Exactly 2,153 people had the fortune (pun intended) to make it to Forbes list of billionaires all over the world. Only 13 people on the list were Black. But the good news is, just a year ago, there were only 11.
Let’s take a brief look at the very top of the list of Black billionaires:
Aliko Dangote, $10.9 Billion
The commodities and cement tycoon has managed to retain his title for the richest Black man in the world yet again. This Nigerian tycoon, with his company, The Dangote Group, he built his fortune in the cement, flour and sugar industry. His business recently switched over to his private oil refinery which has a whopping 6,500,000 barrels per day capacity. This installation alone may just reduce Nigeria’s need for oil imports in the near future.
Mike Adenuga, $9.1 Billion
Yet another billionaire born in Nigeria Adenuga is second on the list of global Black billionaires with his telecommunications company Globacom. His fortune was built in the mobile telecoms and n the oil industry as his first company was granted a license for oil exploration back in the 90s. This company has now managed to operate over 6 blocks of the Niger Delta alongside owning about 25% of the stake in the Joint Development Zone.
Robert F. Smith, $5 Billion
Mr. Smith was formerly an executive at Goldman Sachs and later founded Vista Equity Partners, a private equity firm. This firm focused solely on investing in software companies to gain a net worth of $46 billion. His firm has also come to be known as one of the most successful private equity firms since it has managed to post an annualized return of about 22%.
David Steward, $3 Billion
Steward was the chairman and co-founder of World Wide Technology – the IT provider with an annual revenue of $11.2 billion for its services. The company’s best-known clients include Verizon, Citi, and the US federal government.
Oprah Winfrey, $2.5 Billion
Oprah Winfrey has managed to remain the richest Black woman on this list because of 25 years of her popular daytime TV show. Her production company Harpo and her cable channel OWN or Oprah Winfrey Network have been able to get very favorable ratings over the years.
Winfrey has also been known to give back to the community. She continues to give about $100 million to her leadership academy for South African girls and just made another $25 million dollar donation to Morehouse.
PHOTO: AP
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