How I moved from being dollar millionaire at 30 to labourer at 35 — Farooq Oreagba

Nigerian businessman Farooq Oreagba, popularly known as Mr Steeze, has recounted how his financial fortunes changed dramatically, revealing that he went from being a dollar millionaire at the age of 30 to working as a labourer in England five years later after losing his banking job.

Oreagba shared the experience during an episode of the MENtality show hosted by media personality Ebuka Obi-Uchendu, with singer Banky W serving as co-host. The conversation focused on wealth, material possessions and what truly matters in life. The episode was published on Ebuka’s YouTube channel on Friday.

During the discussion, Oreagba posed a hypothetical question to Ebuka to illustrate how people often measure the importance of money.

“How much is money to you? Give me a number. Just pick a number. A billion dollars?” he asked.

After Ebuka said he was not pursuing money for satisfaction, Oreagba followed up with another question.

“If I gave you $10 million now, what would you say?”

Ebuka responded jokingly, “What would I say? I would call you from Miami to thank you.”

Oreagba then shifted the conversation by asking whether the money would still be attractive if accepting it meant having only one day left to live.

“If I told you you can have it, but not live more than 24 hours, what would you do?” he asked.

Ebuka replied, “I mean, I could make $10 million, so it’s not worth it.”

Using the exchange to explain his own experience, Oreagba reflected on the lessons he learned from losing his wealth.

“Right. So then all of a sudden, living actually has a lot of value to it. I was a dollar millionaire at 30. At 35, I was working as a labourer,” he said.

When Ebuka asked where he worked as a labourer, Oreagba replied, “In England.”

Oreagba said his circumstances changed after he lost his position as a banker while pursuing another ambition.

“I had a dream, something I wanted to do, and I lost my job as a banker. And to maintain that lifestyle, I was hustling, doing all kinds of things, but nobody saw it. The Porsches were still outside. I had my priorities wrong,” he said.

Reflecting on the period, Oreagba said the setback transformed his outlook on success and wealth, adding that many people attach excessive importance to money and social status instead of health, family and other meaningful aspects of life.

“I’m going to be 60 next month, and my lifestyle has not changed. All that has happened is a viral photo brought me to everybody’s attention,” he said.

He added, “We place value on the wrong things. I’ve said this before, you may have 99 problems, but the minute you have a health problem, you only have one problem.”

Oreagba gained widespread recognition after photos of his fashionable appearance at the 2024 Ojude Oba Festival circulated across social media, earning him the nickname “Mr Steeze.”