The United States continues to dominate the global wealth landscape, with eight of the 10 wealthiest billionaires based stateside. However, the Forbes 2024 list shows that of the nearly 3000 billionaires worldwide, only 17 are Black.
Regardless, Black entrepreneurs continue to defy the odds despite the obstacles stacked against them. According to 2021 Census data, Black-owned businesses in the U.S. generated $206 billion in annual revenue and supported 3.56 million U.S. jobs.
There are 13 Black billionaires in the United States today. This elite group of leaders has carved out successful careers in media, sports, technology, finance, and entertainment. As we celebrate Black History Month in February, we delve into their journeys to success, showcasing their inspirational stories.
David Steward
The wealthiest Black American—with an estimated net worth of $11.4B—David Steward grew up in the segregated South with seven siblings and a father who worked as a mechanic, janitor, and trash collector. After graduating from Central Missouri State University in 1973, he worked in sales for the Missouri Pacific Railroad, Union Pacific,c, and Federal Express and won salesman of the year in 1981.
Nine years later, he co-founded World Wide Technology, which provides IT solutions for global companies like Citi and Verizon. WWT has over 10,000 employees and $20B in annual revenue today. In 2018, he donated $1.3M to the University of Missouri-St. Louis to establish the David and Thelma Steward Institute for Jazz Studies.
Robert F. Smith
Raised in Denver, Colorado, Robert Smith became fascinated with computers while attending Denver’s East High School. After obtaining a degree in chemical engineering from Cornell in 1985, he worked at Goodyear Tire and Kraft General Foods before pursuing an MBA at Columbia University. In 2000, he launched Vista Equity Partners, the largest Black-owned private equity firm in the United States, with over 700 employees and $100 billion in assets under management.
With an estimated net worth today of $10.8B, ranking 88th on the Forbes 400, Smith became the first Black American to sign the Giving Pledge, a commitment to donate most of his wealth to philanthropic causes. In an iconic moment during a 2019 commencement address at Morehouse College, Smith announced that he would pay off the student loans of the entire graduating class. The following year, Smith unveiled the 2% Solution, calling for U.S. companies to donate 2% of profits over a decade to Black and other underserved communities affected by the racial wealth gap.
Tope Awotona
Tope Awotona is the founder and CEO of Calendly, a scheduling software startup valued at $3B in 2021. Born in Lagos, Nigeria, he immigrated to Atlanta at age 15 and studied computer science at the University of Georgia before switching majors to business and management information.
After working as a salesman for several tech firms and launching a few failed startups, Awotona cashed in his 401(k) in 2013 to start Calendly because he was frustrated with the number of emails required to schedule meetings. After bootstrapping the company for many years, in 2021, Awotona raised $350M to scale Calendly further. Today, he is worth an estimated $1.4B.
LeBron James
One of the most dominant athletes in sports and business over the past two decades, Forbes estimates LeBron James’ net worth to be $1.2B. In 2022, he became the first active basketball player to become a billionaire, earning over $900M (pretax) from endorsements and business ventures. Raised by a single mother in Akron, Ohio, James excelled in basketball and was selected in 2003 as the first overall pick in the NBA Draft after graduating from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School.
His impressive award collection includes a 20-time NBA All-Star, four-time NBA champion, and four-time NBA MVP. In 2023, he broke Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time NBA scoring record with more than 38,000 points. James founded the I PROMISE School in 2018, which serves at-risk children in Akron and is funded by his nonprofit organization, the LeBron James Family Foundation.
Jay-Z
Born Shawn Corey Carter, Jay-Z was raised by a single mother in the Marcy housing projects in Brooklyn. Since releasing his debut album, Reasonable Doubt, in 1996, he has won 24 Grammys and launched multiple companies, including the fashion brand Rocawear (which sold for $204M in 2007) and the 40/40 nightclub in New York.
He also bought and sold ownership stakes in the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets franchise and, in 2014, purchased Armand de Brignac Champagne. By 2019, Jay-Z became a billionaire, the first hip-hop artist to reach that milestone. In 2021, his fortune grew after he sold a 50% stake in Armand de Brignac to luxury conglomerate LVMH. Forbes estimates his net worth to be $2.5 billion.
Eavin ‘Magic’ Johnson
Born in Michigan, Johnson is regarded as one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He has won five NBA titles and three MVP awards in a career that was cut short in 1991 when he was diagnosed with HIV. After retirement, Johnson began investing, opening movie theatres and Starbucks franchises, often in Black communities. Forbes estimates Johnson’s net worth at $1.6 billion, up from $1.2 billion in 2023.
He also owns shares in four sports teams, including the 2024 World Series-winning Los Angeles Dodgers. In 2015, he made the investment that now comprises the biggest portion of his portfolio: a majority ownership stake in insurance firm EquiTrust, whose assets under management have risen to $27B. Johnson was one of the first celebrities to pitch in during the COVID-19 pandemic, offering more than $100M in loans through EquiTrust to minority and women-owned businesses that were denied government aid.
Michael Jordan
Considered the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan won six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls and is an icon in sports and business. While his NBA salary totaled $90M during his career, Jordan has earned more than $2.4B (pre-tax) from corporate partners, including Nike, Gatorade, and Hanes. In addition to becoming a co-owner of a NASCAR team in 2020, Jordan has equity in Cincoro Tequila, DraftKings and the luxury timepiece platform WatchBox.
In 2023, he sold his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets in a deal that valued the team at $3B. He is one of four Black Americans to appear on the Forbes 400 with a net worth of $3.5B. On the philanthropic front, Jordan and his apparel brand committed $100M in June 2020 toward social and economic empowerment in the Black community.
Alex Karp
Alex Karp is the co-founder and CEO of Palantir Technologies, a data mining company used by the FBI, CIA, the Department of Defense, and other government agencies. Forbes estimates Karp has a net worth of $7B—making him one of four Black Americans to make the Forbes 400. Though its usage is primarily classified, Palantir’s software was reportedly used to track down Osama bin Laden in 2011.
Karp was raised in Philadelphia by a Jewish clinical pediatrician father and a Black mother, who was an artist. He graduated from Haverford College and earned his law degree from Stanford in 1992, where he shared a dorm room with Peter Thiel, a co-founder of PayPal and billionaire venture capitalist. In 2020, Palantir went public and is now valued at over $160B.
Adebayo Ogunlesi
A native of Nigeria and now a U.S. citizen, Ogunlesi co-founded New York-based private equity firm Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP). In October, BlackRock acquired GIP for $12.5B in cash and shares, with Ogunlesi remaining chairman and CEO of GIP. Today, Forbes estimates Ogunlesi—who earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Oxford, a Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School, and an MBA from Harvard Business School—has a net worth of $1.7B.
After working as a clerk for Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall in the early 1980s, Ogunlesi worked as an attorney at the New York law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore. Before co-founding GIP in 2006, Ogunlesi spent over 20 years as an investment banker at Credit Suisse.
Tyler Perry
A comedian at heart, it wasn’t until Tyler Perry was 28 that he found success with his traveling live theatre performances, portraying the characters inspired by his family and upbringing in the South, most famously his iconic character Madea. Today, long after fighting to launch his career and being “poor as hell,” as he told Forbes in 2020, Perry has built a platform as the second highest-paid TV showrunner and achieved billionaire status in 2020.
Most of his wealth comes from owning the content he has created, which he considers “non-negotiable.” He also owns a quarter of the streaming platform BET+ and a 330-acre studio in Atlanta, where he films most of his movies and TV shows.
Rihanna
Rihanna may have become famous as a musician, but she became a billionaire thanks to her cosmetics beauty company, Fenty Beauty, which she co-owns with the French luxury conglomerate LVMH. Born Robyn Fenty in Barbados, Rihanna is her middle name. She also owns a lingerie brand called Savage x Fenty. Her nonprofit, the Clara Lionel Foundation, has donated millions to climate-focused causes since its inception in 2012. Fenty was named one of Fast Company’s “10 most innovative style companies of 2020” and has over 4.5 million followers across social media platforms.
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey got a headstart in radio at 17 after landing a job by winning a local Nashville-based “Miss Fire Prevention Contest” in 1971. Two years later, she became the youngest and first Black anchor at a local TV station, launching her television news career. In 1984, she relocated to Chicago to host a local talk show, and two years after that, it was rebranded and taken national as The Oprah Winfrey Show. The program ran for 25 years straight and was the highest-rated daytime talk show in history, winning 18 Daytime Emmy Awards.
Near total ownership of the show through her production company, Harpo also led to her becoming one of the wealthiest self-made women in America. In addition to an acting and film-producing career, Winfrey launched a book club and won several of the country’s highest honors, including a Presidential Medal of Freedom. In 2011, she founded the Oprah Winfrey Network, expanding her media empire to television, print, and digital. She sold most of her 50% stake to her joint venture partner, Warner Bros. Discovery, in 2017 and 2020. Today, Forbes estimates that Winfrey is worth $3B.
Tiger Woods
One of two professional athletes to become a billionaire while still playing—the other being LeBron James—Tiger Woods is one of golf’s all-time greats. Throughout his career, he 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 ($122M) than any player in PGA history. However, most of his estimated $1.3B wealth comes from his lucrative brand deals, most famously with Nike.
