The Chairman of Zenith Bank Plc, Jim Ovia, is an astute businessman who has, over the years, successfully built many enterprises that can stand the test of time. His numerous investments are now working for him, earning him some serious money by the way. Now, this is the sort of cool life we should all aspire to have!
According to information available in Zenith Bank’s audited full-year 2018 financial report, Jim Ovia has a total of 5, 059, 336,405 units of direct and indirect shareholding in the bank which is one of Nigeria’s top lenders. This makes him the biggest shareholder in the company and one of Nigeria’s top billionaires.
It should not come as a surprise that Mr Ovia has this level of shareholding in the company, considering that he literally built the company from scratch.
The value of his shares as at September 2nd
As an equity investor, Mr Ovia’s net worth is constantly changing. Zenith Bank’s share price could swing downwards within a 24-hour period and cause him to lose a lot of money, just as a slight increase in share price could make him extra billions. That is exactly what happened yesterday.
On September 2nd, the Zenith Bank stock traded huge volumes and ended up on the top gainers’ list after a 2.03% increase in the share price. Specifically, the share price increased from N17.20 on Friday last week to N17.55 yesterday; marking an N0.35 increase. This may not seem like much. However, for a major investor like Ovia, that slight increase translated to a lot of money.
How much exactly did he make yesterday?
You’ve been longing for this so here is it— Jim Ovia made as much as N1.6 billion in just one day. Ovia’s total shareholding multiplied by a share price of N17.55 equals about N88.6 billion. Compare this to the sum of N87 billion which was the monetary value of Ovia’s shareholding as at Friday, you’d have the difference.
For other billionaires like him, this is probably nothing. However, small-money people everywhere will appreciate the immense magnitude of this amount. Just imagine earning N1.6 billion in one day and compare that to how much that man could potentially earn in a year; all the volatility in the equity market considered.
The takeaway from this is clear —strive to become like Jim Ovia by, at least, investing your small money somewhere. Over time, it will accumulate and maybe one day begin to earn you this amount in one day or even more.
(Nairametrics)
