Nigerian media personality and fashion influencer Toke Makinwa has sparked widespread conversation on gender roles, marriage, and money after asserting that men—not women—are the real gold diggers.

Speaking on a recent episode of her podcast, Makinwa addressed the long-held belief that women marry wealthy men for financial gain. She criticised how society frequently uses the term gold digger to shame women while ignoring the growing number of men who intentionally marry into affluent families.

“People are always insulting women for knowing what they want,” she said.

“You men sit on podcasts or air your opinions claiming that women date men for money. Meanwhile, the other gender are the biggest gold diggers in the world.”

She argued that many men confidently pursue women from wealthy backgrounds yet face none of the scrutiny women endure.

“They marry into generational wealth, and they do it without shame,” she added.

Makinwa clarified that she holds no animosity toward men who choose financial stability in marriage, noting that money has always played a role in marital decisions.

She went further to reveal that she would even give her own brother the same advice.

“If my brother comes to me with two women and asks who to marry, I’ll tell him to choose the one with a strong financial background,” she said.