Jay Z most recently became hip hop’s first ever billionaire
The richest black people in the world in 2019 were recently ranked by Forbes to update the world on who is the wealthiest black person on earth. While a vast majority of the usual suspects remained unchanged in the list, their wealth either increased or decreased within the space of the past year.
The black billionaires in the world rich list features some of the richest men in Africa topping and dominating the list. They are ranked based on their assets, which include stakes in public and private companies, real estate, yachts, private jets, art and cash. With that in mind, let us now look at the list of the richest black persons on the globe presently.
Top 10 Richest Black People in the World 2019 (Forbes) and their Net Worth
1. Aliko Dangote – Net Worth $10.9 Billion
Alhaji Aliko Dangote is the richest black person in the world with an estimated net worth of $10.9 billion according to Forbes in their latest world rankings. He also doubles as the richest man in Africa, and the 100th richest person in the world. His love for business pushed him very hard to succeed in his early years in business.
In 2008, he was ranked the richest man in Nigeria in Forbes Magazine’s list of richest people in the world, with his fortune estimated at that time to be US$3.3 billion. Again, in 2014, he was ranked by Forbes as the 23rd richest person on earth, his highest ever world ranking, this came after he surpassed Ethiopian billionaire, Mohammed Al Amoudi in 2013 as the richest person on earth of African descent.
Forbes 2017 rankings showed that Dangote and Telecoms and Oil magnate, Mike Adenuga, were richer than US President Donald Trump, who lost about $1 billion that year, three times less than what Dangote lost. Dangote himself losing nearly $3 billion to devaluation of the Nigerian naira that year.
Aliko Dangote is into importing, exporting, manufacturing, real estate and philanthropy. He is a household name in Nigeria as virtually all homes in Nigeria either consume his products or have come across several of his products.
He is into the supply of goods such as sugar, salt, flour, spaghetti, noodles, cement, fruit juice, fabrics, to say the least, at very affordable prices. The Dangote Group imports a great deal of sugar, about 70% of the total requirement of the nation and is a major supplier of it to The Coca-Cola Company and The Seven-Up Bottling Company.
The Dangote Group which is a business conglomerate spreads across various countries in Africa, From Nigeria to Ethiopia, Benin, Senegal, Ghana, Cameroon, South Africa, Tanzania, Togo, and even Zambia. They import about 200,000 metric tonnes of rice annually, as well as several tonnes of cement and fertilizer for building and agriculture. The Dangote Group exports cotton, cocoa, cashew nuts etc. to several countries worldwide.
2. Mike Adenuga – Net Worth $9.1 Billion
The second richest black person in the world is also a Nigerian in the person of Mike Adenuga, Owner of the telecoms service provider, Globacom and the Oil Company, Conoil.
He is also the owner of Cobblestone, a real estate company which owns several prime residential and commercial buildings all over Nigeria. He closely follows Dangote on the rich list with Forbes estimating his wealth at $9.1 billion.
In 1990, after receiving his drilling licence, his company “Consolidated Oil” dug oil from the shallow waters of Ondo State. The business tycoon has many business ventures in different sectors but his telecom company, Globacom Stands out. Globacom is operational in Ghana, Benin, Cote D’Ivoire and aims to make its name in more countries in West Africa.
3. Robert .F. Smith – Net Worth $5 Billion
Robert F. Smith is an African-American business mogul. According to Forbes, he currently has an estimated wealth of $5 billion, sitting him just behind Aliko Dangote and Mike Adenuga in the world’s black rich list rankings. He is into private equity and he is the founder of Vista Equity Partners, a company which focuses on investing in software companies. His company is one of the best performing equity companies in the world.
4. David Steward – Net Worth $3 Billion
David Steward is an African-American. He is the Co-founder and Chairman of Worldwide Technology, a system’s integrator. He worked at Wagner Electric as a production manager between 1974 and 1975 after which he worked as a sales representative at Missouri Pacific Railroad Company from 1975-1979.
He later became a senior account executive at Federal Express from 1979-1984 and during the course of his accounting career with the company, he was recognized in 1981 as salesman of the year and inducted into the company’s hall of fame.
David Steward later founded Worldwide Technology in 1990 and the company has grown to become a giant in providing IT solutions to top companies such as Citi, Verizon and the United States government. His net worth according to Forbes stands at $3 billion currently.
5. Oprah Winfrey – Net Worth $2.5 Billion
The African-American business mogul and TV personality, Oprah Winfrey comes fifth on this list and according to Forbes, her net worth is estimated at $2.5 billion, consequently setting her aside, in a league of her own as the richest African-American woman in the world. She is an American media executive, actress, talk show host, television producer and philanthropist.
Majority of her wealth came from her TV show, the Oprah Winfrey show, which she has since stopped airing. She presently owns her own TV network, the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN) which is doing very well and is netting her some serious cash. She was the richest black person in the world from 2004-2006, she has since been surpassed by Aliko Dangote.
6. Strive Masiwiya – Net Worth $2.4 Billion
Strive Masiwiya is from Zimbabwe, with a net worth of $2.4 billion according to Forbes current rankings. He is the founder and Chairman of the global telecommunications group, Econet wireless. Econet is one of the leading mobile telecoms companies in Africa. It has more than 10 million subscribers spread across Zimbabwe, Botswana, Burundi and Lesotho.
7. Isabel Dos Santos – Net Worth $2.3 Billion
Isabel dos Santos is a business woman from Angola. She is currently the richest woman in Africa and is the eldest child of Angola’s former president, Jose Eduardo dos Santos. She made her fortune through shrewd investments in the mobile telephony sector, in banking as well as investing in cable television.
Isabel dos Santos has a 25% stake in the Angolan mobile telephone company, Unitel. She also has a 25% stake in Banco BIC SA, an Angolan bank. Other investments 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 – Net Worth $2.3 Billion
Patrice Motsepe currently has a net worth of $2.3 billion according to Forbes current rankings. He is tied to Isabel dos Santos but currently sits in number eight of this rich list of black people in the world .
He is from South Africa and he made his fortune through mining. He is also the only black billionaire in South Africa and the founder of African Rainbow Minerals (ARM), a Johannesburg Stock Exchange-listed mining company that deals in platinum, nickel, chrome, iron, manganese, coal, copper and gold.
Patrice Motsepe also owns a large stake in African Rainbow Capital, a private equity firm focusing on investments in the financial services sector.
9. Michael Jordan – Net Worth $1.9 Billion
Michael Jordan is an African-American former basketball player and the principal owner of the basketball club Charlotte Hornets. According to the NBA official website, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time. His net worth according to Forbes stands currently at $1.9 billion.
Jordan made money through basketball obviously and having retired, he now sits on the board of Charlotte Hornets and oversees the basketball club as governor. He enjoys lucrative deals with the likes of Gatorade, Hanes and Upper Deck. His biggest deals come from Brand Jordan, a $1 billion (sales) sportswear partnership with Nike.
10. Michael Lee-Chin – Net Worth $1.9 Billion
This billionaire from Canada, of Jamaican origins, made his fortune from investments. He is worth $1.9 billion, same as Michael Jordan, according to Forbes. He made his fortune investing in financial companies and he currently owns a 65% stake in National Commercial Bank Jamaica, which makes up the bulk of his fortune.
Other Billionaires of Black origins in the world include
- Abdulsamad Rabiu, Nigeria, with a net worth of $1.6 billion
- Folorunso Alakija, Nigeria, with a net worth of $1.1 billion
- Mohammed Ibrahim, Sudan, with a net worth of $1.1 billion
- Shawn Corey Carter (Jay Z), African-American, with a net worth of $1 billion.
We the blacks we are bless... Glory be to Gid
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