Black Billionaires
This is a global list of Black African ancestry billionaires in U.S. dollars.
This list includes people of Black African ancestry who have achieved billionaire status in U.S. dollars. It is a testament to the hard work, dedication and ambition of these individuals, who have been able to break through barriers and achieve success in a world that often makes it hard for Black people to do so. It is also a reminder that anyone can achieve great things regardless of their race or background, if they are willing to put in the effort and never give up on their dreams.
Black Billionaires 2023 Gallery
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There are currently 18 known black billionaires in the world, representing 8 countries.
The 18 current billionaires on our list had aggregate wealth of ~ $63.6 billion, and a median age of 58 years. Nigeria's Alhaji Aliko Dangote accounts for ~ 22.33% of that aggregate wealth. Black billionaires aggregate wealth represent less than one percent of the aggregate wealth of all billionaires.
2021, marked 20 years since Robert L. Johnson and Michael Lee-Chin became the first Black people to be listed on Forbes magazines annual ranking of the World's Billionaires in 2001. Forbes mistakenly listed Mr. Johnson as the only Black billionaire not recognizing Mr. Lee-Chin as having Black ancestry.
Oprah Winfrey became the worlds first Black female billionaire in 2003 and remained the only female Black billionaire until 2013, when she was joined by Isabel dos Santos, Africa's first female billionaire and Folorunsho Alakija, Nigeria's first female billionaire.
In 2014, Michael Jordan became the first billionaire athlete. He was the forth-richest Black American, behind Robert F. Smith, David L. Steward and Oprah Winfrey.
In 2014 our list of 10 Black billionaires had aggregate wealth of $60.9 billion. In 2023 the aggregate wealth of the 18 Blacks billionaires on the Forbes Billionaires list is $63.6 billion.
In June 2019, Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter was named the first hip hop artist to become a billionaire by Forbes.com.
On August 4, 2021, Rihanna was listed by Forbes magazine as officially becoming a billionaire. Ms. Fenty is the first Black billionaire borned and raised in Barbados. She's also the youngest known Black billionaire to date.
Black billionaires make up less than 1% of all billionaires worldwide. Collectively their wealth represents only ~32% of Spacex founder, Elon Musk net worth of $191 billion.
We recently added then removed Mohammed Al Amoudi to our billionaires list because Bloomberg has a very low rating for the reliablity of their data for him and Forbes does not list him on their list. Mr Al Amoudi was one of dozens of high-profile Saudis detained in a sweeping anti-corruption crackdown spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He was finally set free in January 2019 with no explanation for the reasons behind his detention or release. Ethopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed appealed to the crown prince for his release.
Updated 2023/4/4.
Compiled using data from Forbes.com, and Bloomberg.com.
Black Billionaires by Country
| Flag | Country | # of Billionaires |
| 🇺🇲 | USA | 10 |
| 🇳🇬 | Nigeria | 3 |
| 🇿🇦 | South Africa | 1 |
| 🇯🇲 🇨🇦 | Jamaica/Canada | 1 |
| 🇧🇧 | Barbados | 1 |
| 🇿🇼 | Zimbabwe | 1 |
| 🏴 | United Kingdom | 1 |
The Richest Black Billionaire
Alhaji Aliko Dangote
Nigerian business magnate Alhaji Aliko Dangote with a net worth of $14.2 billion (2023/4/4), is currently the world's richest Black person. Mr. Dangote is the founder, chairman, and CEO of the Dangote Group, the largest industrial conglomerate in West Africa. He was born on April 10, 1957 in Kano, Kano State into a wealthy Hausa Muslim family. Learn more...
Chart: Number of Black Billionaires Over Time
Chart: Black Billionaires Aggregate Wealth Over Time
Current Black Billionaires List
| Name | Age | Net Worth | Source | Industry | Country of Citizenship |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aliko Dangote | 65 | $14.20 | The Dangote Group | sugar, flour, cement | Nigeria |
| Abdulsamad Rabiu | 62 | $8.20 | BUA Group | Sugar, flour, cement | Nigeria |
| Robert Smith | 60 | $8.00 | Vista Equity Partners | Private equity | United States |
| Mike Adenuga | 70 | $6.10 | Globacom | telcom, banking, oil | Nigeria |
| David L. Steward | 71 | $6.00 | World Wide Technology | Information Technology | United States |
| Patrice Motsepe | 61 | $2.70 | African Rainbow Minerals (ARM) | mining | South Africa |
| Oprah Winfrey | 69 | $2.50 | Harpo, Weight Watchers | Television | United States |
| Shawn Jay-Z Carter | 53 | $2.50 | Roc-A-Fella Records, Rocawear, Armand de Brignac, D’Ussé, Tidal, Roc Nation | Music, Investments | United States |
| Michael Jordan | 60 | $2.00 | Charlotte Hornets, NIKE, endorsements | Entertainment, Apparel | United States |
| Strive Masiyiwa | 62 | $1.90 | Econet Group, Liquid Telecom | Communications | Zimbabwe |
| Michael Lee-Chin | 72 | $1.40 | Investments, Mutual Funds | Communications, Banking | Canada |
| Robyn Rihanna Fenty | 35 | $1.40 | Fenty Beauty, Savage x Fenty | Fashion, Cosmetics, Music | Barbados / USA |
| Alexander Karp | 55 | $1.30 | Palantir Technologies | Software, Investments | United States |
| Tope Awotona | 40 | $1.20 | Calendly | Software | United States |
| Mohammed Ibrahim | 76 | $1.20 | Celtel International, MSI Cellular | communications | United Kingdom |
| Tyler Perry | 53 | $1.00 | The Tyler Perry Company Inc. | Film, Television | United States |
| LeBron James | 38 | $1.00 | Basketball, investments | Sports, media | United States |
| Tiger Woods | 47 | $1.00 | Golf, investments | Sports, media | United States |
As of 2023/04/04