Jim Ovia: The Godfather of Nigerian Banking & Africa's 19th richest man, covers June Forbes Magazine.

Jim Ovia founded Zenith Bank Group in 1990. It has grown into West Africa's second largest financial services provider by market capitalization and asset base. He was required to step down as chief executive in 2009 after a 20-year stint following a Nigerian Central Bank directive that limits the tenure of bank chiefs to 10 years. He still remains the largest individual shareholder; his stake is worth about $300 million. An equally large chunk of his wealth comes from a portfolio of prime real estate in Victoria Island and Ikoyi, some of Nigeria's priciest neighborhoods. Ovia devotes the majority of his time to managing Visafone, a telecom outfit he founded in 2007. He also owns Quantum, a private equity fund focused on Africa.

Jim Ovia, attributes his $825 million success to his integrity and good hunches, but says wealth means nothing to him. He looks dapper on the June issue of Forbes Africa Magazine.

Some of the highlights of his interview in the magazine:

''Your passions are always in sync with opportunities. You're naturally able to identify them and respond to them as they materialize because of the passion you have for them''

''Yes am blessed but there is nothing special about me.I'm just a regular guy who has a hunch for identifying opportunities and taking advantage of them''. 

According to Tolu Ogunlesi, Forbes Africa correspondent his take on Jim Ovia: '' 

''Jim Ovia stands out for his staying power, a visionary streak, best symbolized by the Civic Centre, one of the most iconic structures on the Victoria Island skyline - a passion for technology and a fiercely self-effacing nature.

The knack for living beneath the radar, and eschewing the barefaced capitalist aggression of manyof his billionaire colleagues, ensures that he mostly stays out of controversy.

Like most Nigerian billionaires, his exact wealth is unknown, estimates range from $700million to $1 billion, but he's likely to be worth more. Sometimes glimpses of the wealth are to be seen in his philanthropy''