Barbados National Hero and international superstar Robyn Rihanna Fenty, and American actor and producer Tyler Perry are tied for 14th place on the list of 23 black moguls who earned a spot on Forbes’ World Billionaires list.
The magazine released its annual World’s Billionaires list on April 1, featuring 3 028 billionaires with a combined net worth of a record US$16.1 trillion. While only 23 of them are black – making up just 0.8 per cent of the list – the black billionaires represent a wealthy and impressive group.
Basketball legend Michael Jordan came in at No. 7 with a net worth of US$3.5 billion. Jordan made the list after selling his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets in a deal that valued the National Basketball Association franchise at US$3 billion. Talk show host Oprah Winfrey was tied with African Rainbow Minerals founder Patrice Motsepe in eighth place with a US$3 billion net worth.
Entertainer and producer Jay-Z closed out the Top 10 with a US$2.5 billion net worth, ahead of basketball Hall of Famer Earvin “Magic” Johnson, who was tied for 12th place with US$1.5 billion.
Perry and Rihanna’s US$1.4 billion net worth have them sharing the 14th spot with two others (software mogul Tope Awotona and golf legend Tiger Woods). Basketballer LeBron James tied for 18th place with a US$1.3 billion net worth, and BET founder Sheila Johnson closed out the list with a US$1 billion net worth.
Aliko Dangote, founder and chief executive officer of Dangote Group, is the wealthiest black man in the world, with an estimated net worth of US$23.9 billion. His work on building Africa’s largest oil and gas refinery, which began in 2013 and was completed in early
2024, has boosted his fortune by US$10.5 billion since last year’s list.
David Steward finished at No. 2 with an estimated net worth of US$11.4 billion. The richest black American, Steward co-founded World Wide Technology in 1990, a company that provides IT solutions to clients such as Citi and Verizon.
Robert F. Smith, founder of Vista Equity Partners, finished at No. 3 with a net worth of US$10.8 billion. Alexander Karp followed at No. 4 with a net worth of US$8.4 billion. Karp is the co-founder and CEO of Palantir Technologies, a data mining company whose clients include the FBI, the Department of Defense and other government agencies.
Mike Adenuga rounded out the Top 5 with a net worth of US$6.8 billion. One of Africa’s wealthiest individuals, Adenuga built his fortune through his mobile network, Globacom, and his oil exploration company, Conoil.
The top three billionaires on the Forbes list are Elon Musk with a net worth of US$342 billion, whose companies include electric car maker Tesla, rocket producer SpaceX and artificial intelligence start-up xAI; followed by Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg at US$216 billion, and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos (US$215 billion).
(Black Enterprise/ Forbes)
