![]() | This article needs to be updated.(July 2023) |
Black billionaires are individuals who are of predominantly African ancestry with a net worth of at least US$1 billion.
According to the 2024 Forbes ranking of the world's billionaires, Nigerian business magnate Aliko Dangote had a net worth of $13.9 billion and was the world's richest black man. [1]
Other billionaires of African descent on the 2021 Forbes list included Nigerian businessman Mike Adenuga with $6.1 billion, American investor Robert Smith with $11.8 billion, American businessman David Steward with $12.8 billion, American media mogul Oprah Winfrey with $2.7 billion, South African gold magnate Patrice Motsepe with $3.2 billion, Zimbabwe Strive Masiyiwa with $3.1 billion, Barbadian music artist/entrepreneur Rihanna with $1.7 billion, [2] American rapper Jay-Z with $2.5 billion, sports executive Michael Jordan with $1.6 billion, Jamaican-Canadian businessman Michael Lee-Chin with $1.6 billion, Nigerian businessman Abdul Samad Rabiu with $7.6 billion, Nigerian businesswoman Folorunsho Alakija with $1.1 billion, Mo Ibrahim of the United Kingdom with $1.8 billion, American athlete Tiger Woods with $1 billion, and American media mogul Tyler Perry with $1 billion. [3]
From 2001 to 2003, Forbes listed American television network executive Bob Johnson as a billionaire, [4] but dropped him after his fortune was split in his divorce. [5] He returned to the Forbes Billionaire list in 2007 with a net worth of $1.1 billion. In 2008 Johnson's wealth dropped again, this time to approximately $1.0 billion, [6] and by 2009 he fell off the list again. Nigerian petroleum executive Femi Otedola briefly emerged as a billionaire in 2009 but did not remain one in subsequent years. He returned to the list in the company of a fellow Nigerian, sugar tycoon Abdul Samad Rabiu, in 2016, but both were dropped from the rankings the following year. [7] Otedola re-emerged as a billionaire in 2024.[ citation needed ]
Multiracial billionaires with significant African ancestry have been identified over the years. Saudi Arabian billionaire Mohammed Al Amoudi, of Hadhrami Yemeni and Ethiopian descent, has been on the Forbes billionaire list since 2002 and in 2012 had a net worth of $12.5 billion. [8] Michael Lee-Chin of Canada, who is Jamaican of Chinese and Black ancestry, was on the list from 2001 to 2010 but dropped off in 2011. [9] Isabel dos Santos is of both Angolan and Russian ancestry. Alex Karp, US$ 8.0billion as of 2024. He is the co-founder, and CEO of Palantir Technologies, has an African-American mother. [10] Rihanna is of both Guyanese and Irish descent. [11] [12]
Of all the above-mentioned billionaires identified by Forbes, only Oprah Winfrey qualified for Forbes 2009's list of the world's 20 most powerful billionaires, a list which considered not only wealth, but also market sway and political clout. Winfrey was considered especially powerful because of her influence on American consumer choices and her pivotal role in Barack Obama's successful 2008 U.S. presidential campaign. [13]
(Wealth valuations by Forbes magazine)
Year | Black billionaires | Bi/Multiracial billionaires with Black ancestry | All billionaires |
---|---|---|---|
2001 | 1: Bob Johnson, $1.6 billion ![]() | 1: Michael Lee-Chin, $1 billion ![]() ![]() | 538; Richest: Bill Gates, $114 billion ![]() |
2002 | 1: Bob Johnson, $1 billion ![]() | 2:
| 497; Richest: Bill Gates, $52.8 billion ![]() |
2003 | 2:
| 2:
| 476; Richest: Bill Gates, $40.7 billion ![]() |
2004 | 1: Oprah Winfrey, $1.1 billion ![]() | 2:
| 587; Richest: Bill Gates, $46.6 billion ![]() |
2005 | 1: Oprah Winfrey, $1.3 billion ![]() | 2:
| 691; Richest: Bill Gates, $46.5 billion ![]() |
2006 | 1: Oprah Winfrey, $1.4 billion ![]() | 2:
| 793; Richest: Bill Gates, $50 billion ![]() |
2007 | 2:
| 2:
| 946; Richest: Bill Gates, $56 billion ![]() |
2008 | 5:
| 2:
| 1,125; Richest: Warren Buffett, $62 billion ![]() |
2009 | 5:
| 2:
| 793; Richest: Bill Gates, $40 billion ![]() |
2010 | 3:
| 2:
| 1,011; Richest: Carlos Slim Helu & family, $53.5 billion [28] ![]() |
2011 | 5:
| 1: Mohammad Al Amoudi, $12.3 billion ![]() ![]() | 1,210; Richest: Carlos Slim Helu & family, $74 billion ![]() |
2012 [31] | 5:
| 1: Mohammad Al Amoudi, $12.3 billion ![]() ![]() | 1,210; Richest: Carlos Slim Helu & family, $74 billion ![]() |
2013 | 5:
| 2:
| 1,426; Richest: Carlos Slim Helu & family, $73 billion ![]() |
2014 | 7:
| 2:
| 1,645; Richest: Bill Gates, $76 billion ![]() |
2016 | 11:
| 2:
| 1,810; Richest: Bill Gates, $75 billion ![]() |
2019 | 12:
| 4:
| 2,153; Richest: Jeff Bezos, $110 billion ![]() |
2020 | 14:
| 4:
| 2,095; Richest: Jeff Bezos, $113 billion ![]() |
2021–2022 | 17:
| 6:
| 2,755; Richest: Elon Musk, $271.9 billion ![]() ![]() ![]() |
2023 | 15:
| 5:
| 2,540; Richest: Bernard Arnault & family, $211 billion ![]() |
2024 | 15:
| 5:
| 2,781; Richest: Bernard Arnault & family, $233 billion ![]() |
Strive Masiyiwa is a London-based Zimbabwean billionaire businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder and executive chairman of international technology groups Econet Global and Cassava Technologies.
Mohammed Hussein Ali Al Amoudi is an Ethiopian-born Saudi billionaire businessman.
Rostam Abdulrasul Azizi is a self-made Tanzanian billionaire, business magnate, economist and former politician. In 2013, according to Forbes Magazine he was the first Tanzanian dollar billionaire with a net worth of over 1 billion dollars, in 2023 he had amassed a net worth of 8.2 billion dollars. and according to Henley & Partners Africa wealth report 2022, and was only dollar billionaire in East Africa.
Mohammed "Mo" Gulamabbas Dewji is a Tanzanian billionaire businessman and former politician. He is the owner of MeTL Group, a Tanzanian conglomerate founded by his grandmother, developed by his father in the 1970s. Dewji served as Member of the Tanzanian Parliament for Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) from 2005 to 2015 for his home town of Singida. As of October 2024, Dewji has an estimated net worth of US$1.8 billion, Africa's 17th richest person and youngest billionaire. Dewji was the first Tanzanian on the cover of Forbes magazine, in 2013.
Aliko Dangote is a Nigerian businessman and industrialist. He is the first man who built a private refinery in Nigeria. Dangote is the 221st richest individual in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$11.2 billion as of December 2024, according to Forbes and US$27.6 billion according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The Dangote Group is a Nigerian multinational industrial conglomerate, founded by Aliko Dangote. It is the largest conglomerate in West Africa and one of the largest on the African continent. The group employs more than 30,000 people, generating revenue in excess of US$4.1 billion in 2017.
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The World's Billionaires 2014 edition was 28th annual ranking of The World's Billionaires by Forbes magazine. The list estimated the net worth of the world's richest people, excluding royalty and dictators, as of February 12, 2014. It was released online on March 3, 2014.
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