Fun facts

My name means ‘God is worthy to be praised.’ In Yoruba culture, names carry meaning, and children are named for the circumstances of their birth. My parents were grateful to have me. People call me different names depending on when they met me: childhood friends call me Tope; friends from high school outside Nigeria call me Baba. For some reason, I prefer the full thing, Babatope. Names are powerful, and I love mine.

I was born and raised, mostly, in Ibadan, Nigeria. Today it’s a sleepy town, but a few decades ago it was an intellectual capital of sorts. Prof. Wole Soyinka and Chinua Achebe started their academic journeys there. Sade Adu was born in Ibadan, where her dad worked at the university. Tope, a cofounder of Helios Partners, was also raised in Ibadan.

I enjoy meeting new people and becoming friends with them. Moving schools often has made me comfortable building new relationships from scratch. As David Rubenstein says, ‘I like figuring out what makes people tick.’

I enjoy learning new things, particularly about personal finance. I like helping people get their financial lives in shape.

I also enjoy analysing politics. I spend way too much time following what politicians do, from the coasts of Mombasa to the beaches of Cape Verde—or, if you prefer, from Cairo to Cape Town.

I enjoy writing. Take a look at the thoughts and ideas I share.

Buildings: I love studying buildings and the environments they sit in. My favorite city is Singapore, and I’m madly in love with the Milan Cathedral, though I’ve never been inside—too lazy to join the long queues.

I believe in the Nicene Creed, and Jesus is my personal Lord and Savior. Weber, and my friend Leo, say this makes me a workaholic. I’m not sure, but I try to do everything as if I’m doing it for God.