The Richest Black People Around the World

In a world of new technology, innovations, fast-rising inventions, profitable businesses and investments, the number of successful businessmen and billionaires has since doubled over the years. Out of the total 2153 global billionaires listed in 2019, only 13 of them are black with Aliko Dangote, the founder of Dangote conglomerate topping the list. So far, there are only three black female billionaires as the others are all male. The black billionaires make up less than 1% of the total percentage of billionaires in the world, nonetheless, as the narrative is changing, the percentage has high tendencies of increasing over the next decade. 

#1 Aliko Dangote

Net worth: $9.1 billion as of January 2020

Industry: Manufacturing

Nationality: Nigerian

Aliko Dangote is a Nigerian business mogul and founder of the Dangote conglomerate—a group of companies that deal with the manufacturing of cement, sugar, and flour. He ranks nos. 1 on the Forbes Black Billionaires list of 2019 a position he has maintained in the past years to date. As the richest black person in the world, the majority of Dangote’s personal income is generated from his cement company, Dangote Cement. It has been recorded that the cement company produces about 50 million metric tons of cement yearly in all its operation bases across Africa—Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Zambia, and Ethiopia. He is also given into investments as he currently has stakes in publicly-traded flour, sugar, and salt manufacturing companies. He is also the majority holder of Dangote Cement by controlling almost 85% of the company’s publicly-traded stocks. Dangote’s chances of doubling his wealth in the coming years are undeniable as the Dangote refinery which was purchased in 2007 and set to run later this year, would bring in good returns. When the refinery begins to run in full capacity it is expected to produce about 65,000 barrels of oil per day. The Dangote conglomerate currently makes up a quarter of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), and it intends getting listed on the London Stock Exchange later this year.

#2 Mike Adenuga

Net worth: $8.7 billion as of January 2020

Industry: Oil and Gas, Telecoms

Nationality: Nigerian

Following closely behind Dangote is Mike Adenuga, a Nigerian businessman and self-billionaire. He is not only the second richest man in Nigeria but also the second richest black man in the world. As reported in Forbes Magazine, Adenuga’s “net worth rose tremendously from $5.3 billion to $9.2 billion.” Adenuga has made a name for himself through his telecom industry, Globacomm which is currently the third-largest mobile operator in Nigeria with about 44 million subscribers. He received his first GSM license issuance in 1999 after which it was revoked until 2003 where he was able to secure another license issuance. By 2008 the company was fully operational with its first operation based in Benin, Edo, Nigeria from which its operations expanded to other Africa countries including Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire The majority of Adenuga’s wealth comes in through his oil company, Conoil which currently runs 6 oil blocks within the Niger Delta. He received his oil-drilling license in 1990, he was permitted to drill in the shallow waters of the southwest of Ondo State, Nigeria, and by the following year, his team had struck oil. Conoil currently sits as one of Nigeria’s top petroleum and other petroleum products distributors. Adenuga is also a big-time investor who owns stakes in the Equitorial Trust Bank and a majority stakeholder in Conoil.

#3 Robert F. Smith

Net worth: $5 billion as of January 2020

Industry: Investments (private equity)

Nationality: American

Robert F. Smith is the third richest black man, an American businessman and billionaire, investor, and the founder of Vista Equity Partners, a private equity firm which was founded in 2000. The investment focus on the firm is solely on software companies.  Since its inception in 2000, Vista Equity Partners has impressively stood out as the best-performing private equity firm amongst its competitors. It has since recorded at least 22% returns.

#4 David Steward

Net worth: $3.5 as of January 2020

Industry: Tech

Nationality: American

David Steward is an American businessman and a self-billionaire. He is also the co-founder and chairman of World Wide Technology, an IT provider firm. Steward grew his company from scratch with the little funds he had. He never left his humble beginnings or life struggles to get in the way of his dreams. He is not only a billionaire but also the majority holder of a sales company worth $11.2 billion.

#5 Oprah Winfrey

Net worth: $2.7 billion as of January 2020

Industry: Media (television)

Nationality: American

Oprah Winfrey is the fifth richest black person and also the first richest black woman in the world. She is an American entrepreneur and media influencer. Her television show, The Oprah Winfrey Show, which has aired for 25-years is not just a TV show but a business tool for Winfrey as it makes up a large part of her wealth. What started out to be a regular morning talk-show, the AM Chicago, eventually turned out to become the no.1 local talk show in the state until it was finally renamed The Oprah Winfrey Show. Not only gaining her popularity but eventually becoming a profitable venture for her. The Oprah Winfrey show is worth billions of dollars, and Winfrey has since taken advantage of that opportunity of amassing wealth. She also owns 25.5% of her cable channel OWN which is worth almost $75 million. The cable channel was only launched in 2011. Her 2015 Weight Watchers investment has brought back a lot of profitable returns contributing to her latest wealth boost. Although the investment started at 12% it has since dropped to 8%, nonetheless, it still brings in profitable returns.  Other sources of Winfrey’s wealth are made up of endorsement deals, brand ambassadors, and investments, especially real estate. 

#6 Strive Masiyiwa

Net worth: $2.4 billion as of January 2020

Industry: Telecoms

Nationality: Zimbabwean

Strive Maiyiwa is a Zimbabwean businessman and billionaire responsible for the launch of Econet Wireless, a mobile phone network provider in Zimbabwe. He currently owns about 53% of the Econet Wireless Zimbabwe publicly-traded stakes. He is also a part-owner of Liquid Telecom, a telecom provider of fiber-optic and satellite services across African nations. He also has stakes in other mobile phone network provider firms in Lesotho and Burundi, alongside his other power distribution and fintech investments in Africa.

#7 Isabel Dos Santos

Net worth: $2.2 billion as of January 2020

Industry: Investments

Nationality: Angolan

Isabel dos Santos is the daughter of former Angola longtime president, Jose Eduardo dos Santos. She is regarded as the richest woman in Africa and the second richest black woman in the world. In 2016, she was made head of the Angola state’s oil firm, Sonangol by her father, but was immediately removed by the new president in November 2017. Through her father’s influence, she was able to own stakes in several Angolan companies and banks. She has since held top management posts in quite a number of European Stock Exchange-listed companies. Asides getting multi-million dollar offers through her father’s influence, dos Santos has also proved to be an independent businesswoman who pursues only her interests. Her first business was established in 1997, a night club and beach restaurant on Luanda Island called the Miami Beach Club. Over the last 20 years, she has since expanded her business interests into other sectors such as telecommunications, media, finance, retail, and energy, including the oil sector. Her appointment as head of the Angola state’s oil firm sparked a lot of controversies against her father, the president and the appointment of his children to key positions in the country. Though Santos has made personal business accomplishments over the years, she and her husband currently face corruption allegations as the Angola government has gone ahead to freeze her accounts. 

#8 Patrice Motsepe

Net worth: $2.6 billion as of January 2020

Industry: Mining

Nationality: South African 

Patrice Motsepe is a South African businessman and the 8th richest black man. He was the first black man to make it to the Forbes black African billionaire list in 2008 but has since been topped by others since then. His private equity firm, African Rainbow Capital was launched in 2016 with its investments focused on Africa. Before then, he founded the African Rainbow Minerals, a mining company that created the foundation of his wealth. His first encounter with the mining industry was in 1994 when he served as a partner at Bowman Gilfillan, a law firm in Johannesburg, South Africa where he accepted some mine scut contracts, and three years later he purchased some old gold-mine shafts and kicked off his mining business from there. Like most businessmen and billionaires of his caliber, Motsepe is also an investor as he currently owns stakes in publicly-traded financial service provider firm, Sanlam through a holding company he created—Ubuntu-Botho (UBI). Motsepe made an economic deal with Sanlam, by the end of the deal in 2014, he acquired a 13.5% stake in Sanlam through UBI making Motsepe own 55% of Sanlam’s stake. His business interest has since diversified from just mining to financial services, property, agriculture, and renewable energy. His companies African Rainbow Minerals and African Rainbow Capital Investments both amount to a total of R44 billion. 

#9 Michael Jordan

Net worth: $1.9 billion as of January 2020

Industry: Sports (basketball)

Nationality: American

Michael Jordan is known as the greatest basketball player of all time. He isn’t just the greatest but the wealthiest of all time with an estimated net worth of $1.9 billion. According to Forbes, he is currently the richest former professional athlete. Though his total career salary worth $90 million isn’t enough to make him a billionaire, he has since made it to the list through external endorsements and partnerships. It was reported in 2015 that he was making $100 million yearly from his Nike royalties. It has been reported that Nike’s Jordan Brand generates at least $3 billion yearly. In 2010, Jordan bought the Charlotte Hornets which is now worth $1.3 billion for $175 million. He remains the majority holder of the Charlotte Hornets, owning 97% equity of the club. With the value increase of the NBA franchise in 2014, Jordan officially made it to the billionaire list. 

#10 Michael Lee-Chin

Net worth: $2.5 billion as of January 2020

Industry: Investment

Nationality: Canadian

Michael Lee-Chin is a Canadian-Jamaican businessman and self-made billionaire. He ranks 10th on the Forbes black billionaires list with a net worth of $2.5 billion. In 1987, Lee-Chin acquired AIC, a Canada-based wealth and mutual fund, when its assets under management (aum) were less than $1 million. Under Lee’s management, the firm’s total assets under management amounted to almost $10.3 billion until 2008 when the recession hit and the firm suffered greatly. In September 2009, Lee-Chin sold his Canada-based wealth management and mutual fund business AIC to Manulife for an undisclosed amount. A majority of Lee’s fortunes generate from his investments in financial companies like the AIC Limited and the National Commercial Bank of Jamaica.

#11 Abdulsamad Rabiu

Net worth: $1.5 billion

Industry: Cement, Sugar

Nationality: Nigerian

Abdulsamad Rabiu is a Nigerian business mogul and the founder of the BUA Group, a conglomerate that deals with the production of sugar, refining, and real estate. After inheriting a portion of land from his father, Rabiu started his own business in 1988. His focus was on the commodity trading of goods such as edible oil, rice, flour, chemicals, iron, and steel. After which he expanded his business into the manufacturing and production of billets and steel, alongside the importation of iron ore. He eventually constructed various steel rolling mills within Nigeria. The BUA Group gradually grew as the company began making investments and acquisitions one of which is the Nigerian Oil Mills Limited, one of the largest edible oil companies in Nigeria. The company started two flour-milling plants in Kano and Lagos in 2005. The company explored sugar production a few years later, and eventually explored cement production in 2009 by acquiring a controlling stake in Cement Company in Northern Nigeria and constructing a cement plant worth $900 million in Edo state. He merged his privately-owned cement company, Kalambaina Cement with Cement Co. of Northern Nigeria, a listed cement company in December 2018. The BUA subsidiaries include BUA Sugar, BUA Oils, BUA Ports & Terminals, BUA Cement, and BUA Estates.

#12 Mohammed ‘Mo’ Ibrahim

Net worth: $1.1 billion

Industry: Telecoms, Investment

Nationality: British

Mo Ibrahim is a British businessman and telecom expert. He is the founder of Celtel, a mobile network provider which initially dominated the Middle East and some parts of Africa. Before founding Celtel International, Ibrahim started out his career in academia, worked as a Technical Director for Cellnet for six years, founded a consultancy company, then a software company. Celtel grew to be one of the most successful mobile network providers in Africa. In 2005, Kuwait’s Mobile Communications bought Celtel International from Ibrahim at $3.4 billion. He reinvested some part of the money and kept the rest for himself. When he is not doing business, he is busy advocating for human rights against bad governance. In recent times, he has given himself to advocacy on African development and governance. This he does through his foundation, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation which is headed by his daughter, Hadeel. The Mo Ibrahim Foundation was established in 2006 for the major purpose of improving good governance in Africa. Ibrahim is as well the founder and chairman of Satya Capital Investment, an investment fund that is solely focused on Africa. 

#13 Folorunsho Alakija

Net worth: $1 billion as of January 2020

Industry: Oil and Gas

Nationality: Nigerian