From holding chalk in a small Kiambu classroom to holding a Ksh6.5 billion empire, Leah Wanjiku Muguku’s rise to becoming a billionaire is a story of believing in bold dreams.
Leah was a teacher at Kagaa Primary School in Githunguri, Kiambu County. It was there that she met a young college lecturer named Nelson Muguku.
He worked at a nearby college, and the two fell in love.
Nelson was smart, but restless. One day, against the advice of friends, his boss, and even his own parents, he quit. His parents thought he was making a big mistake.
However, with just Ksh2,000, two hens, and a cock, he started a poultry business.
Nelson believed in his business, and Leah believed in it with him. She said yes when he proposed, and they started building the dream together.
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Leah Wanjiku Muguku Quits Her Job
By 1963, Leah left her teaching job to join Nelson full-time.
Additionally, two years later, they bought a two-acre farm and named it Star Ltd. There, they installed a 9,000-egg incubator.
Star Ltd soon became Muguku Poultry Farm and was popular because of the quality and reliability of its products. They attracted big names.
Among their customers were Sir Malcolm MacDonald, the last colonial governor of Kenya, and the late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya’s first president.
The Mugukus grew their business to produce 500,000 chicks per day, making them one of the biggest poultry suppliers in Kenya.
At the same time, Nelson also ventured into banking, buying a 6.08% stake in Equity Bank before it was listed. For years, he was the bank’s largest individual shareholder.
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Leah Makes Billionaire Power Moves
When Nelson died in 2010, Leah took over the empire, maintaining and growing it.
In 2018, Knight Frank listed Leah among Kenya’s 23 women billionaires. She owns a 0.9% stake in Equity Group Holdings worth about Ksh1.2 billion.
At one point, she was the second most active female trader on the Nairobi Stock Exchange, moving Ksh306.9 million worth of shares.
She also owns the high-end Waterfront Mall in Karen, Nairobi, a Ksh3 billion luxury shopping complex complete with a 3-acre artificial lake and landscaped lakefront.
Today, Leah’s net worth stands at an estimated $50 million (about Ksh6.5 billion). She’s a giant in both agriculture and real estate.
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