Forbes has just released its annual World’s Billionaires list. Overall, there are 3,028 billionaires on this year’s ranking, whose combined wealth reaches a record $16.1 trillion.
Among them, twenty-three are Black, representing 0.8% of the total, with fourteen of these billionaires being citizens of the United States, accounting for 0.5%. This wealthy group of U.S.-based billionaires has amassed a combined total of $50.9 billion, primarily from the finance, energy, music, sports, and technology sectors. Notably, there are two new entrants to this list.
David Steward
Net Worth: $11.4 billion | Source of Wealth: IT provider
The wealthiest Black American cofounded World Wide Technology in 1990, which provides IT solutions to customers like Citi and Verizon. He still serves as chairman of the private company, which now has nearly 10,000 employees and generates $20 billion in annual revenue.
Robert Smith
Net Worth: $10.8 billion | Source of Wealth: Private Equity
Smith founded $100 billion (assets under management) Vista Equity Partners, the largest Black-owned private equity firm in the United States, in 2000. He still runs the firm, with over 700 employees, and focuses exclusively on investing in software companies.
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Alexander Karp
Net Worth: $8.4 billion | Source of Wealth: Software firm
Karp is the co-founder and CEO of Palantir Technologies, a data mining company whose customers include the FBI, the Department of Defense, and other government agencies. Palantir went public in 2020 and now has a market capitalization of nearly $200 billion.
Michael Jordan
Net Worth: $3.5 billion | Source of Wealth: Charlotte Hornets, endorsements
Often considered the greatest basketball player, Jordan won six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls. His salary during his career totaled $90 million, but he has earned more than $2.4 billion (pretax) from corporate partners such as Nike, Hanes, and Gatorade.
In 2023, Jordan sold his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets in a deal that valued the NBA franchise at $3 billion. Today, he is one of just four Black Americans on Forbes’ 400 list of the country’s wealthiest people.
Oprah Winfrey
Net Worth: $3 billion | Source of Wealth: TV shows
Her hit talk show ran for 25 years until 2011, and she reinvested the profits from the program and films such as The Color Purple and Selma into a media and business empire. In 2011, she launched the cable channel OWN and sold most of her stock to Warner Bros. Discovery in 2020.
Jay-Z
Net Worth: $2.5 billion | Source of Wealth: Music
Jay-Z, one of the greatest hip-hop musicians of all time, has won 25 Grammys and launched multiple businesses, including the fashion brand Rocawear (which sold for $204 million in 2007) and alcohol lines D’Usse and Armand de Brignac. In 2019, he became hip-hop’s first billionaire.
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Adebayo Ogunlesi
Net Worth: $2.2 billion | Source of Wealth: Private Equity
A native of Nigeria and now a U.S. citizen, Ogunlesi is the founding partner, chairman, and CEO of Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), a New York-based private equity firm. In October, GIP was acquired by BlackRock for $12.5 billion in cash and shares.
Magic Johnson
Net Worth: $1.5 billion | Source of Wealth: Basketball, investments
Following his retirement from the NBA in 1996, Johnson began investing, opening movie theatres and Starbucks franchises, often in Black communities. Most of his fortune comes from a 60% ownership stake in life insurance company Equitrust, which has grown from $16 billion in assets under management to $27 billion since he took over in 2015. Johnson also owns small equity stakes in four sports teams, including the NFL’s Washington Commanders and the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
Tope Awotona
Net Worth: $1.4 billion | Source of Wealth: Software
Born in Lagos, Nigeria, Awotona moved to Atlanta when he was 15. He studied computer science at the University of Georgia before switching majors to business and management information. In 2013, he founded Calendly, a scheduling software startup that private investors valued at $3 billion in 2021.
Related Post: Black-owned Businesses Worth Billions in the U.S.
Tyler Perry
Net Worth $1.4 billion | Source of Wealth: Movies, Television
Perry, who has built a platform as the second highest-paid TV showrunner, achieved billionaire status in 2020. He is best known for his “Madea” movie franchise, which grossed over $660 million. He also owns a quarter of the streaming platform BET+ and a 330-acre studio in Atlanta.
Tiger Woods
Net Worth: $1.4 billion | Source of Wealth: Golf
Throughout his golf career, Woods has won 15 major championships (second only to Jack Nicklaus), 82 PGA Tour tournaments (tied for first with Sam Snead), and has won more prize money ($122 million) than any player in PGA history. However, most of Woods’ earnings have come from his lucrative brand deals, most famously with Nike.
LeBron James
Net Worth: $1.3 billion | Source of Wealth: Basketball
In 2022, James became the first active basketball player to become a billionaire, earning over $900 million (pretax) from endorsements and business ventures. James is a 21-time NBA All-Star, four-time NBA champion, and four-time NBA MVP.
Herriot Tabuteau
Net Worth: $1.1 billion | Source of Wealth: Healthcare
A newcomer to this year’s list, Tabuteau founded Axsome Therapeutics in 2012 to develop life-changing treatments for the millions of patients with brain disorders. He owns 15% of Axsome, which he took public in 2015. Before founding the company, Tabuteau worked in healthcare finance, including as a partner at hedge fund Healthco/S.A.C. Capital.
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Sheila Johnson
Net Worth: $1 billion | Source of Wealth: Cable TV, hotels
Another newcomer to this year’s list, Johnson cofounded the cable network BET with her then-husband, Robert Johnson, in 1979 and sold it to Viacom for $3 billion in 2001. Now, she’s the founder of the hospitality firm, the Salamander Collection, which operates hotels and resorts in Washington, D.C., Charleston, and Jamaica, among other destinations. Through her investment in Monumental Sports & Entertainment, she also owns stakes in the WNBA’s Washington Mystics, the NBA’s Washington Wizards, and the NHL’s Washington Capitals.
Main Image: Tope Awotona, founder and CEO of Calendly
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