David Steward

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David Steward
Born
David Lloyd Steward

(1951-07-02) July 2, 1951 (age 74)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Education Central Missouri State University
Known forChairman and founder of World Wide Technology
Board member of Barnes-Jewish Hospital
Centene Corporation
Webster University [1]
University of Missouri [2]
SpouseThelma
Children2; including Kimberly

David Lloyd Steward (born July 2, 1951) is an American billionaire businessperson. Globally, he is the 213th richest and the richest African American, with a fortune exceeding $10B as of 2025. [3] [4] [5] He is chairman and founder of World Wide Technology, [6] one of the largest African-American-owned businesses in America. [7]

Contents

Early life

Steward was born in 1951 in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Dorothy Elizabeth Massingale, a homemaker, and Harold Lloyd Steward, a mechanic. [7] [8] In 1953, the family moved to Clinton, Missouri. As a child growing up in Clinton, Steward faced poverty and discrimination. [9]

"I vividly remember segregation—separate schools, sitting in the balcony at the movie theater, being barred from the public swimming pool," notes Steward, who was among a small group of African-American high-school students who integrated the public swimming pool in Clinton in 1967. [10]

Steward received his Bachelor of Science in business from Central Missouri State University in 1973. [2] [7]

Business career

After graduating from college, Steward worked at Wagner Electric as a production manager (1974–1975), a sales representative at Missouri Pacific Railroad (1975–1979), and a senior account executive at FedEx (1979–1984), where he was recognized as salesman of the year and inducted into the company's hall of fame in 1981. He owned Transportation Business Specialists and Transport Administrative Services in the years leading up to founding World Wide Technology. [7] He is also a founder of Telcobuy, a global technology and supply chain management company. [11]

World Wide Technology

In 1990, Steward co-founded World Wide Technology, a systems integrator. [2] In 1993, WWT concentrated its focus on the implementation of enterprise wide imaging, conversion services, and telecommunication networks. [12]

In 1999 WWT spun off its telecommunications division to form Telcobuy.com. Sales for the two companies continued to grow, although revenues slipped in 2002 as WWT felt the impact of the technology recession. In 2003 combined reported revenues passed $1 billion, and Steward formed World Wide Technology Holding Company as the parent company for the two firms. [7]

WWT's 2018 revenue was estimated to be greater than $11 billion, [13] which would've ranked it as one of St. Louis's largest private companies. [14]

Civic and community involvement

Steward has been on committees and boards that include: Civic Progress of St. Louis; the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association; Missouri Technology Corporation, appointed by the Governor of Missouri; Webster University; BJC Health System; First Banks, Inc.; Saint Louis Science Center; United Way of Greater St. Louis; The Greater St. Louis Area Council of Boy Scouts of America and Harris–Stowe State University African-American Business Leadership Council. [15] In 2011, Steward was appointed to the board of curators, University of Missouri by Governor Jay Nixon, [2] although he resigned before his term was through. [16]

Political activities

In 2019, while Steward served on the Washington University in St. Louis board of trustees, he supported a measure in Missouri General Assembly that would affect Title IX investigations at universities. [17] The measure was initiated by a lobbyist, employed by Steward at the time, whose son was expelled from Washington University following a Title IX violation. [18]

Steward was finance chair of the Trust In The Mission PAC, a super PAC supporting Senator Tim Scott's Republican 2024 Presidential Campaign. [19] In 2024, Steward donated about $230,000 to PACs supporting Republican candidates, including Mike Parson and Mike Kehoe. [20]

Publications

Recognition

References

  1. ↑ Businessweek [ dead link ]
  2. 1 2 3 4 "David L. Steward". University of Missouri. Archived from the original on September 26, 2015.
  3. ↑ Young, Jabari. "The World's Black Billionaires 2025". Forbes. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  4. ↑ "Forbes 2025 Billionaires List - The Richest People In The World Ranked". Forbes. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  5. ↑ "David Steward". Forbes. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  6. ↑ "David L Steward". Forbes . Archived from the original on June 13, 2011. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "David L Steward, 1951-". Encyclopedia of Business, 2nd ed. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  8. ↑ "David L. Steward". Horatio Alger Association of Distinguished Americans . Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  9. ↑ "Riseandgrind.com". Archived from the original on December 20, 2009. Retrieved July 13, 2011.
  10. ↑ Steward, David L., and Robert L. Shook, Doing Business by the Good Book, New York: Hyperion, 2004
  11. ↑ "Telcobuy.com | About". www.telcobuy.com.
  12. 1 2 "Mr. David L. Steward – AMA Distinguished Executive for 1996". Hormon College of Business Administration. Archived from the original on September 30, 2011.
  13. ↑ "Press Kit". World Wide Technology. December 22, 2016. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  14. ↑ Desloge, Rick (December 10, 2010). "World Wide Technology Inc.'s sales pass $3 billion".
  15. ↑ "David L. Steward". National Minority Supplier Development Council. Archived from the original on March 27, 2012.
  16. ↑ "David Steward resigns from University of Missouri Board of Curators". Columbia Daily Tribune. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  17. ↑ Suntrup, Jack (March 6, 2019). "Wash U 'strongly opposes' Title IX changes that one of its trustees supports". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  18. ↑ Hancock, Jason (November 12, 2021). "GOP auditor hopeful scores endorsements from Missouri billionaire, legislative leader". Missouri Independent. Retrieved August 16, 2023.
  19. ↑ Schwartz, Brian (September 26, 2023). "Super PAC backing Tim Scott GOP presidential bid taps billionaire tech exec as finance chair". CNBC. Retrieved November 13, 2023.
  20. ↑ Vasan, Paula (October 7, 2024). "Critics question political donations from World Wide Technology's founder amid ongoing IT issues plaguing Missouri's child care centers". ksdk.com. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
  21. ↑ Young, Stephanie (August 1, 2004). "The Steps to Success". Black Enterprise. Archived from the original on March 10, 2012. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 Kiser, Helene Barker. "Dave Steward". Answers.com. Archived from the original on November 10, 2012.
  23. ↑ "100+ Most Influential Black Americans". Ebony magazine. Johnson Publishing Company. May 2002. Retrieved March 25, 2011.
  24. ↑ "Wwt.com". Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
  25. ↑ Brown, Lisa (November 19, 2013). "David Steward named Horatio Alger Award recipient". stltoday.com.
  26. ↑ Wendell, Bryan (May 26, 2017). "Meet your 2017 Silver Buffalo Award class". Bryan on Scouting.
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