Who is the richest musician in Nigeria? This is one of the commonest questions young Nigerians following events in the entertainment industry ask each other.
Music is one of the most profitable sectors in Nigeria. It is not uncommon to see top musicians in Nigeria driving one of the most expensive cars in the world and flaunting their riches on the social media.
Most of the articles about the richest musicians in Nigeria I have read only examines the wealth these musicians get from the musical acts and other entertainment endeavours. Some of the musicians in Nigeria also engage in businesses outside the entertainment industry and they make good money from these businesses.
I will only talk about musicians who are Nigerian and based in Nigeria.
Top 10 richest musicians in Nigeria
There are a lot of rich musicians in Nigerian but I will only talk about the top 10. My list is derived from detailed research and examination of data and information about the wealth of these musicians.
Don Jazzy
Michael Collins Ajereh also known as Don Jazzy is inarguably the richest music producer in Nigeria. He is popular for being one of the co-founders of Mo’ Hits Record.
Don Jazzy is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Mavins Records.
Don Jazzy’s record label has produced stars like Tiwa Savage, D’banj and Korede Bello etc.
Don Jazzy charges millions of naira to produce a song.
Don Jazzy is said to be worth about $100 million.
Wizkid
Wizkid is one of the youngest billionaires in Nigeria. This musical talent has one of the largest followership of all musicians in Africa.
Wizkid is officially known as Ayodeji Ibrahim Balogun.
In 2013, Wizkid was rated by Forbes as one of the top 10 richest African artistes.
This multi talented super star has been endorsed as ambassadors by some of the biggest brands in Nigeria like Pepsi, Globacom and MTN.
MTN was rumoured to pay Wizkid over N100 million. It was also rumoured that Hennessey almost engaged Wizkid for $1 million.
Wizkid charges N4 – N10 million per show and he has performed in over 20 countries of the world.
Though Forbes rates Wizkid as having a worth of $40 million but I am of the opinion that the superstar is worth over $80 million.
Davido
David Adedeji Adeleke also known as Davido is one of the greatest and richest hip pop musician in Nigeria. He is the son of a billionaire businessman.
Davido is nicknamed OBO (Omo Baba Olowo) by his fan due to the immense wealth of his father.
Davido coined the 30 billion gang slang to show the world that he can make more than N30 billion from concerts and shows within a very short time.
Davido’s musical acts are one of the most popular in Nigeria and indeed Africa. It will be very rare to see a young educated man in Nigeria who does not know one or two of Davido’s music.
Davido is an ambassador of a lot of brands including the banking giant First Bank.
Davido is worth about $60 million. Though, some people argue that he is richer than Wizkid.
Olamide
Olamide Adedeji popularly called Badoo is one of the most popular newest acts in Nigeria. Despite the fairly short time he has been in the entertainment industry, he has made his mark and stamp his feet on the sands of time.
Olamide is the CEO of YBNL Nation, a record label in Nigeria. Guinness, Etisalat, Lagos State Government and Ciroc paid a cumulative amount of over N500 million to Olamide as endorsement fees.
A young man recently answered the question who is the richest musician in Nigerian by dropping Olamide’s name.
D’banj
Born Oladapo Daniel Oyebanjo, this 34 year old hip pop musician is arguably the most popular hip pop musician in Nigeria. He is known for his highly energetic performances on stage.
D’banj co-founded the now defunct Mo’ Hits Record with Don Jazzy.
He has won several local and international musical awards and performed in some of the best musical concerts in the world.
Aside from being a musician, D’banj has massively invested in the agribusiness sector in Nigeria. HE is also known as a real estate entrepreneur.
D’banj charges N5 million per show.
Tuface
Tuface is also called Tubaba, he is one of the most popular and consistent musicians in Nigeria. His songs are evergreen. He has not been swept aside by the relatively young and new hip pop musicians. Tuface is known to have fathered several children from different mothers.
Before the advent of Wizkid and Davido, Tuface was widely popular in Nigeria. Do not get me wrong, this musician in his forties is still very popular and he has a lot of fans.
Tuface charges about N3 million per show, he has also signed several endorsement deals with some great brands in Nigeria.
Flavour
Chinedu Okoli also called Flavour came into the music industry few years ago. His case was a case of instant hit. His first few songs were widely popular; this made him a favourite of a lot of young Nigerians.
Flavour is not only a musician; he is a dexterous instrumentalist and fantastic performer.
His Igbo background partially influenced his entrepreneurial skills. He is known to have hugely invested in the south eastern part of Nigeria.
Flavour charges about N4 million per show and he has signed multimillion endorsement deals with great brands in Nigeria.
P-Square
P-Square would have made tops of my list, however the split with his brothers negatively impacted his wealth.
This wonderful hip pop musician is rumoured to charge up to N10 million per show. He is also a brand ambassador for a lot of companies and their products.
In 2014, 2015 and 2016, Forbes ranked P-Square as the richest twins in Africa.
P-Square cruises some of the most expensive cars in Nigeria. His mansion is said to be worth over N500 million. P-Square is a top investor in the downstream petroleum sub sector of the oil and gas industry in Nigeria.
Phyno
Phyno is also one of the richest and most popular hip pop musicians in Nigeria.
Pyno charges N2 million per show in Nigeria. He is worth over N800 million.
Timaya
Timaya started his musical career in 2005 and he has become a great musical star in Nigeria. He is one of the richest young musicians in Nigeria.
One of his albums sold over N12 million copies in Africa and beyond.
In my opinion, the three richest musicians in Nigeria are Don Jazzy, Wizkid and Davido. The jury is still out about who is the richest musician in Nigeria.