The recent fires of recognition for Nigerians do not appear to be going out anytime soon, with Adebayo Ogunlesi becoming the most recent to receive global notice. Adebayo Ogunlesi, a worldwide famous investor, recently made headlines after his company Global Infrastructure Partners was acquired by BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management company, in a multi-million dollar transaction.
OpenAI recently nominated Ogunlesi to its Board of Directors to advise the company on securing the assets and infrastructure required to advance its artificial intelligence research.
Here are five things you should know about Adebayo Ogunlesi:
1. Adebayo Ogunlesi is a Nigerian from Sagamu, Ogun state, who was born into the family of Theophilus O. Ogunlesi, the first Nigerian professor of medicine at the University of Ibadan. He has been married to British-born optometrist Dr Amelia Quist-Ogunlesi since 1985, and they have two children.
2. Ogunlesi began his schooling in Nigeria at King’s College in Lagos before moving to Britain in the 1970s. He acquired his undergraduate degree from Oxford University, followed by his law degree and MBA from Harvard Law School and Harvard Business School, respectively.
3. Ogunlesi was the first non-American clerk for a U.S. Supreme Court judge and then a lawyer for the Cravath, Swaine & Moore law firm in New York before deciding to enter the banking industry in 1983, starting with Credit Suisse First Boston and rising to the positions of Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Client Officer in the Investment Banking Division over the course of 20 years.
4. Adebayo Ogunlesi is an African and global billionaire. His net worth has reached $2.3 billion, bringing him closer to Mike Adenuga following the BlackRock and Global Infrastructure Partners merger.
5. In 2016, he served on President Donald Trump’s team, which advised the president on economic growth and job creation by combining members’ corporate experience with public policy.
