Gilbert Chagoury Biography: Net Worth, Age, Parents, Parents, Wife, Children, Family

Biography

Gilbert Chagoury is a prominent Nigerian-Lebanese billionaire businessman, diplomat, and philanthropist.

Born on January 8, 1946, in Lagos, Nigeria, to Lebanese immigrant parents, he was educated in Lebanon before returning to Nigeria to launch his career. In 1971, he co-founded the Chagoury Group with his brother, Ronald Chagoury.

The conglomerate has grown into one of West Africa’s largest diversified industrial groups, with operations spanning construction, real estate, manufacturing (including flour mills, glass, and water bottling), hospitality (such as hotels), telecommunications, insurance, and more.

Known for his influential networks across Africa and beyond, Chagoury has served in diplomatic roles, including as an ambassador, and maintains close ties with political and business leaders in West and Central Africa.

A dedicated philanthropist, he and his wife Rose-Marie Chamchoum (with whom he has four children) have supported education, healthcare, and cultural initiatives. Notable contributions include funding medical and nursing schools at the Lebanese American University, donations to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and support for the Louvre Museum (where a gallery bears the family name).

Nigerian businessman and diplomat
Gilbert Chagoury
Wiki Facts & About Data
Real Name:	Gilbert Ramez Chagoury
Stage Name:	Gilbert Chagoury
Born:	8 January 1946 (age 80 years old)
Place of Birth:	Lagos, Nigeria
State Of Origin:	Lagos State
Nationality:	Nigerian, Lebanese
Education:	Collège des Frères Chrétiens
Height:	N/A
Parents:	Ramez Chagoury, Alice Chagoury
Siblings:	Ronald Chagoury
Spouse:	Rose Marie Chamchoum (m. 1969)
Girlfriend • Partner:	Not Dating
Children:	Gilbert Antoine, Christopher Chaghoury, Anne Marie Chagoury, Ramez Gilbert Chagoury
Occupation:	Businessman • Diplomat • Philanthropist
Net Worth:	$7.4 billion (USD)

Early Life & Education

Gilbert Ramez Chagoury was born on 8 January 1946 in Lagos, Nigeria (then British Nigeria).

He is of Lebanese ethnicity (Lebanese-Nigerian), born to Lebanese immigrant parents, Ramez Chagoury, a businessman, and Alice Chagoury, who migrated from northern Lebanon to Nigeria in the 1940s and fully embraced Nigerian life while maintaining strong Lebanese roots.

The family belongs to the Maronite Catholic tradition; Gilbert is a devout Catholic who has received high Vatican honours, including the Order of Saint Gregory the Great (Commander in 1990 from Pope John Paul II and Grand Cross in 2009 from Pope Benedict XVI) for his generosity to the Church.

He is the eldest of eight children. His best-known sibling is his younger brother Ronald Chagoury (born 8 January 1949), with whom he later co-founded the Chagoury Group.

For his education, Gilbert was sent to Lebanon (a common practice for children of the Lebanese diaspora in West Africa) and studied at the Collège des Frères Chrétiens (College of the Christian Brothers) before returning to Nigeria as a teenager.

Raised in Lagos during the final years of colonial rule and Nigeria’s independence era (1960), this bicultural upbringing profoundly shaped his later career as a businessman and diplomat.

Career

Gilbert Chagoury started his career in Nigeria after finishing his studies in Lebanon. He began in sales, first selling shoes and then moving into the car industry. His ambition and leadership helped him quickly rise to become the youngest regional and later national sales manager, or Director of Sales, for a major car company, often identified as Nissan Motors.

This early experience gave him valuable knowledge about large-scale business and emerging markets during Nigeria’s post-independence growth. In 1971, when he was 25, he co-founded the Chagoury Group with his younger brother Ronald, who officially joined a few years later.

The business started small, focusing on construction and related fields, and grew into C & C Construction in the late 1970s. This company later grew into important subsidiaries like Hitech Construction and ITB. Taking advantage of Nigeria’s fast-growing economy, the group expanded into many industries and became one of West Africa’s largest and most influential business empires.

Today, the Chagoury Group works in many areas, including construction, major infrastructure projects such as the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and Lagos port renovations, and the Eko Atlantic City project. This last project is a large reclaimed urban development on Victoria Island, designed to be a modern center for finance and living.

The group is also involved in real estate, property development, manufacturing (including flour mills, glass, water bottling and purification, aluminum, and furniture), hospitality (notably the Eko Hotel & Suites), telecommunications, IT, insurance, catering, agribusiness, and international financing.

By diversifying, forming strategic partnerships with companies in China and Latin America, and focusing on African industrialization, the group has created thousands of jobs and helped drive economic growth in the region. The family-owned structure has also led to an estimated net worth of multi-billions of dollars.

Alongside his business work, Gilbert Chagoury has had a significant career in diplomacy and as an adviser, using his wide network across Africa and beyond. He has served as Saint Lucia’s Ambassador to UNESCO and the Holy See (Vatican), and as an economic adviser to governments, including President Mathieu Kérékou of Benin.

His close relationships with political leaders in West and Central Africa, especially during the 1990s under Nigeria’s General Sani Abacha, helped him secure major contracts but also brought controversy and legal issues.

This included a 2000 Swiss conviction for money laundering related to Sani Abacha funds, for which he paid fines and returned money. More recently, he has continued to advise and work on high-profile projects with later Nigerian governments, and has received honors such as Nigeria’s Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger.

Personal Life

Gilbert Chagoury, born on 8 January 1946, is currently 80 years old.

He has been married to Rose-Marie Chamchoum since 1969, after meeting her during a 1967 visit to Lebanon.

Rose-Marie, who was born in the Republic of Niger to a prominent Lebanese family, has been his only wife throughout his life. The couple has four children: Ramez Gilbert Chagoury, Gilbert-Antoine Chagoury, Christopher Chagoury, and Anne-Marie Chagoury, along with five grandchildren.

Like many aspects of his personal life, Gilbert Chagoury‘s height is not publicly documented, and there are no details available about any prior dating or romantic history before his marriage to Rose-Marie, reflecting his preference for privacy outside the business and philanthropic spheres.

Net Worth

Gilbert Chagoury, the Nigerian-Lebanese billionaire and founder of the Chagoury Group, has an estimated net worth of $7.4 billion as per recent assessments tied to Forbes listings of Lebanese-origin billionaires.

This figure reflects the vast scale of the family’s diversified conglomerate, which dominates key sectors in West Africa, including major infrastructure projects such as the Eko Atlantic City development and the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, hospitality assets such as the Eko Hotel & Suites, manufacturing, real estate, and more.

Estimates for the Chagoury family wealth have varied in sources over time—ranging from around $4.2 billion in some reports to higher valuations incorporating recent large-scale contracts and growth—but the $7.4 billion mark positions him prominently among Africa’s wealthiest individuals and highlights his enduring impact on continental economic development through bold investments and strategic partnerships.

What People Ask