10 Ghanaian Millionaires And How They Made Their Money

Osei Kwame Despite is a Ghanaian entrepreneur and a philanthropist. He owns Despite Firm Ltd, a trading company with a subsidiary in the media industry known as Despite Media. The media house runs UTV, PEACE FM, Okay FM, NEAT FM and HELLO FM in Kumasi.

Despite is known to have started making money from his cassette selling business. Before the days of CDs, the businessman was a distributor of Ghanaian films. His joint in Accra’s Opera Square was the hottest joint to get any latest Ghanaian film.

The Ghanaian millionaire is not on record to have granted any media interview to talk about his acquisition of wealth. However, it is said that his cassette selling business flourished and he invested in other businesses that made him millions.

Ibrahim Mahama is the founder of Engineers and Planners, which is considered the largest indigenous-owned mining company in West Africa. This is enough to say that the Ghanaian business mogul acquired a chunk of his wealth from mining.

Mr Mahama is the son of Emmanuel Adama Mahama, a rich politician who served as a Minister in Nkrumah’s government.

He is also the junior brother of Ex-President Mahama. Ibrahim Mahama schooled in London and worked for a property development company before relocating to Ghana to invest in mining and construction. He owns several other businesses in Ghana including Dzata Cement Limited

Kennedy Agyapong is one of the richest Ghanaian politicians. The Ghanaian businessman who lived in the United States made millions before venturing into Ghanaian politics. Kennedy Agyapong often shares his bumble begging stories. According to him, he came from a poor home and struggled to succeed in life.

Revealing how he made his first million, the MP said he took advantage of the US Visa Lottery program when it was introduced in Ghana for the first time.

“I made a lot of money. We did about 2,500 applications and everybody paid $2,500. I did all the documentation and my boss, because he is a lawyer, will go and present the documents at the immigration [office]. Out of the $2,500, my boss will get $700 and I will get the rest and use some for the documentation. So when we finished, I had made a lot of money.”

“When people don’t know your background and they think that you are a drug dealer, it is so painful. To the second chance of my money… A lot of Ghanaians had won the US lottery and they didn’t know how to process it so I went back to America and this time another boss, Lawyer Fofie, I went there and told him that I have a connection in Ghana…He was interested in the cash right there. He took $500…I bought the applications for $48,000, that’s about 96 applications and brought it to Ghana.

“That is another ‘cocaine’. At that time, I was charging $5,000 each. And in 1996, September 30, that was the last day of the US lottery, after that program, I checked my account, what I have saved and I had $1,145,000. I felt so good,” the MP added.

Togbe Afede XIV is the Agbogbomefia of the Asogli State.The affluent Ghanaian chief started life as an accountant after his first degree from the University of Ghana before furthering his education in the prestigious Yale University in the U.S.

Togbe is believed to have started making money from good-paying jobs and smart investments. He is the executive chairman of World Trade Centre Accra and was voted member of the Board of Directors of the World Trade Centre in 2015.

As a businessman, he founded SAS Finance Group Ltd, constituting Strategic African Securities Ltd, a stock brokerage and corporate finance advisory firm, and SAS Investment Management Ltd, an asset management firm.

He also founded Strategic Initiatives Ltd (SIL) a portfolio and private equity investment firm and co-founded Sunon Asogli Power Ghana Ltd, Databank Financial Services and Africa World Airlines Ltd.

Nana Kwame Bediako, also known as Freedom Jacob Caesar, is an entrepreneur, industrialist, real estate mogul and Philanthropy. Freedom Jacob Ceaser is one of the Ghanaian millionaires who knows how to get people talking about his wealthy lifestyle.

His son, Goody Bediako, attracted buzz a few weeks ago after he wore a $300,000 Richard Mille wristwatch to his GIS prom.

Talking about how one major way he acquired wealth, Freedom disclosed that he made a million pounds at age 21 by elling scraps and communication materials.. “By age 21, he had made a million pounds for himself, selling scrap, steel, and telecommunications material while in school at Waltham Forest College,” a tweet by Joy FM’s quoted him to have said.

Freedom, who owns a 7 million dollar mansion in California, further revealed that he was able to afford a car, and mobile phone and started his business just three weeks into his college.

“I started college and the first three weeks I bought a car, mobile phone and started my business.” He said the first business he opened in Ghana was a nightclub. “When I came to Ghana, the first business I opened was a nightclub.”

Dr Kofi Amoah is a renowned Ghanaian economist and businessman. He is the CEO of Progeny Ventures International and the owner of Global Access Savings and Loans Limited.

The businessman is one of the proud Ghanaian millionaires who credit their success to strategic businesses. In an interview on the Delay Show, Dr Amoah, he confirmed that he made his first $2m from starting a Western Union business in Africa.

“…I didn’t have a lot of money but the few times I attempted to send her some, say, 200 dollars, it got missing in transit. So, I remembered that people in Houston were sending monies to others in New York through Western Union, so I decided to make enquiries…

“It took time… I had to travel back to Africa to sign on agents to hook in the system, advertise…” Dr Amoah explained.

“Success is a process… you must have the focus, patience and the confidence and the belief and do everything that is necessary without giving up,” the renowned business mogul added.

“I started with Ghana, then I went and negotiated for the whole continent. So, that’s how I started travelling through the continent; signing on Eritrea, Uganda, South Africa, Tanzania…” he said.

Rev Gifty Lamptey is considered one of the top three richest women in Ghana. The Ghanaian businesswoman started accruing wealth decades ago. Her interest and passion for food saw her venturing into the Food Processing Business in 1990. She invested in exporting mushrooms, papaya and pineapple to International markets. In the same year, she started Gemanuel, a Civil & Building Construction Business.

Rev Gifty Lamptey later diversified into agro-processing and that saw the birth of Sidalco Ltd, a company she founded with her late husband, Hon. David Lamptey – an affluent politician and MP for Klottey-Korley Constituency.

Sidalco is a pioneering market leader in liquid fertilizers in Ghana with sub-regional reach. The company has successful subsidiaries including Dominion International Petroleum Ltd, Sidalco Construction and Roads Ltd, DEL Estates and Empire Concretes Ltd.

All these businesses have been fetching Rev Gifty Lamptey millions. She recently became a headline following the extravagant wedding of her son, Kojo Jones.

Dr Ofori Sarpong is known to be a very close friend of Dr Osei-Kwame (a.k.a Despite). The two friends formed the United 2 Co. Ltd which is a holding company for the U2 SALT LTD – a 600-acre salt mining company and a refinery at Winneba in the Central Region.

The Ghanaian millionaire made his money from a chain of businesses. In the 1990s he formed the SARPONG VENTURES LTD, an import and trading business, and became very renowned in the Central District of Accra.

He also owns SPECIAL ICE LTD, a mineral water company which is now into carbonated soft drinks.

Joseph Siaw Agyepong is a seasoned Entrepreneur. The Ghanaian business that always seeks for challenging opportunities as well as pioneering roles, to create new or grow businesses is known to have made millions from waste management.

He is the owner of Zoomlion, a Ghanaian company that has won several contracts form the Ghanaian government to keep the country clean. The company has diversified and extended its tentacles across Africa which millions for the businessman known as Jospong.