was able to turn a humble start into a multibillion-dollar empire.
NATIONAL WAVES investigations revealed that Elumelu
explored his bold business strategies, the challenges he overcame, and his unwavering vision for shaping Nigeria’s banking and energy sectors.
In the banking sector where shortcuts are tempting, Elumelu has consistently chosen the path of integrity. He has steered UBA with an unwavering commitment to the highest standards.
Indeed, it is a stamp of honour for Elumelu who has always demonstrated his efforts to keep his honesty intact no matter the situation.
Elumelu’s story contradicts the principles and norms of ego-tripping. He parades himself as a mushroom on which the dew of heaven drops from time to time. He never draws attention to how rich he is neither does he function on the oxygen of his blooming renown, and that is a wonderful trait in a shrewd businessman.
Pppscooped that one good attribute that remains sacrosanct for this Delta born financial expert is that he cherishes hard work and this has culminated in his success story. He is also humble to a fault. He understands that humility is not a peculiar habit of self-effacement but rather an insipid trait like having an inaudible voice, a selfless respect for reality and one of the most difficult and central of all the virtues. Hence his desire to remain humble, even when with his contemporaries and lesser men.
How Elumelu Became One of Top Nigeria’s Billionaires
Billionaire Tony Elumelu is estimated to have a net worth of $2.15bn.
He sits atop Heirs Holdings with investment portfolio spanning the power, energy, financial services, hospitality, real estate, healthcare and technology sectors, operating in twenty-four countries worldwide.
It is inspired by Africapitalism, the belief by Mr. Elumelu, that the private sector is the key enabler of economic and social wealth creation in Africa.
Elumelu controls a significant stake in Transcorp via HH Capital Limited, Heirs Holdings Limited and personal/family holdings. As of Full Year 2024, his family’s stake (including wife Awele Elumelu) hit 35.93% or 3.652 billion shares per latest financials.
Elumelu’s 2,997,789,337 shares are held indirectly through HH Capital Limited and 68,386,431 shares are held indirectly through Heirs Holdings Limited. A further 68,276,011 are held directly.
A share reconstruction exercise was concluded in 2024, leading to a reduction in the volume of shares held, however the percentage holdings remain the same.
Transcorp’s shares have surged from a reconstructed share price of N5.16 in March 2023 to N51 per share on March 10th 2025. Total market capitalization of Transcorp as at Monday March 10th was N523.8 billion.
The 35.93% stake was equivalent to N187.9 billion or $125 million (at N1500/$).
Transcorp Plc recorded 107% revenue growth to N407.9 billion ($271 million) in 2024, while Full Year profit rose a massive 189.7% to N94 billion ($62.6 million), signaling strength.
NATIONAL WAVES gathered that the Board of Directors f N4,064,799,029.30 or 40 kobo per ordinary share (equivalent of 10 kobo per share pre capital reconstruction). The Board of Directors has proposed N6,097,198,543.95 or 60 kobo per share as final dividend, bringing the total dividend for 2024 to N10,161,997,574 or N1.00 per share.
It is a statement of fact to state that Elumelu and family will be paid N3.65 billion as dividend for 2024.
Mr. Elumelu is the Chairman of United Bank for Africa (UBA) and largest individual shareholder. Data from the 2023 financial statement (2024 numbers are awaited) shows that Elumelu owns a 7.43% stake in UBA.
UBA has 34.2 billion shares outstanding, with Elumelu’s shares comprising 2.3467 billion indirect shares owned through Heirs Holdings Limited (1.814 billion shares), HH Capital Limited (302.29 million shares) and Heirs Alliance Limited (231 million shares) plus 195.12 million direct shares.
UBA’s share price hit N37.60 in March 10, 2025 trading, up from N23 per share a year ago in March in 2023.
UBA According to chart sourced from Bloomberg, UBA’s market capitalisation is N1.286 trillion meaning Elumelu has a stake worth N95.54 billion or $63.69 million (at N1500/$).
UBA’s gross earnings rose significantly in the 9-months 2024 period by 83.2 per cent to N2.398 trillion up from N1.308 trillion recorded in September 2023.
There was a 20.2 per cent increase in Profit before Tax (PBT) to N603.48 billion from N502.09 billion recorded at the end of the third quarter of 2023, while profit after tax also surged by 16.9 per cent to N525.31 billion from N449.26 billion recorded a year earlier in the period under review.
Full Year 2024 numbers are being awaited but expected to follow the same trajectory as 9-montsh 2024 results.
Key Subsidiaries via Heirs Holdings
Heirs Holdings was founded in 2010 and is Mr Elumelu’s private investment engine and wholly family-owned (likely held via trusts or direct shares). It controls stakes across sectors and here’s the big ones:
Transcorp Power is a Transcorp subsidiary with 50% owned by the group. Mr Elumelu’s 35.93% stake in Transcorp flows through here indirectly.
Transcorp Power has a market captalisation of N2.73 trillion ($1.82 billion) as at March 10, 2025.
Elumelu’s share via Transcorp’s 36% is $653 million, however due to the classic conglomerate discount this is already baked into the Transcorp PLC’s valuation.
Transcorp Power is growing so fast that analysts are struggling to catch up. Transcorp Power reported a 115% increase in revenue to N305.9 billion for 2024, equivalent to 61 percent of its 2031 revenue targets being achieved last year with six more years still left (2025 – 2031) in the forecast period.
Profit after tax surged by 165% to N80 billion in Full Year (FY) 2024, from N30.2 billion in FY 2023.
Another major subsidiary that is 76% owned by Transcorp Plc is Transcorp Hotels Plc
It owns the flagship Transcorp Hilton Abuja.
The hospitality venture has a market capitalization of N1.292 trillion or $861 million.
Transcorp Hotels delivered 69% revenue growth to N70.134 billion in Full Year 2024, while profit after tax rose 138% to N14.895 billion.
As the major subsidiaries (Transcorp Power and Transcorp Hotels) continue to grow it will be reflected in the valuation of the parent Transcorp Plc and as such increase Mr. Elumelu’s net worth.
So also is Heirs Energies (formerly Heirs Oil & Gas).
This company has demonstrated remarkable operational excellence since acquiring the OML 17 block in July 2021. Within just 100 days of taking over operations, the company doubled its oil production from 27,000 to 52,000 barrels per day.
The asset is 100% Heirs Holdings-owned which bought 45% of OML 17 for $1.1 billion in 2021 with Transcorp (Energy Capital Power). Heirs Energies is the sole operator of OML 17, in Nigeria’s Niger Delta.
The asset (OML 17’s) output of 52,000 bpd with 2P reserves of 1.2 billion boe, and an additional 1 billion boe resources of further exploration potential and gas assets, suggest a $1.5-$2 billion valuation in 2025.
With Brent oil at $70/per barrel, Seplat a comparable indigenous oil producer with 52,947 barrels of oil equivalents per day (BOEPD) in 2024 had a market capitalization of $2.23 billion or N3.35 trillion as at March 10 2025.
Heirs Holdings also oversees Heirs Insurance Group (Heirs Insurance, Heirs Life Assurance)
Heirs Group’s General and Life companies, combined, recorded a 59.30% increase in Gross Written Premium (GWP), rising from N19.9 billion in 2022 to N31.7 billion, for the year ending December 31, 2023, as they both enter their fourth year of operations.
In addition, the Group’s earned insurance revenue for year 2023 stood at N20.5 billion, a surge of 80% from N11.3 billion in 2022, reaffirming the Group as one of the fastest-growing insurance groups in Nigeria.
The firm could garner a valuation of 2 times sales comparable to AXA Mansard Insurance.
This would value it at N42 billion or $28 million (2x revenue, per solid growth and industry norms). Mr. Elumelu’s full stake would then be also equivalent to $28 million.
Heirs Holdings also has a stake in United Capital Plc
Tony Elumelu an astute businessman in all ramifications is not all about making money he gives back to
humanity.
His philanthropy gesture is extra ordinary. He runs a philanthropic foundation which catalyses entrepreneurship across Africa, through the USD $100million known as The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme, advocacy and research.
