Jim Ovia Biography, The family of Obi Olihe of Agbor-Obi includes Jim Ovia, who is the second son in the family. His father was widely regarded as one of the most powerful chiefs in the Agbor Kingdom of Delta State.
Jim Ovia personal profile
| Born | Jim James Ovia 4 November 1951 (age 71) Agbor, Southern Region, British Nigeria (now in Delta State, Nigeria) |
|---|---|
| Nationality | Nigerian |
| Occupation | Businessman |
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Jim Ovia Date of Birth
Jim James Ovia is a Nigerian businessman and a resident of Agbor, which is located in Delta State. He was born on November 4, 1951. He established Zenith Bank in the year 1990.
Jim Ovia Education
After completing his elementary schooling in Delta State, he went on to complete his secondary education at the illustrious Ika Grammar School in Bojiboji-Owa.
Jim Ovia received his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Louisiana in Monroe, Louisiana, in the United States of America in 1979. Prior to that, he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in the United States of America (1977). In addition to that, he holds a degree from Harvard Business School (OPM).
Jim Ovia Wife
Jim is married to Kay Ovia, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer at Quantum Markets Ltd.
Jim Ovia Source of Wealth – Zenith Bank PLC
Forbes Africa bestowed the title of “Godfather of Banking” upon Jim Ovia for his accomplishment of establishing the most successful bank in Nigeria. As of today, Zenith Bank has over $16 billion in assets spread across over 300 branches in Nigeria. Additionally, the bank has a strategic international presence in the United Kingdom, Dubai, China, Ghana, Sierra Leone, and the Gambia.
Zenith Bank was ranked 325th in the world by The Banker in their 2016 list of the Top 1000 World Banks. He has always fostered a high degree of corporate governance throughout the Bank, which ultimately led to the institution achieving a GDR listing on the London Stock Exchange in the amount of $850 million in 2013. In 2017, the Bank issued a 500 million dollar Eurobond, which was oversubscribed by a factor of four and priced at a level that was superior to the comparable home country sovereign bond.
Jim Ovia Net worth
Jim Ovia is one of the richest bankers in Nigeria, ranking in the top 10. He not only established Zenith Bank but is also the organization’s single most important stakeholder at this time. In addition to the Lagos Marriott Hotel and the Aquamarine Boat Club, he also owns the over 15-story Civic Towers, which are properties that are together worth billions of Naira and are located in various parts of the country.
According to Forbes, Jim Ovia is projected to have a net worth of $550 million at the present time. In his role as Chairman of Prudential Zenith Life Assurance Limited, he oversaw the historic partnership between Prudential UK, one of the largest life insurance companies in the world, and Zenith Life, Nigeria’s most rapidly expanding life insurance company. Zenith Life is currently the market leader in Nigeria. At the moment, he serves as both the Chairman and the primary shareholder of Zenith General Insurance Limited, which is recognized as Nigeria’s most lucrative general insurance company.
He is an enthusiastic fan of iconic architecture, and in order to capitalize on Nigeria’s expanding hospitality sector, he designed and built the Aquamarine Boat Club and the Civic Centre. In close proximity to this structure, he constructed the Civic Towers, a 15-story office complex that is often jokingly referred to as Nigeria’s “Empire State Building.” He founded Cyberspace Limited to offer internet services and Visafone Communications Limited to offer telecommunications services. His motivation for doing so was the potential role that technology may play in the Nigerian economy. The latter was acquired by MTN, the largest telecommunications company in Africa, in 2015 for a price that has not been disclosed.
Jim Ovia’s impact on the Nigerian economy has been acknowledged by multiple governments, and in recognition of this, he was made a Member of the Federal Republic (MFR, 2000) and a Commander of the Order of Niger (CON, 2011). He holds degrees from Harvard Business School’s Office of Professional Management, the University of Louisiana’s MBA program, and Southern University in Louisiana (B.Sc).
Jim Ovia Scandal with Godwin Emefiele, Governor of CBN
Godwin Emefiele, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, and Jim Ovia, the Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, have become embroiled in a major tax evasion scandal in Europe as a result of revelations that they most likely avoided the payment of approximately £11 million in value-added tax while importing luxury jets into the European Union. This news came about as a result of revelations that they most likely skipped the payment of the tax.
According to reports from PREMIUM TIMES, the two individuals are among a number of prominent people throughout the world who are suspected of using phony leasing schemes to avoid paying VAT on jets that were brought into the EU.
More than 380 journalists from 96 media organizations in 67 countries scrutinized leaked data obtained by the German newspaper Suddeutsche Zeitung and the International Consortium of International Journalists (ICIJ) from two offshore secrecy providers (Appleby and Asiaciti Trust) and 19 secrecy jurisdictions around the world. This led to the revelations that have come to light.
One of the most significant data breaches in history is represented by the 1.4 terabytes of information that has been nicknamed the “Paradise Papers.” This breach includes 13.4 million individual records.