Black billionaires

Oprah Winfrey at the White House in 2010. She is the first female black billionaire and was the only black billionaire from 2004 to 2006.

Black billionaires are individuals who are of predominantly black ancestry with a net worth of at least US$1 billion. According to the 2021 Forbes ranking of the world's billionaires, Nigerian business magnate Aliko Dangote had a net worth of $11.5 billion and was the world's richest black man.^[1] Other black billionaires on the 2021 Forbes list included Nigerian businessman Mike Adenuga with $6.1 billion, American investor Robert Smith with $6 billion, American businessman David Steward with $3.7 billion, American media mogul Oprah Winfrey with $2.7 billion, South African gold magnate Patrice Motsepe with $2.9 billion, American music artist/entrepreneur Kanye West with $1.8 billion,^[2] Barbadian music artist/entrepreneur Rihanna with $1.7 billion,^[3] American sports executive Michael Jordan with $1.6 billion, Jamaican-Canadian businessman Michael Lee-Chin with $1.6 billion, Nigerian businessman Abdul Samad Rabiu with $1.6 billion, American rapper Jay-Z with $1.4 billion, Nigerian businesswoman Folorunsho Alakija with $1.1 billion, Mo Ibrahim of the United Kingdom with $1.1 billion, and American media mogul Tyler Perry with $1 billion.^[4]

From 2001 to 2003, Forbes listed American television network executive Bob Johnson as a billionaire,^[5] but dropped him after his fortune was split in his divorce.^[6] He returned to the Forbes Billionaire list in 2007 with a net worth of $1.1 billion. In 2008 Johnson's wealth dropped again, this time to approximately $1.0 billion^[7] and by 2009 he fell off the list again. Nigerian petroleum executive Femi Otedola briefly emerged as a billionaire in 2009, but did not remain one in subsequent years. He returned to the list in the company of a fellow Nigerian, sugar tycoon Abdul Samad Rabiu, in 2016, but both were dropped from the rankings the following year.^[8]

Multiracial billionaires with significant black ancestry have been identified over the years. Saudi Arabian billionaire Mohammed Al Amoudi, of Hadhrami Yemeni and Ethiopian descent, has been on the Forbes billionaire list since 2002 and in 2012 had a net worth of $12.5 billion.^[9] Michael Lee-Chin of Canada, who is Jamaican of Chinese and Black ancestry, was on the list from 2001 to 2010 but dropped off in 2011.^[10] Isabel Dos Santos is of both Angolan and Russian ancestry. Alexander Karp, cofounder and CEO of Palantir Technologies, has an African-American mother.^[11] Rihanna is of both Guyanese and Irish descent.^[12][13]

Of all the above-mentioned billionaires identified by Forbes, only Oprah Winfrey qualified for Forbes 2009's list of the world's 20 most powerful billionaires, a list which considered not only wealth, but also market sway and political clout. Winfrey was considered especially powerful because of her influence on American consumer choices and her pivotal role in Barack Obama's successful 2008 U.S. presidential campaign.^[14]

List of Black billionaires[]

(Wealth valuations by Forbes magazine)

Year	Black billionaires	Bi/Multiracial billionaires with Black ancestry	All billionaires
2001	1: Bob Johnson $1.6 billion	1: Michael Lee-Chin $1 billion[15]	538; Richest: Bill Gates $114 billion
2002	1: Bob Johnson $1 billion	2: Mohammad Al Amoudi $1.5 billion Michael Lee-Chin $1.1 billion[16]	497; Richest: Bill Gates $52.8 billion
2003	2: Bob Johnson $1.2 billion Oprah Winfrey $1 billion[17]	2: Mohammad Al Amoudi $1.5 billion Michael Lee-Chin $1.4 billion[18]	476; Richest: Bill Gates $40.7 billion
2004	1: Oprah Winfrey $1.1 billion	2: Michael Lee-Chin $2.4 billion Mohammad Al Amoudi $1.4 billion [19]	587; Richest: Bill Gates $46.6 billion
2005	1: Oprah Winfrey $1.3 billion	2: Michael Lee-Chin $2.5 billion Mohammad Al Amoud $2.5 billion	691; Richest: Bill Gates $46.5 billion
2006	1: Oprah Winfrey $1.4 billion	2: Mohammad Al Amoudi $6.9 billion Michael Lee-Chin $2.1 billion[20]	793; Richest: Bill Gates $50 billion
2007	2: Oprah Winfrey $1.5 billion Bob Johnson $1.1 billion[21]	2: Mohammad Al Amoudi $8 billion Michael Lee-Chin $1.6 billion[22]	946; Richest: Bill Gates $56 billion
2008	5: Aliko Dangote $3.3 billion Oprah Winfrey $2.5 billion [23] Patrice Motsepe $2.4 billion [24] Mo Ibrahim $2.5 billion [25] Bob Johnson $1 billion [7]	2: Mohammad Al Amoudi $9 billion Michael Lee-Chin $1.8 billion[26]	1,125; Richest: Warren Buffett $62 billion
2009	5: Oprah Winfrey $2.7 billion Aliko Dangote $2.5 billion Mo Ibrahim $2 billion Femi Otedola $1.6 billion Patrice Motsepe $1.3 billion	2: Mohammad Al Amoudi $9 billion Michael Lee-Chin $1 billion[27]	793; Richest: Bill Gates $40 billion
2010	4: Oprah Winfrey $2.4 billion Patrice Motsepe $2.3 billion Mo Ibrahim $2 billion	2: Mohammad Al Amoudi $10 billion Michael Lee-Chin $1 billion[28]	1,011; Richest: Carlos Slim Helu & family $53.5 billion[29]
2011	5: Aliko Dangote $13.8 billion [30] Patrice Motsepe $3.3 billion Oprah Winfrey $2.7 billion Mo Ibrahim $1.8 billion [31] Mike Adenuga $2 billion[30]	1: Mohammad Al Amoudi $12.3 billion	1,210; Richest: Carlos Slim Helu & family $74 billion
2012[32]	5: Aliko Dangote $11.2 billion [30] Mike Adenuga $4.3 billion [30] Patrice Motsepe $2.7 billion Oprah Winfrey $2.7 billion Mo Ibrahim $1.1 billion [31]	1: Mohammad Al Amoudi $12.3 billion	1,210; Richest: Carlos Slim Helu & family $74 billion
2013	5: Aliko Dangote $16.1 billion [30] Mike Adenuga $4.7 billion Patrice Motsepe $2.9 billion Oprah Winfrey $2.8 billion Mo Ibrahim $1.1 billion[31]	2: Mohammad Al Amoudi $13.5 billion Isabel dos Santos $2 billion	1,426; Richest: Carlos Slim Helu & family $73 billion
2014	7: Aliko Dangote $25 billion Mike Adenuga $4.6 billion Oprah Winfrey $2.9 billion Patrice Motsepe $2.9 billion Florunsho Alakija $2.5 billion Abdul Samad Rabiu $1.2 billion Mo Ibrahim $1.1 billion [31]	2: Mohammad Al Amoudi $15.3 billion Isabel Dos Santos $3.7 billion	1,645; Richest: Bill Gates $76 billion
2016	11: Aliko Dangote $14.4 billion Mike Adenuga $9.9 billion Robert Smith $4.4 billion Oprah Winfrey $3.1 billion Femi Otedola $1.85 billion Strive Masiyiwa $1.8 billion Folorunsho Alakija $1.55 billion Patrice Motsepe $1.15 billion Michael Jordan $1.14 billion Abdul Samad Rabiu $1.1 billion Mo Ibrahim $1.07 billion [33]	2: Mohammed Al-Amoudi, $8.4 billion Isabel Dos Santos $3.1 billion	1,810; Richest: Bill Gates $75 billion
2019	11: Aliko Dangote $10.6 billion Mike Adenuga $9.1 billion Robert Smith $5 billion David Steward $3.9 billion Oprah Winfrey $2.7 billion Strive Masiyiwa $2.4 billion Patrice Motsepe $2.3 billion Michael Jordan $1.9 billion Abdul Samad Rabiu $1.6 billion Folorunsho Alakija $1.1 billion Jay-Z $1 billion	4: Mohammad Al-Amoudi, $8.4 billion Isabel Dos Santos $2.3 billion Michael Lee-Chin $1.9 billion Alex Karp $1.3 billion	2,153; Richest: Jeff Bezos $110 billion
2020	13: Aliko Dangote $13.5 billion Mike Adenuga $9.1 billion Robert Smith $5 billion David Steward $4 billion Abdul Samad Rabiu $3.2 billion Kanye West $3.1 billion Oprah Winfrey $2.7 billion Strive Masiyiwa $2.4 billion Patrice Motsepe $2.3 billion Michael Jordan $2.1 billion Folorunsho Alakija $1.1 billion Jay-Z $1 billion Tyler Perry $1 billion	4: Mohammad Al-Amoudi, $8.4 billion Isabel Dos Santos $2.3 billion Michael Lee-Chin $1.9 billion Alex Karp $3 billion	2,095; Richest: Jeff Bezos $113 billion
2021	12: Aliko Dangote $13.5 billion Mike Adenuga $9.1 billion Robert Smith $5 billion David Steward $4 billion Abdul Samad Rabiu $3.2 billion Oprah Winfrey $2.7 billion Strive Masiyiwa $2.4 billion Patrice Motsepe $2.3 billion Kanye West $1.8 billion[34] Michael Jordan $1.6 billion[35] Jay-Z $1.4 billion Tyler Perry $1.0 billion	5: Mohammad Al-Amoudi, $8.4 billion Isabel Dos Santos $2.3 billion Michael Lee-Chin $1.9 billion Alex Karp $3 billion Rihanna $1.7 billion	2,755; Richest: Elon Musk $271.9B [36]

References[]