**Adebayo Ogunlesi**
Adebayo Ogunlesi, aged 70, serves as the Chairman and co-founder of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a private equity firm headquartered in New York, focusing on infrastructure investments. In 2024, BlackRock acquired GIP in a deal worth $12.5 billion, involving both cash and shares. Despite the acquisition, Ogunlesi retained his position as Chairman and CEO. His wealth is estimated at $1.7 billion.
**Tope Awotona**
Tope Awotona, 43, is the visionary founder and CEO of Calendly, a scheduling software platform that has revolutionized how individuals and businesses manage appointments. Originally from Lagos, Nigeria, Awotona relocated to Atlanta at 15. He later attended the University of Georgia, where he studied computer science and business. Awotona's entrepreneurial journey began after years in tech sales, culminating in the establishment of Calendly in 2013. In 2021, he secured $350 million in funding, bringing the company’s valuation to $3 billion and increasing his personal net worth to approximately $1.4 billion.
**Wemimo Abbey**
Wemimo Abbey, 32, is the co-founder and co-CEO of Esusu, a fintech firm based in New York. Esusu focuses on helping renters improve their credit by reporting on-time rent payments to credit bureaus. Born and raised in Lagos, Nigeria, Abbey has a professional background in mergers and acquisitions and has also co-founded a nonprofit organization. Esusu achieved a $1 billion valuation after raising $130 million in early 2022. The company currently serves over 1.8 million renters across 20,000 properties in the United States.
The achievements of these three individuals underscore the substantial contributions of Nigerian-born entrepreneurs to the global economy, particularly in the U.S.
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