How Ghanaian media mogul Osei Kwame Despite built his empire from cassettes

In February, Osei Kwame Despite returned to the house where he grew up in Agona Wiamoase, a small town in Ghana's Ashanti Region, and was filmed visibly emotional. Two days later, he stepped out of a Rolls-Royce Cullinan on his way to a funeral in Kumasi and laughed off online rumors linking him to a cocaine arrest.

The two scenes capture the distance he has traveled. Despite, 64, left Agona Wiamoase with almost nothing and spent his early years as a petty trader. He now controls the Despite Group of Companies, which owns Peace FM, one of Ghana's most popular radio stations, along with three other radio stations, the UTV television channel, a news website and businesses in salt, food processing, savings and loans, and hospitality. Last year, he opened a museum of more than 60 classic and luxury cars in Accra.

He has never published his accounts, and no major wealth tracker has put a figure on his fortune. But in a country with few homegrown media owners of his scale, he has become one of its best-known businessmen.

From padlocks and cassettes to Lagos and back

Despite was born Osei Kwame on Feb. 2, 1962, in Agona Wiamoase. He started out as a petty trader in Dunkwa, in Ghana's Central Region, selling music cassettes, padlocks, feeding bottles and other goods.

In the early 1980s, he joined friends who left for Lagos, Nigeria, in search of work. The move ended badly. In 1983, he was among the Ghanaians forced to return home amid political tension in Nigeria, which expelled large numbers of undocumented West African migrants that year. He came back with a chainsaw and a Trident cassette player.

He tried lumbering, and the business failed. He went back to the trade he knew. His cassette business, which he called Despite Stores, distributed audio cassettes across the country, and he went on to manage some popular highlife musicians. The store's name stuck to him, and he has been known as Despite ever since.

Peace FM and the radio boom

The move that made his fortune came in 1999, when he launched Peace FM in Accra. Most of its programming was in Akan, Ghana's most widely spoken language, which was unusual for a major station at the time. Its mix of local music, talk shows and political commentary drew a large audience.

The success of Peace FM became the template for the group. Despite added Okay FM and Neat FM in Accra and Hello FM in Kumasi, the capital of the Ashanti Region, along with the news website Peacefmonline.com. Each sits in its own company. Peace FM is licensed to Despite Music Production Ltd., Neat FM and Hello FM to Neat FM Company Ltd., and Okay FM to Paradise Vision Estate Ltd., while the website is run by Despite Digital, according to the Media Ownership Monitor, a project tracking who owns the media. The monitor put Peace FM's audience share at 9.7%.

Peace FM's morning show, "Kokrokoo," hosted by Kwami Sefa Kayi, became one of the most influential political programs in the country, and the station became a regular stop for politicians across party lines.

In 2013, Despite moved into television with United Television, known as UTV. It airs news, dramas, telenovelas, films and entertainment, and by 2015 it had become the most-watched channel in Ghana, according to a report at the time.

A partnership that built the group

Much of Despite's expansion has come with one partner, Ernest Ofori Sarpong, the founder of the Special Group of Companies, best known for its Special Ice water brand. Together they co-founded UTV, the salt producer U2 Salt and Best Point Savings and Loans, a financial services company. Despite has called their friendship of four decades the foundation of his success. "I am Despite because of you," he told his partner in a public tribute.

The two have built businesses well beyond media. U2 produces iodized salt, and Despite has said he holds 700 acres of land for the salt business. Neat Foods processes locally grown plantain, cocoyam, maize and palm fruit into packaged products, including the popular Neat Fufu, and the Media Ownership Monitor also lists Atona as one of his food processing companies.

Despite has described his group as spanning media, manufacturing, trading and hospitality.

Cars, a museum and public scrutiny

His love of expensive cars is part of his public image. In 2025, he turned it into a business. On June 1, 2025, the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, commissioned the Despite Automobile Museum in East Legon, Accra. It holds more than 60 vehicles, from classic models to modern supercars, including a Bugatti Chiron, a Rolls-Royce Corniche and a 2005 Ford Thunderbird. Ghanaian media described it as the country's first world-class automobile museum.

The opening showed how far his connections reach. Guests included former President John Agyekum Kufuor, National Democratic Congress chairman Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, Chief of Staff Julius Debrah, former lawmaker Kennedy Agyapong and businessmen Ibrahim Mahama and Nana Kwame Bediako.

His wealth has also drawn questions. Despite has complained publicly that people doubt where his money comes from, pointing to his salt business as an example of the assets behind it. His Bugatti Chiron, reported to be worth $3 million, made headlines when it picked up a minor scratch at a school event at Presbyterian Boys' Secondary School in Legon.

The most recent rumor came in February 2026. After the Narcotics Control Commission said it had arrested a suspect who allegedly tried to smuggle drugs hidden in packaged food at Kotoka International Airport, social media users speculated about the owners of well-known food brands, and some named Despite. The commission did not name him. Despite dismissed the rumor. "I've been arrested, and you didn't inform me?" he joked to a blogger.

His businesses have faced pressure of a different kind. In 2023, UTV's premises were attacked by a group angered by opinions expressed on one of its live programs. Sixteen people were arrested, and the Ministry of Information condemned the attack.

The next generation

Despite has nine children, and several are moving into the business. His eldest son, Kennedy Osei, born in 1988, is a lawyer and general manager of the Despite Media Group, which runs the radio and television stations. Kennedy also runs businesses including the Golden Crest Hotel. Another son, Saahene Osei, joined the Ghana School of Law's 2025-2026 class.

Despite holds an honorary doctorate and is often addressed as Dr. Osei Kwame Despite. He has been a regular donor in his hometown, including to its widows and widowers, and his group set up the Despite Disaster Relief Fund to support victims of the June 3, 2015, flood and fire disaster in Accra.

He has also kept a public voice beyond business. In a Christmas message last year, he called on Ghanaians to embrace discipline, innovation and integrity in 2026, and said the country could see "a year of growth and renewed opportunity."

Four decades after returning from Lagos with a chainsaw and a cassette player, he now runs one of Ghana's largest private media groups. His sons are taking on larger roles, and he is still adding businesses, from salt and food to the car museum that opened last year.