BlackMontreal.com | home
BLACK BILLIONAIRES 2024
(Ref. Forbes Magazine - click names for link to more info)
Year = 2024 (qty. = 19)
Aliko Dangote is the wealthiest Black person in the world. He was born to a wealthy family in Northern Nigeria in 1957. Raised in the Muslim faith, he attended the Sheikh Ali Kumasi Madrasa primary school before attending Capital High School in Kano and Government College, Birnin Kudu. His formal education ended with a bachelor’s degree in business studies and administration from Al-Azhar University in Cairo. Dangote derives most of his wealth from his 85-percent stake in Dangote Cement Plc, Africa’s largest cement producer. He also also owns stakes in Dangote Sugar Refinery, a leading sugar manufacturer, and the publicly traded salt company NASCON Allied Plc.He also owns a multi-billion oil refinery, which is currently under construction, as well as a fertilizer refinery in Nigeria that has also yet to commence production.
Robert F. Smith is the richest Black person in America. Born and raised in Colorado, he was the child of two PhDs. He would first get his undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from Cornell University before getting his MBA from Columbia University. Smith has worked for a number of well-known and successful companies as a chemical engineer including Goodyear, Kraft General Foods, before working at Goldman Sachs as an technological investment banker. He is a U.S. businessman and philanthropist who derives the majority of his wealth from Vista Equity Partners, a private equity firm founded in 2000 with investments in software companies. The company has more than $50 billion in assets, with annualized returns of 22 percent since its inception.
Born in the early 1950s, not only did David Stewart experience poverty, but he also experienced discrimination up to, during, and after the Civil Rights movement. After receiving a business degree from Central Missouri State University, he would work a number of jobs that included being a production manager, sales representative, and senior account executive. As co-founder and chairman of World Wide Technology,one of the world's largest African-American owned businesses. Steward’s rise to the top wasn’t a smooth path; Forbes says he once watched as his car was repossessed from his office’s parking lot. Now, his company has grown from a reseller of technology equipment in 1990 into a leading technology solutions provider. The company recorded $13.4 billion in revenue in 2020.
Mike Adenuga made his fortune in telecom and oil. He made his first million in 1979 at age 26, selling lace and soft drinks. Adenuga comes from humble beginnings. While his dad was a school teacher and his mother was a businesswoman, he worked as a taxi driver to fund his undergraduate degree from Northwestern Oklahoma State University and his MBA from Pace University. Since then, he stuck gold (or oil) with his Consolidated Oil company. He is married with 7 children. He derives the majority of his net worth from the mobile telecom company, Globacom. Globacom is Nigeria’s second-largest telecom operator with a presence in Ghana and Benin. The billionaire also has a majority interest in Conoil Plc, a leading petroleum marketer in Nigeria, and Conoil Producing, an oil exploration company.
Born in the early 1950s, not only did Rabiu experience poverty, but he also experienced discrimination up to, during, and after the Civil Rights movement. After receiving a business degree from Central Missouri State University, he would work a number of jobs that included being a production manager, sales representative, and senior account executive. This all led up to him founding World Wide Technology (WWT) in 1990. This company provides the “planning, procurement, and deployment of IT products. 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.
Michael Jordan is often considered the "greatest of all time" (GOAT). You can’t have a conversation about NBA greats without his name being at the top of every list. Michael Jordan first gained his fame from playing in the NBA, most notably with the Chicago Bulls. While he even had a stint in baseball, which many of us pretend never happened, he returned to basketball in 1995 and solidified his career with more championship wins. You might think most of his fortune came from playing basketball, but you’d be wrong. According to Forbes, he earned $1.7 billion from corporate partners. He also is the chairman and principal owner in the NBA team the Charlotte Hornets as well as a number of other sponsorship deals and royalties in lucrative ventures with corporate partners such as Nike, Hanes and Gatorade.
Oprah is a U.S. talk show host, TV producer, actress and philanthropist. She is one of the most well-known and beautiful-black-women-in the world. Hailing from a small town in Mississippi, Oprah’s career really began in 1986 when she began her own talk show based out of Chicago. Her show would run for an impressive 25 years with a number of memorable episodes; who could ever forget “YOU GET A CAR, YOU GET A CAR.” After her show ended, her business wouldn’t stop there. In 2008, she founded her own television network, the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).
Patrice Motsepe hails from Pretoria, South Africa. He first got his taste of business from his father who was a small businessman with a shop that was popular among black mine workers. He earned a BA from the University of Swaziland before earning a law degree from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. While he began working towards his fortune in 1997 when he founded African Rainbow Minerals, it was 2008 that brought in extreme wealth when he became the first black African on Forbes’ list of billionaires. Motsepe is also a part of Bill Gates’ and Warren Buffett’s Giving Pledge, which means he has promised to give half of his fortune to charity. Aside from his equity position in the company, he has a stake in Sanlam, a Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed financial services firm. He is also the president and owner of the Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club, a South African professional football club.
When he began his career, Jay Z was simply known as a rapper. While many consider him one of the greatest acts of Hip Hop, he would soon become known as a businessman and Hip Hop’s first billionaire. Hailing from Brooklyn, he founded Roc-A-Fella Records in 1995 and would release a number of highly acclaimed albums. Since then, Jay Z has transformed himself into a businessman. He founded Rocawear in 1999 and the luxury sports bar chain 40/40 Club. He is now in charge of the streaming service Tidal after he acquired the parent company Aspiro. This is what led Jay Z to make his way to the list. From the streets of Brooklyn to Hip Hop’s first billionaire, he is the true rags to riches story.
Alexander Caedmon Karp was born on October 2, 1967, in New York City, the son of a Jewish clinical pediatrician father and an African American artist mother, Karp was raised in Philadelphia and graduated from Central High School in 1985. Karp earned a bachelor's degree from Haverford College (Haverford, Pennsylvania) in 1989, a juris doctor (JD) degree from Stanford University in 1992, and a PhD degree in neoclassical social theory from Goethe University Frankfurt in 2002.Alex Karp is cofounder and CEO of data mining firm Palantir Technologies, which received early backing from CIA investment arm In-Q-Tel. The company does contract work for government agencies like the Department of Defense, the FBI and the Danish National Police. Palantir went public on the New York Stock Exchange in an unusual direct listing process in September 2020. Karp met Palantir cofounder and billionaire Facebook investor Peter Thiel while at Stanford Law School. Karp managed money before starting Palantir in 2004, and occasionally teaches meditation classes at the company.
Strive Masiyiwa was born in 1961 in Zimbabwe. Due to political turmoil, they fled the country and settled in Zambia before Masiyiwa was sent to Scotland for his formal education. With initial plans of returning to Zimbabwe to join the anti-government guerrilla movement, he changed courses and went to the University of Wales to earn a degree in electrical engineering. He founded Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, a mobile phone network in 1998 and owns over half of the company. He is also the founder of Liquid Telecom. Much of his earnings also comes from owning shares in other telecom companies around Burundi and Lesotho.He puts his money into many great avenues. Alongside his wife, the two founded the Higherlife Foundation which gives underprivileged children the opportunity for education.</p>
A native of Jamaica, Michael Lee-Chin made a fortune investing in financial companies like National Commercial Bank Jamaica and AIC Limited. The native of Jamaica acquired AIC in 1987, when it had less than $1 million in assets under management. Under Lee-Chin, the Canada-based wealth management and mutual fund business managed more than $10 billion in assets by 2002. But the firm was hit hard by the 2008 recession, and Lee-Chin sold AIC to Canadian financial services group Manulife in 2009 for an undisclosed price. He managed to hold onto a valuable 60% stake in National Commercial Bank Jamaica, which now makes up much of his wealth.
Rihanna, Barbados' most famous export, is a billionaire thanks to the success of cosmetics line Fenty Beauty. The cosmetics company, which she co-owns with French luxury retailer LVMH, doubled its revenue in 2022. She also has a 30% stake in the Savage x Fenty lingerie line, which raised money at a $1 billion valuation in February 2021. The pop star headlined the Super Bowl LVII halftime show for the first time in 2023, during which she revealed she is pregnant with her second child. Rihanna and rapper A$AP Rocky have two children together, the first who was born in May 2022 and the second in August 2023. She released her first new music in five years in 2022 for the movie Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Her song "Lift Me Up" was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song.
Mo Ibrahim is a Sudanese-British billionaire businessman. He sold Celtel International to Kuwait’s Mobile Telecommunications Company for $3.4 billion in 2005.
Earvin "Magic" Johnson is one of the greatest NBA players of all time. Johnson earned only around $40 million total as a Los Angeles Lakers player, mainly in the 1980s, and even at his peak only brought in between $2 million and $4 million per year in endorsements. Instead he built his wealth through joint venture partnerships in everything from movie theaters, Starbucks franchises, real estate and healthcare. The majority of his fortune comes from a 60% ownership stake in life insurance company Equitrust, which has grown from $16 billion in assets under management to $26 billion since he took over in 2015. He also owns small ownership stakes in the NFL's Washington Commanders, MLB's Los Angeles Dodgers, WNBA's Los Angeles Sparks and MLS' LAFC.
Woods has earned roughly $1.8 billion during his pro golf career, including a PGA Tour-record $121 million in prize money. In 2022, Forbes certified him as a billionaire, making him only the second active athlete ever with that distinction, after LeBron James. Woods reached that rarified air despite reportedly turning down a "mind-blowingly enormous" offer from the upstart LIV Golf tour, a deal that LIV CEO Greg Norman told the Washington Post would have been in the "high nine digits." Woods has parlayed his golfing paychecks into investments that include two homes on Jupiter Island, a golf-course design business and high-end mini-golf chain Popstroke. Woods and fellow golf star Rory McIlroy announced in 2022 that they had founded TMRW Sports, a tech-focused venture with plans to launch a new golf league called TGL. The superstar is also a partner with Justin Timberlake and British billionaire Joe Lewis in Nexxus, a luxury real-estate venture.
Femi Otedola is a Nigeria billionaire who made his first fortune in commodities before selling his shares in Forte Oil to invest in the energy business. Otedola is chairman of Geregu Power, a power generation business, and owns more than 70% of the shares. During 2022 and 2023 Otedola sold down a Geregu stake that was once more than 95% to bring on institutional investors, Investors in Geregu include the Nigerian government, the Afrexim Fund for Export Development in Africa and the State Grid Corporation of China. He also owns properties in Lagos, Dubai, London and Monaco, and holds shares in Zenith Bank and FBN Holdings.
Folorunsho Alakija is the richest woman in Nigeria After bouncing back and forth between the UK and Nigeria for her education, she studied secretarial studies at university in London. While she began working as the secretary for a few businesses, she would establish her own retail tailoring business. After applying and receiving a license to explore part of Nigeria, she struck oil. She is now the vice chair of Famfa Oil, a Nigerian oil exploration company.
A director, actor, producer and writer, Tyler Perry is best known for his "Madea" franchise, which has grossed more than $660 million. Perry started out in live theater in the 1990s and became extremely popular before transitioning to film and television in the 2000s. Perry's wealth comes both from his cut as a producer and from a library dating back to the early 1990s: he owns 100% of the content he's created. In 2019, he opened Tyler Perry Studios, a 330-acre property in Atlanta with 12 sound stages and custom sets that include a to-scale White House. After seven years creating content for Oprah Winfrey's OWN, Perry struck a similar deal with Viacom in 2019, getting 25% of streaming service BET+.
============================================
BLACK BILLIONAIRES 2023
(Ref. Forbes Magazine)
Year = 2023 (qty. = 14)
1) Aliko Dangote, Nigerian, US$14 Billion
Aliko Dangote is the wealthiest Black person in the world. Dangote derives most of his wealth from his 85-percent stake in Dangote Cement Plc, Africa’s largest cement producer. He also also owns stakes in Dangote Sugar Refinery, a leading sugar manufacturer, and the publicly traded salt company NASCON Allied Plc.He also owns a $12-billion oil refinery, which is currently under construction, as well as a fertilizer refinery in Nigeria that has also yet to commence production.
2) Mike Adenuga, Nigerian, US$7.3 Billion
Mike Adenuga is a Nigerian billionaire who made his first million in 1979 at age 26, selling lace and soft drinks. He derives the majority of his net worth from the mobile telecom company, Globacom. Globacom is Nigeria’s second-largest telecom operator with a presence in Ghana and Benin. The billionaire also has a majority interest in Conoil Plc, a leading petroleum marketer in Nigeria, and Conoil Producing, an oil exploration company.
3). Abdulsamad Rabiu, Nigerian: $6.9 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.
4) Robert F. Smith, American,US$6.7 Billion
Robert F. Smith is a U.S. businessman and philanthropist who derives the majority of his wealth from Vista Equity Partners, a private equity firm founded in 2000 with investments in software companies. The company has more than $50 billion in assets, with annualized returns of 22 percent since its inception.
5) David Stewart, American, US$5.8 Billion
As co-founder and chairman of World Wide Technology,one of the world's largest African-American owned businesses. Steward’s rise to the top wasn’t a smooth path; Forbes says he once watched as his car was repossessed from his office’s parking lot. Now, his company has grown from a reseller of technology equipment in 1990 into a leading technology solutions provider. The company recorded $13.4 billion in revenue in 2020.
6) Patrice Motsepe, South African, US$3.3 Billion
Patrice Motsepe is a South African billionaire and president of the Confederation of African Football. The founder of African Rainbow Minerals, he became a billionaire in 2008. Aside from his equity position in the company, he has a stake in Sanlam, a Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed financial services firm. He is also the president and owner of the Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club, a South African professional football club.
7) Strive Masiyiwa, Zimbabwean, US$3 Billion
Strive Masiyiwa is a London-based Zimbabwean billionaire. He is the founder of the African mobile telecom giant Econet Group and Liquid Telecom.
8) Oprah Winfrey, American, US$2.6 Billion
Oprah Winfrey is a U.S. talk show host, TV producer, actress and philanthropist, who is best known for her talk show, “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
9) Michael Jordan, American, US$1.7 Billion
Michael Jordan is a former U.S. professional basketball player and the chairman and principal owner of the Charlotte Hornets, an NBA team in North Carolina. The bulk of his fortune stems from stakes and royalties in lucrative ventures with corporate partners such as Nike, Hanes and Gatorade.
10). Alex Karp, American: $1.1 billion
Born to a Jewish father and an African American mother, Karp is the co-founder and CEO of the software firm Palantir Technologies.
11). Michael Lee-Chin, Jamaican-Canadian: $2 billion
A native of Jamaica, Lee-Chin made his fortune investing in National Commercial Bank Jamaica, AIC Limited and other companies.
12). Robyn “Rihanna” Fenty, Barbadian: $1.7 billion
Rihanna has a projected net worth of $1.4 billion due to her ever-expanding Fenty empire.
13)Jay-Z, American: $1.4 billion
Jay-Z became Hip-Hop’s first proven and viable billionaire, thanks to what Forbes called a “sprawling and diverse empire.”
14). Tyler Perry, American: $1 billion
Tyler Perry is an actor who made a billion-dollar fortune from his craft. Perry owns 100 percent of his creative output "Tyler Perry Studios", including more than 1,200 TV episodes, 22 feature films and at least two dozen stage plays, as well as a 330-acre studio at the edge of Atlanta’s southern limits. A substantial percentage of his $1 billion fortune is derived from his “Madea” franchise, which has grossed more than $660 million.
============================================
BLACK BILLIONAIRES
(Ref. Forbes Magazine)
Year = 2022 (qty. = 15)
1) Aliko Dangote, Nigerian, US$11.5 Billion
Aliko Dangote is the wealthiest Black person in the world. Dangote derives most of his wealth from his 85-percent stake in Dangote Cement Plc, Africa’s largest cement producer. He also also owns stakes in Dangote Sugar Refinery, a leading sugar manufacturer, and the publicly traded salt company NASCON Allied Plc.He also owns a $12-billion oil refinery, which is currently under construction, as well as a fertilizer refinery in Nigeria that has also yet to commence production.
2) Mike Adenuga, Nigerian, US$6.1 Billion
Mike Adenuga is a Nigerian billionaire who made his first million in 1979 at age 26, selling lace and soft drinks. He derives the majority of his net worth from the mobile telecom company, Globacom. Globacom is Nigeria’s second-largest telecom operator with a presence in Ghana and Benin. The billionaire also has a majority interest in Conoil Plc, a leading petroleum marketer in Nigeria, and Conoil Producing, an oil exploration company.
3) Robert F. Smith, American,US$6 Billion
Robert F. Smith is a U.S. businessman and philanthropist who derives the majority of his wealth from Vista Equity Partners, a private equity firm founded in 2000 with investments in software companies. The company has more than $50 billion in assets, with annualized returns of 22 percent since its inception.
4) Abdul Samad Rabiu, Nigerian, US$4.9 Billion
Abdul Samad Rabiu is the founder and chairman of BUA Group, a Nigerian conglomerate focused on manufacturing, infrastructure and agriculture. The billionaire derives the majority of his wealth from BUA Cement Plc, a leading cement manufacturer. One of Africa’s most generous philanthropists, he has given tens of millions of dollars to support education and healthcare.
5) David Steward, US$3.7 Billion
As co-founder and chairman of World Wide Technology,one of the world's largest African-American owned businesses. Steward’s rise to the top wasn’t a smooth path; Forbes says he once watched as his car was repossessed from his office’s parking lot. Now, his company has grown from a reseller of technology equipment in 1990 into a leading technology solutions provider. The company recorded $13.4 billion in revenue in 2020.
6) Patrice Motsepe, South African, US$2.9 Billion
Patrice Motsepe is a South African billionaire and president of the Confederation of African Football. The founder of African Rainbow Minerals, he became a billionaire in 2008. Aside from his equity position in the company, he has a stake in Sanlam, a Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed financial services firm. He is also the president and owner of the Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club, a South African professional football club.
7) Oprah Winfrey, American, US$2.6 Billion
Oprah Winfrey is a U.S. talk show host, TV producer, actress and philanthropist, who is best known for her talk show, “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
8) Alexander Karp, American, US$2.1 Billion
Born to a Jewish father and an African American mother, Alexander Karp is the co-founder and CEO of Palantir Technologies, a listed U.S. software company, specializing in big data analytics.
9) Kanye West, American, US$1.8 Billion
Hip hop artist turned fashion mogul Kanye West made the majority of his wealth from his “Yeezy” sneaker brand through a fashion collaboration with the German sportswear company, Adidas. In line with the agreement between Adidas and Yeezy, West receives an annual royalty from the German sportswear giant. His Yeezy brand generated a total of $1.7 billion in sales in 2020. In 2020, West also entered a deal with the U.S. clothing and accessories retailer, Gap Inc., to sell a line of “Yeezy” clothing specially designed for Gap.
10) Robyn “Rihanna” Fenty, Barbadian, US$1.7 (not in Forbes)
Rihanna is a Barbados-born musician and entrepreneur. She is the third hip hop artist to become a billionaire. Rihanna is a 50-percent owner in Fenty Beauty, a fast growing cosmetics company that she launched in 2017 as part of a joint venture with the French luxury goods conglomerate, LVMH.
11) Michael Jordan, American, US$1.6 Billion
Michael Jordan is a former U.S. professional basketball player and the chairman and principal owner of the Charlotte Hornets, an NBA team in North Carolina. The bulk of his fortune stems from stakes and royalties in lucrative ventures with corporate partners such as Nike, Hanes and Gatorade.
12) Michael Lee Chin, Jamaican-Canadian, US$1.6 Billion
Michael Lee-Chin is a Jamaican-born billionaire and the chairman and CEO of Portland Holdings Inc., a privately held investment company in Ontario, Canada. He made a fortune investing in financial companies such as National Commercial Bank Jamaica and AIC Limited. The majority of his fortune is derived from his 65-percent stake in National Commercial Bank Jamaica.
13) Strive Masiyiwa, Zimbabwean, US$1.5 Billion
Strive Masiyiwa is a London-based Zimbabwean billionaire. He is the founder of the African mobile telecom giant Econet Group and Liquid Telecom.
14) Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, American, US$1.4 Billion
Jay-Z is hip hop’s first billionaire. He founded the entertainment company Rock Nation, and also owns stakes in Armand de Brignac and D’Usse cognac. He recently earned $297 million after selling majority stakes in Tidal, his high-fidelity music streaming platform, to the fintech company, Square. The rapper also sold off a 50-percent stake in the champagne brand Armand de Brignac to LVMH’s Moët Hennessy for $320 million.
15) Tyler Perry, American, US$1 Billion
Tyler Perry is an actor who made a billion-dollar fortune from his craft. Perry owns 100 percent of his creative output, including more than 1,200 TV episodes, 22 feature films and at least two dozen stage plays, as well as a 330-acre studio at the edge of Atlanta’s southern limits. A substantial percentage of his $1 billion fortune is derived from his “Madea” franchise, which has grossed more than $660 million.
=====================================
BLACK BILLIONAIRES
(Ref. Forbes Magazine)
Year = 2021 (qty. = 17)
1) Aliko Dangote, Nigerian, US$12.3 Billion
Aliko Dangote is the wealthiest Black person in the world. Dangote derives most of his wealth from his 85-percent stake in Dangote Cement Plc, Africa’s largest cement producer. He also also owns stakes in Dangote Sugar Refinery, a leading sugar manufacturer, and the publicly traded salt company NASCON Allied Plc.He also owns a $12-billion oil refinery, which is currently under construction, as well as a fertilizer refinery in Nigeria that has also yet to commence production.
2) Mohammed Al-Amoudi, Ethiopian, US$6.94 billion
Al-Amoudi was the richest Black man globally before Nigerian industrialist and cement tycoon Aliko Dangote ousted him in 2013 to claim the richest Black man title. He was born in Ethiopia in 1946 to a Hadhrami father and an Ethiopian mother. The Saudi-Ethiopian tycoon controls a collection of industrial assets in Sweden, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia, including Sweden’s largest oil refiner Preem, the Svenska Petroleum oil explorer and the Midroc Europe construction and property group.
3) Mike Adenuga, Nigerian, US$6.3 Billion
Mike Adenuga is a Nigerian billionaire who made his first million in 1979 at age 26, selling lace and soft drinks. He derives the majority of his net worth from the mobile telecom company, Globacom. Globacom is Nigeria’s second-largest telecom operator with a presence in Ghana and Benin. The billionaire also has a majority interest in Conoil Plc, a leading petroleum marketer in Nigeria, and Conoil Producing, an oil exploration company.
4) Robert F. Smith, American,US$6 Billion
Robert F. Smith is a U.S. businessman and philanthropist who derives the majority of his wealth from Vista Equity Partners, a private equity firm founded in 2000 with investments in software companies. The company has more than $50 billion in assets, with annualized returns of 22 percent since its inception.
5) Abdul Samad Rabiu, Nigerian, US$4.5 Billion
Abdul Samad Rabiu is the founder and chairman of BUA Group, a Nigerian conglomerate focused on manufacturing, infrastructure and agriculture. The billionaire derives the majority of his wealth from BUA Cement Plc, a leading cement manufacturer. One of Africa’s most generous philanthropists, he has given tens of millions of dollars to support education and healthcare.
6) David Steward, US$3.7 Billion
As co-founder and chairman of World Wide Technology,one of the world's largest African-American owned businesses. Steward’s rise to the top wasn’t a smooth path; Forbes says he once watched as his car was repossessed from his office’s parking lot. Now, his company has grown from a reseller of technology equipment in 1990 into a leading technology solutions provider. The company recorded $13.4 billion in revenue in 2020.
7) Patrice Motsepe, South African, US$3.1 Billion
Patrice Motsepe is a South African billionaire and president of the Confederation of African Football. The founder of African Rainbow Minerals, he became a billionaire in 2008. Aside from his equity position in the company, he has a stake in Sanlam, a Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed financial services firm. He is also the president and owner of the Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club, a South African professional football club.
8) Oprah Winfrey, American, US$2.5 Billion
Oprah Winfrey is a U.S. talk show host, TV producer, actress and philanthropist, who is best known for her talk show, “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”
9) Alexander Karp, American, US$2.2 Billion
Born to a Jewish father and an African American mother, Alexander Karp is the co-founder and CEO of Palantir Technologies, a listed U.S. software company, specializing in big data analytics.
10) Michael Jordan, American, US$1.9 Billion
Michael Jordan is a former U.S. professional basketball player and the chairman and principal owner of the Charlotte Hornets, an NBA team in North Carolina. The bulk of his fortune stems from stakes and royalties in lucrative ventures with corporate partners such as Nike, Hanes and Gatorade.
11) Michael Lee Chin, Jamaican-Canadian, US$1.9 Billion
Michael Lee-Chin is a Jamaican-born billionaire and the chairman and CEO of Portland Holdings Inc., a privately held investment company in Ontario, Canada. He made a fortune investing in financial companies such as National Commercial Bank Jamaica and AIC Limited. The majority of his fortune is derived from his 65-percent stake in National Commercial Bank Jamaica.
12) Strive Masiyiwa, Zimbabwean, US$1.8 Billion
Strive Masiyiwa is a London-based Zimbabwean billionaire. He is the founder of the African mobile telecom giant Econet Group and Liquid Telecom.
13) Isabel dos Santos, US$1.8 Billion
As the eldest daughter of Jose Eduardo dos Santos, Angola’s former president, Isabel made No. 1513 on the list with a net worth of $1.4 billion. She is a stakeholder in many Angolan telecommunication and banking companies.
14) Kanye West, Americanm US$1.3 Billion
Hip hop artist turned fashion mogul Kanye West made the majority of his wealth from his “Yeezy” sneaker brand through a fashion collaboration with the German sportswear company, Adidas. In line with the agreement between Adidas and Yeezy, West receives an annual royalty from the German sportswear giant. His Yeezy brand generated a total of $1.7 billion in sales in 2020. In 2020, West also entered a deal with the U.S. clothing and accessories retailer, Gap Inc., to sell a line of “Yeezy” clothing specially designed for Gap.
15) Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter, American, US$1.4 Billion
Jay-Z is hip hop’s first billionaire. He founded the entertainment company Rock Nation, and also owns stakes in Armand de Brignac and D’Usse cognac. He recently earned $297 million after selling majority stakes in Tidal, his high-fidelity music streaming platform, to the fintech company, Square. The rapper also sold off a 50-percent stake in the champagne brand Armand de Brignac to LVMH’s Moët Hennessy for $320 million.
16) Mohammed Ibrahim, Sudanese-British, US$1.1 Billion
Mo Ibrahim is a Sudanese-British billionaire businessman. He sold Celtel International to Kuwait’s Mobile Telecommunications Company for $3.4 billion in 2005. He is worth $1.1 billion.
17) Tyler Perry, American, US$1 Billion
Tyler Perry is an actor who made a billion-dollar fortune from his craft. Perry owns 100 percent of his creative output, including more than 1,200 TV episodes, 22 feature films and at least two dozen stage plays, as well as a 330-acre studio at the edge of Atlanta’s southern limits. A substantial percentage of his $1 billion fortune is derived from his “Madea” franchise, which has grossed more than $660 million.
==================
BLACK BILLIONAIRES
(Ref. Forbes Magazine)
Year = 2020 (qty. =13 )
1) Aliko Dangote, US$8.3 Billion
The cement and sugar manufacturing guru from Nigeria landed at No. 162 with a net worth of $8.3 billion. He is not only Africa’s richest man but the world’s richest Black man. As the CEO and founder of Africa’s largest cement producer, Dangote Cement. At 62-years-old, Dangote owns 85 percent of the publicly-traded company.
2) Mike Adenuga, US$5.6 Billion
Adenuga is the second richest man in Africa. He ranks at No. 286 with a net worth of $5.6 billion. He secured his wealth through oil and telecom endeavors. At 66-years-old, Adenuga’s mobile communications company, Globacom, has 50 million subscribers.
3) Robert F. Smith, US$5.6 Billion
The United State’s billionaire comes in at No. 330. Smith founded Vista Equity Partners to focus exclusively on investing in software companies in 2000. Now it is one of the greatest private equity firms, according to Forbes, with over $50 billion in assets.
4) David Steward, US$3.5 Billion
As co-founder and chairman of World Wide Technology, Steward’s rise to the top wasn’t a smooth path. Forbes says he once watched as his car was repossessed from his office’s parking lot. Now, Steward lands at No. 538 on the Forbes’ list with a net worth of $3.5 billion.
5) Abdulsamad Rabiu, US$2.9 Billion
With a net worth of $2.9 billion, Rabiu ranks at No. 712. The 59-year-old business mogul owns BUA Group, a cement, sugar, and real estate conglomerate. At the start of this year, Rabiu merged his two powerhouse cement companies, Obu Cement and Cement Co. of Northern Nigeria.
6) Oprah Winfrey, US$2 Billion
Oprah — the richest Black woman in the world — comes in at No. 836 with a net worth of $2.5 billion. According to Forbes, $2 billion of Oprah’s net worth is from reinvestments of her talk show profits.
7) Michael Jordan, US$2.1 Billion
At No. 1001, with a net worth of $2.1 billion, the former NBA legend has built a multi-billion dollar empire. Forbes reports that the six-time NBA champion amassed $1.7 billion (before taxes) of his net worth from corporate partnerships.
8) Michael Lee-Chin, US$2 Billion
The Jamaica native comes in at No. 1063 with a net worth of $2 billion. He built his empire by investing in companies like National Commercial Bank Jamaica and AIC Limited.
9) Isabel dos Santos, US$1.4 Billion
As the eldest daughter of Jose Eduardo dos Santos, Angola’s former president, Isabel made No. 1513 on the list with a net worth of $1.4 billion. She is a stakeholder in many Angolan telecommunication and banking companies.
10) Patrice Motsepe, US$1.4 Billion
At No. 1513, Motsepe has a net worth of $1.4 billion. The South African founder became a billionaire in 2008. He was the first Black African to appear on the Forbes list. He is the founder and chairman of African Rainbow Minerals, a mining company.
11) Strive Masiyiwa , US$1.1 Billion
Hailing from Zimbabwe, Masiyiwa falls at No. 1851 with a net worth of $1.1 billion. In 1998, Masiyiwa founded Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, a mobile phone network company. Forbes reports that he owns over 50 percent of the publicly-traded company.
12) Mohammed Ibrahim , US$1 Billion
Mohammed “Mo” Ibrahim — founder of Celtel International — comes in at No. 1851 as well. According to Forbes, his company was one of the first of its kind in Africa and the Middle East. Ibrahim sold Celtel International to Kuwait’s Mobile Telecommunications for $3.4 billion and kept $1.4 billion in 2005.
13) Jay-Z, US$1 Billion
Hip hop’s first billionaire comes in at No.1990 with a net worth of $1 billion. According to Forbes, Jay-Z and Beyoncé’s On the Run II tour made $5 million a night for a total of $250 million. He also makes millions with his Armand de Brignac champagne and D’Ussé cognac.
==================
BLACK BILLIONAIRES
(Ref. Forbes Magazine)
Year = 2019 (qty. = 13)
Of the 2,153 people who made it to the 2019 FORBES list of the World’s Billionaires, 13 of them are Black, up from 11 a year ago.
Cement tycoon Aliko Dangote is still the richest Black person in the world with a fortune estimated at $10.9 billion. He’s closely followed by Nigerian oil and telecoms mogul Mike Adenuga.
American businessman David Stewart, who is majority owner of World Wide Technology, an $11.2 billion (sales) IT provider, whose customers include Citi, Verizon and the federal government, joins the Black Billionaires Club with a fortune FORBES estimates at $3 billion. Nigerian businessman Abdulsamad Rabiu, who made his fortune in cement, flour, edible oils and real estate, returns to the 3-Comma club after a multi-year hiatus. He last featured on the FORBES list of the World’s Billionaires in 2014. In December 2018, Rabiu merged his privately owned Kalambaina Cement Company with listed firm Cement Co. of Northern Nigeria, which he controlled. The new, larger company has a market capitalization of more than $800 million, with Rabiu owning more than 90% of the company’s stock. The value of his shares in the new Cement Co. of Northern Nigeria provided a shot in the arm to his fortune, which FORBES estimates at $1.6 billion.
Nigeria’s Folorunsho Alakija, American TV mogul Oprah Winfrey and Angolan investor Isabel dos Santos still remain the only Black female billionaires in the world.
These are the 13 richest Black people on earth:
1) Aliko Dangote, $10.9 billion (Nigerian, Sugar, Cement, Flour)
The Cement and commodities tycoon retains his title as the world’s richest Black man this year. After building his fortune in sugar, flour and cement, the Nigerian tycoon is embarking on his most ambitious project to date- a private oil refinery in Nigeria which will have a refining capacity of 6500,000 barrels a day and is expected to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on oil imports. Dangote started out in business more than 3 decades ago by trading in commodities like cement, flour and sugar with a loan he received from his maternal uncle and went on to build the Dangote Group, the largest industrial conglomerate in West Africa.
2) Mike Adenuga, $9.1 billion (Nigerian, Oil, Telecoms)
Nigerian-born Mike Adenuga, the world’s second richest Black person, built his fortune in oil and mobile telecoms. His Conoil Producing Company was one of the first indigenous Nigerian companies to be granted an oil exploration license in the early 90s. The company is the operator of six blocks in the Niger Delta and also owns a25% stake in the Joint Development Zone (JDZ) Block 4. He is also the founder and sole owner of Globacom, a Nigerian mobile phone network that has more than 40 million subscribers in Nigeria and neighboring African countries. His property company, Cobblestone Properties, owns hundreds of prime residential and commercial property all over Nigeria.
3) Robert F. Smith, $5 billion (American, Private Equity)
Robert F. Smith, a former Goldman Sachs executive, is the founder of private equity firm Vista Equity Partners that focuses exclusively on investing in software companies. The firm has more than $46 billion in assets and is one of the best-performing private equity firms, posting annualized returns of 22% since inception.
4) David Steward, $ 3 billion (American, Tech)
David Steward is the cofounder and chairman of IT provider World Wide Technology, World Wide Technology, an $11.2 billion (sales) IT provider, whose customers include Citi, Verizon and the federal government.
5) Oprah Winfrey, $2.5 billion (American, Television)
Oprah is still the richest African-American woman in the world thanks largely to the 25 years of her profitable daytime TV show and earnings from her Harpo production company. Her cable channel, OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network) is also cash flow positive for the first time and is enjoying favorable ratings as a result of securing exclusive TV interviews with headline-grabbers like disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong, Beyonce and gay NBA player Jason Collins. One of America’s most generous philanthropists, Oprah continues to give to education causes and has spent about $100 million on the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.
6) Strive Masiyiwa, $2.4 billion (Zimbabwean, Telecoms)
Masiyiwa, who is worth $2.4 billion, is the founder of Econet, one of the leading mobile telecoms companies in Africa. It has more than 10 million subscribers spread across Zimbabwe, Botswana, Burundi and Lesotho. In February, he pledged the sum of $100 million to establish a fund to invest in rural entrepreneurs in Zimbabwe.
7) Isabel Dos Santos, $2.3 billion (Angolan, Investments)
The oldest daughter of Angola’s former president, Isabel dos Santos has built an impressive investment portfolio what includes a 25% stake in Angolan mobile phone company Unitel and a 25% stake in Angolan bank Banco BIC SA. Other holdings include a substantial stake in Nos SGPS, a Portuguese cable TV company and just under 20% of Banco BPI, one of Portugal's largest publicly traded banks.
8) Patrice Motsepe, $2.3 billion (South African, Mining)
South Africa’s first and only Black billionaire is the founder of African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), a Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed mining company that has in platinum, nickel, chrome, iron, manganese, coal, copper and gold. He also owns a large stake in African Rainbow Capital, a private equity firm focusing on investments in the financial services sector.
9) Michael Jordan, $1.9 billion (American, Basketball)
Basketball's greatest player is the majority shareholder of Charlotte Bobcats and enjoys lucrative deals with the likes of Gatorade, Hanes and Upper Deck. His biggest pile comes from Brand Jordan, a $1 billion (sales) sportswear partnership with Nike.
10)Michael Lee-Chin, $1.9 billion (Canadian/Jamaican, Investments)
Lee-Chin, a Canadian of Jamaican origin, made a fortune investing in financial companies. He owns a 65% stake in National Commercial Bank Jamaica, which makes up the bulk of his fortune.
11) Abdulsamad Rabiu, $1.6 billion (Nigerian, Cement, Sugar)
Abdulsamad 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. BUA Group’s annual revenues are estimated at over $2 billion. Abdulsamad got his start in business working for his father, Isyaku Rabiu, a successful businessman from Nigeria’s Northern region. He struck out on his own in 1988, importing rice, sugar, edible oils as well as steel and iron rods.
12) Folorunsho Alakija, $1.1 billion (Nigerian, Oil)
Nigeria’s first female billionaire is the founder of Famfa Oil, a Nigerian company that owns a substantial participating interest in OML 127, a lucrative oil block on the Agbami deep-water oilfield in Nigeria. Alakija started off as a secretary in a Nigerian merchant bank in the 1970s, then quit her job to study fashion design in England. Upon her return, she founded a Nigerian fashion label that catered to upscale clientele, including Maryam Babangida, wife to Nigeria's former military president Ibrahim Babangida.
13) Mohammed Ibrahim, $1.1 billion (British, Mobile Telecoms, Investments)
Sudanese-born Mohammed "Mo" Ibrahim founded Celtel International in 1998, one of the first mobile phone companies serving Africa and the Middle East. He sold it to Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications Company for $3.4 billion in 2005 and pocketed $1.4 billion. In 2006 he founded the Mo Ibrahim Foundation which promotes good governance in Africa.
©2020 Forbes Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Looking for somewhere to go, something to do? Need something? Tell them you saw it on BlackMontreal.com!