Muhammadu Buhari's Net Worth and Assets: A Look at the Wealth of Nigeria's Former President

• Former President Muhammadu Buhari died in a London Clinic on Sunday, July 13, 2025, after an illness
• He was known to be a staunch advocate of the anti-corruption war, and spoke severally against public officers embezzling funds
• Muhammadu Buhari's net worth has remained a thing of public interest, especially after he stated that he did not embezzle any funds in his 8-year tenure

Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon, a journalist with Legit.ng, has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.

What appeared to be a chill Sunday on the internet suddenly turned out differently when news hit the waves that the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari had died.

His spokesperson, Garba Shehu, confirmed that the ex-president died at a Clinic in London. He was 82 years old at the time of his death.

While reflecting on the past president, his ideals, and all that he stood for, it is worth revisiting the controversial issue of his net worth.

Muhammadu Buhari’s net worth and assets

The issue of asset declaration has always been controversial among Nigerian leaders, but Muhammadu Buhari became one of the exceptions when he declared his assets in 2015.

BBC reports that as of 2015, Buhari’s assets included the following:

1. N30 million in his only bank account (with Union Bank)
2. One mud house, inherited from his late older sister.
3. Another mud house, inherited from his late father.
4. Two homes in Kaduna, one in Daura, another in Kano state, and another in Abuja. Two of the houses were built using loans from the old Barclays Bank.
5. Shares in Berger Paints, Union Bank, and (now-defunct) Skye Bank.
6. Farms, an orchard, and a ranch. According to Shehu, the holdings in the farm included 270 heads of cattle, 25 sheep, five horses, a variety of birds, and several economic trees.
7. Two undeveloped plots of land, one in Kaduna and one in an unknown location in Port Harcourt.
8. Two cars, bought from his savings.
9. Other cars, supplied to him as former Head of State, and as gifts from well-wishers after his jeep was destroyed in a Boko Haram attack in July 2014.

The statement from Shehu emphasised:

“President Buhari had no foreign account, no factory and no enterprises. He also had no registered company and no oil wells.”

Assets and net worth remain the same after 8 years

Officially, former President Buhari only declared assets at the beginning of his tenure. He did not declare assets at the end of his tenure.

However, in January 2023, he was reported as saying that his assets had remained the same since 2015. This was barely 4 months to the end of his 8-year tenure when he stated publicly that no one could accuse him of embezzlement.

He was speaking at the state banquet organised in his honour in Damaturu, the Yobe state capital, when he declared that he still had no properties outside Nigeria.

Buhari also confirmed that he was returning to farming after leaving the Aso Villa, and in later reports after he left office, he stated that he was living off the proceeds of his farm.

Debunking rumours of Buhari's children's wealth

Recall that in 2019, it was rumoured that his children – Yusuf Buhari and Muhammadu Buhari – with a net worth of $2.3 billion, were listed among the richest children of sitting presidents around the world.

This rumour was, however, debunked when a spokesman for Forbes confirmed that they do not list the richest children of sitting presidents.

AFP reported the spokesperson as saying:

“Forbes licensees have not published and have no plans to research such a list,” Matthew Hutchison, senior vice-president of corporate communications, told AFP.

He also confirmed that at the time, Nigeria had only four rated dollar billionaires in the Forbes African Billionaires List 2019. They include Aliko Dangote with $10.3 billion, Mike Adenuga with $9.2 billion, Abdulsamad Rabiu with $1.6 billion, and Folorunsho Alakija with $1.1 billion.

Former President Muhammadu Buhari dies at 82

In related news, former Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari died in London, on Sunday, July 13, 2025, at the age of 82.

Legit.ng reports that the retired Army Major General led Nigeria both as a military ruler in the 1980s and as an elected president from 2015 to 2023.

He made history by becoming the first candidate to defeat an incumbent president in Nigeria’s elections and was re-elected in 2019.

Source: Legit.ng