Black billionaires identified

There were 2,781 billionaires in the world last year, according to Forbes.

Each year, the financial magazine tallies its list of the world’s billionaires using a snapshot of financial information, including the latest stock prices, exchange rates, assets and more. The year saw the number of billionaires worldwide reach an all-time high.

Of the nearly 2,800 billionaires in the world, only 21 are Black. That’s fewer than 1%. Of those 21, only two are women. Eleven are Americans.

The world’s 21 Black billionaires include:

Michael Lee-Chin: $1.2 billion. A native of Jamaica, Lee-Chin made his fortune investing in National Commercial Bank Jamaica, AIC Limited and other companies.

LeBron James: $1.2 billion. Between his basketball and business ventures, including a start up in Blaze Pizza, to endorsements from Nike and Coca-Cola, James has his own media company, called SpringHill Entertainment.

Mohammed Ibrahim: $1.3 billion. Mohammed Ibrahim is the founder of Celtel International in 1998, an originator in mobile phone service for Africa and the Middle East. In 2005, the Sudanese-born billionaire sold the company for $1.4 billion.

Tiger Woods: $1.3 billion. Woods took the golf world by storm and went pro in 1996. Most of his capital comes from his success in the sport and endorsement deals. His partnerships with Nike, Gatorade and Rolex helped tip him over the edge, sending his net worth slightly over $1.2 billion.

Rihanna: $1.4 billion. Making her debut on Forbes’ list, Rihanna has a projected net worth of $1.4 billion from her ever-expanding Fenty empire that has now branched out to sleepwear and lingerie.

Tope Awotona: $1.4 billion. Founder of software company Calendly, Tope Awotona immigrated from Lagos, Nigeria to the U.S. as a teenager. Before founding his multi-billion dollar business, Awotona had other “flopped” projects — including a business that sold gardening tools.

Tyler Perry: $1.4 billion. Perry is an actor, director, producer and screenwriter. The media mogul also owns Tyler Perry Studios in the heart of Atlanta on the historic grounds of the former Fort McPherson Army base.

Earvin “Magic” Johnson: $1.6 billion. One of the all-time NBA greats, Earvin “Magic” Johnson earned roughly $40 million playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. From Starbucks to real estate, according to Forbes, Johnson made most of his money through joint venture partnerships — gaining billionaire status by 2023.

Femi Otedola: $1.7 billion. Nigeria’s Femi Otedola owns over 70% of local energy producer Geregu Power’s shares, as well as some shares in Zenith Bank and FBN Holdings. The businessman also has properties in Lagos, Dubai, London and Monaco.

Strive Masiyiwa: $1.8 billion. Masiyiwa “overcame protracted government opposition to launch mobile phone network Econet Wireless Zimbabwe in his country of birth in 1998.” He and his wife, Tsitsi, have provided scholarships to more than 250,000 young Africans over the past 20 years through their Higherlife Foundation.

Adebayo Ogunlesi: $2.3 billion. Cofounder of private equity firm Global Infrastructure Partners, Nigeria-born Adebayo Ogunlesi’s New York-based business was bought out in 2024. The company was valued at $12.5 billion at the time, according to Forbes, and featured over a $100 billion in assets.

Jay-Z: $2.5 billion. In June 2019, Jay-Z became Hip-Hop’s first proven and viable billionaire, thanks to what Forbes called a “sprawling and diverse empire.”

Patrice Motsepe: $2.8 billion. Motsepe was the first Black African to appear on the Forbes list. He became a billionaire in 2008 as founder and chairman of African Rainbow Minerals.

Oprah Winfrey: $3 billion. In addition to the media, entertainment and business empire she’s built, Winfrey owns shares in Weight Watchers and has a partnership with Apple. She has donated nearly half a billion dollars to charities throughout her career, including more than $100 million to the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.

Michael Jordan: $3.5 billion. NBA great Jordan, one of the 10 Americans on the list, still has sponsorship deals with Hanes, Gatorade and Upper Deck 19 years after retiring from basketball.

Abdulsamad Rabiu: $5.1 billion. Rabiu is the founder of BUA Group, a Nigerian conglomerate with interests in sugar refining, cement production, real estate, steel, port concessions, manufacturing, oil, gas and shipping.

Alexander Karp: $9.7 billion. Alexander Karp is the co-founder and CEO of the software firm Palantir Technologies.

Robert F. Smith: $10.8 billion. Robert F. Smith made his fortune through the private equity firm, Vista Equity Partners, which he founded in 2000. A graduate of Cornell, he pledged $50 million (personally and through a foundation) to the university in 2016. And in 2019, Smith announced his family was providing a grant to eliminate the student debt of the entire Morehouse College Class of 2019.

Aliko Dangote: $10.9 billion. Africa’s richest man, Dangote has a net worth of $10.9 billion. Dangote founded and owns nearly 88% of publicly traded Dangote Cement. He also owns stakes in publicly traded salt, sugar and flour manufacturing companies.

David Steward: $11.4 billion. Steward is co-founder and chairman of World Wide Technology, an $11.2 billion IT provider whose customers include Citi, Verizon and the federal government.

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