Massa Boulos Once Sold Trucks in Lagos—Now He’s Trump’s Top Adviser on Africa
On April 1, Massa Boulos, a Nigerian-based businessman, was appointed as the Senior Advisor for Africa to U.S. President Donald Trump. While the news rippled through U.S. political circles, it also drew attention across Nigeria for various reasons. Not only is he being linked to the well-known Boulos family in Lagos—descendants of George Boulos Snr, who emigrated from Lebanon to Nigeria in the 1930s—he is also the CEO of SCOA Nigeria Plc, a company deeply embedded in Nigeria’s business landscape.
Appointed just days before Donald Trump announced a sweeping global tariff that affected many African countries, including Nigeria, Boulos’ new role includes traveling across Africa to “promote U.S. private sector investment in the region,” according to a White House press release seen by Neusroom.
Additionally, he’s been tasked with fostering peace in several African countries torn by war and has already begun his tour of the region. He is expected to visit the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Kenya, and Uganda to meet with Heads of State and advance efforts for durable peace in eastern DRC.
In addition to this new role, Boulos also serves as Special Advisor to the President on Arab and Middle Eastern Affairs. So why has this Lagos-based businessman been chosen to lead a vital diplomatic arm of Trump’s administration?
A Transcontinental Life: From Lebanon to Lagos via Texas
Born in Lebanon into an influential Greek Orthodox family from the town of Kafaraka, Massa Boulos migrated to Texas as a teenager. A Christian from Northern Lebanon, he later made headlines in 2018—not for his business acumen—but because his son, Michael Boulos, began dating Tiffany Trump, daughter of president Trump.
His public image since then has been split between myth and reality. While described by several media outlets as a billionaire business mogul, a closer look reveals a more modest profile. Citing corporate filings, The New York Times claims that the Nigerian company he heads, SCOA Nigeria Plc, made a profit of less than $66,000 last year.
SCOA, which claims to be in partnership with MAN Trucks and Buses, is an automotive firm that has been in business since 1926, according to the company’s website.
Ties to Nigeria—and Clarifying the Boulos Name
Following his appointment, speculation resurfaced about his link to the well-known Boulos family in Lagos—descendants of George Boulos Snr, who emigrated from Lebanon to Nigeria in the 1930s. However, a Neusroom investigation finds no credible evidence connecting Massa Boulos to that lineage. In fact, Massa and his wife, Sarah Boulos, only arrived in Lagos in 1996.
Sarah Boulos confirmed this in an interview where she also claimed they were known as trust fund kids.
“We were called the golden children,” she said.
Several clues support this distinction. For one, an officer at Boulos Enterprises—a Nigerian distribution, assembly, and trading company for motorcycles, power bikes, tricycles, and outboard motors—reportedly told the Financial Times that the family has no ties to Massa Boulos. Additionally, the couple’s relocation to Nigeria came after an invitation from Sarah’s father, Michel Zouhair, a Franco-Burkinabe businessman with a vast network of logging, construction, and automobile ventures across West and Central Africa.
Running Trucks, Dreams, and Defunct Brands
Upon arriving in Lagos, Massa and Sarah were placed in charge of the family’s machinery and truck dealership, now known as SCOA Nigeria Plc. The company supplies trucks, heavy-duty machinery, and technical equipment to various sectors.
Beyond trucks, Boulos dabbled in other ventures—including Tantra Beverages, a now-defunct company that once tried to market “erotic drinks.” In a past interview, he admitted that the business “didn’t take off.” Public records also link him to some inactive construction firms and restaurant ventures in Nigeria.
Meet the Family: From the Dance Floor to the White House
Boulos’ wife, Sarah Boulos, is a fixture in Lagos’s cultural scene. She runs the Society for Performing Arts in Nigeria (SPAN), where she teaches dance and theatre to young Nigerians. Sarah also speaks openly about her personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
“I wake up with Jesus on my mind and start to get ready to take care of my body through dance or Pilates or anti-gravity lab. By listening to worship music, the tune of grace lingers in my mind before I can get ready to face all the tasks ahead,” she said in an interview.
Their son, Michael Boulos, became globally known in 2018 after meeting Tiffany Trump at a club in Greece owned by actress Lindsay Lohan. At the time, Michael was 22 and Tiffany was 25. Their engagement was as flashy as it was symbolic—Michael presented her with a $1 million diamond ring. The two tied the knot in 2022.
Another family member who has carved out a different kind of fame is Boulos’ younger son, Fares Boulos. Once known in Nigeria for performing reggae music, Fares has since reinvented himself as a comic figure on TikTok, posting skits under the name “Oyibo Rebels.”
Behind the Wealth: A Family Empire
Despite assumptions about Massa Boulos’s immense wealth, even he admits that much of it stems from his wife’s side of the family. Michel Zouhair, Sarah’s father, built a far-reaching business empire across Africa. After marrying Sarah at a young age, Boulos was brought into the fold.
Although Boulos had allowed the media narrative of him being a billionaire to flourish for years, he later walked it back once the true scale of his business holdings came to light. In an interview, he clarified: “I’ve never really gone into any details like that about the value [of the company I run].”
A Crossover of Influence
As political discourse heats up in the U.S. and Africa braces for potential policy shifts, Massa Boulos now occupies a powerful—if controversial—position. Whether his Nigerian experience will temper Trump’s harsher Africa policies remains to be seen.
But what’s clear is that a man who once sold trucks in Lagos now has the ears of global leaders—and a seat at one of the most consequential diplomatic tables in the world.
