Billionaire, Femi Otedola, is set to celebrate his 60th birthday on Friday.
For the celebration, it has been revealed that the businessman rented a luxury yacht, the Christina O for three weeks for his family members.
He shared some photos from the yacht on his Instagram page and captioned them, “Welcome Aboard the Christina! Are you ready for #FO60 …F.Ote💲”
DJ Cuppy, who is his daughter also shared a video from the yacht and said, “My father #FemiOtedola always dreamt as a little boy to visit the iconic 99m super-yacht CHRISTINA O because it was owned by his (and my) role model Aristotle Onassis ⛴🇬🇷
“To celebrate his 60th, not only did he visit the yacht, but has chartered it for his loved ones so we can live here for the next 3 weeks! 🛳⚓️ Looking at my father I can see how happy, accomplished, and still in disbelief he is. This is what love looks like ❤️ #FamilyFirst.”
Nigerian energy magnate Femi Otedola is celebrating his 60th birthday aboard the private luxury motor yacht Christina O.
Christina O is the 59th largest yacht in the world as of 2022.
The weekly rental cost of the yacht, which belongs to billionaire Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis who amassed the world’s largest privately owned shipping fleet, is $609,000.
Mr Otedola rented the yacht for three weeks.
Going by the average rates on Charter Index, a luxury yacht rental site, the billionaire must have
Splurged $1.82700m over N801m, for his three-week voyage.
The yacht will sail for three weeks around the Mediterranean Sea with 37 crew members.
The billionaire industrialist was filmed boarding the yacht in a luxury van with his luggage.
He then exchanged pleasantries with the crew individually.
Mr Otedola is joined on the cruise by his family and his soon-to-be son-in-law, Oluwatosin Ajibade, aka Mr Eazi.
In another clip, Mr Otedola, who turns 60 on the 4th of November, lounged in the Onassis Suite.
Aside from other luxury amenities, the yacht also has a bed with Otedola’s initials, FO, inscribed.
He joins the elite list of celebrities and sobersides who have enjoyed a cruise on Christina O.
Reflection
In a statement, Mr Otedola said the Greek shipping magnate who owned the superyacht has been his role model since he was 13 years old, 47 years ago.
He said: “As I mark my 60th birthday in the coming days, I am grateful to God for his continuous blessings and the wisdom he has continued to bestow upon me.
The days leading up to this milestone have been marked by deep reflection, and I’m looking forward to sailing the CHRISTINA O with my family for the next three weeks”.
Celebrity roll call
Apart from Onassis’ mistress Maria Callas and his wife, Kennedy, other celebrities who boarded the yacht include Richard Burton, Clementine Churchill, Diana Churchill and Winston Churchill.
Others are John F. Kennedy, Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, Grace Kelly, Anthony Montague Browne, J. Paul Getty, Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, and John Wayne.
Billionaire industrialist
A native of Epe Local Government in Lagos, Mr Otedola was born in Ibadan, Oyo State, in 1962.
He is the son of a former governor of Lagos State, the late Michael Otedola and Lady Doja, a well-established businesswoman.
Before going into business, he worked as a marketing personnel in his family’s printing company.
He is the founder of Forte Oil and Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd. The billionaire owns other businesses, such as shipping, real estate, and finance.
He recently ventured into the energy business when he founded Geregu Power Plc.
In October, the company was admitted into the main board of the Nigerian Exchange Limited, NGX, making it the first energy company in Nigeria to be listed.
Otedola is married to Nana Otedola, and they have three children Temi, DJ Cuppy and Fewa.
His eldest daughter, Tolani Otedola, is the product of an earlier relationship before he got married.
Christina O
Christina O is a private motor yacht that once belonged to billionaire Greek shipowner Aristotle Onassis.
She is the 59th largest yacht worldwide as of 2022, measuring 99.13 metres long.
The boat initially served as a Canadian anti-submarine River-class frigate called HMCS Stormont, launched in 1943.
HMCS Stormont served as a convoy escort during the Battle of the Atlantic and was present at the Normandy landings.
Onassis purchased the Stormont after the end of World War II, as it was one of the many surplus naval vessels.
Purchasing the ship at a scrap value of US$34,000, Onassis then spent an additional US$4 million to convert the vessel into a luxurious superyacht named after his daughter Christina.
The yacht features large, ornate interiors and elaborate luxuries: such as a mosaic swimming pool that, once drained, can be raised to deck level to become a dance floor.
Architect Cäsar Pinnau remodelled the yacht, and the children’s dining room was designed and painted by the illustrator Ludwig Bemelmans.
Christina O has a main suite, eighteen-passenger staterooms, and numerous indoor and outdoor living areas, all connected by a spiral staircase.
In 1956 the wedding of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and Grace Kelly held its reception on Christina O
C
Leave a Reply