List of All Black Billionaires (World's Richest Black People)
Black billionaires are on the rise. Recall everyone's anxious anticipation to see whether Tiger Woods would become the first billionaire athlete?
Well safe to say now the conversation is about whether Floyd Mayweather will join Woods and Michael Jordan as the third black athlete to make over a billion dollars.
One thing is for sure, the color of your skin does not determine how much money you have in the bank.
A look at world's black billionaires
These black billionaires are living proof of perseverance in the face of obstacles, and they continue to build themselves multi-billion empires through hard work. Maybe learning a thing or two about them will help us as we lay the foundation for our own empires.
Read on to find out about the richest black people in the world, perhaps you'll notice one nationality (ahem . . .Nigerians) taking up a good amount of space on this list.
Mohammed Ibrahim
Net Worth: $1.07 billion
Nationality: British
Source of Wealth: Mobile Telecoms / Investments
Born in Sudan, of Nubian descent, Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim, now a British citizen built his fortune as an entrepreneur in the communication technology industry.
He made use of his electrical engineering degrees working for a number of communications technology companies before he created Celtel. In 2005, he sold Celtel in exchange for $3.5 billion.
With his new found freedom, Ibrahim created Mo Ibrahim Foundation and the Mo Ibrahim Index to evaluate nations’ performance and to help reduce corruption in the governments of African countries.
Dr. Ibrahim has contributed significantly to the transformation of Africa and is said to be the most powerful black man in Britain.
Abdul Samad Rabiu
Net Worth: $1.10 billion
Nationality: Nigerian
Source of Wealth: Manufacturing / Infrastructure / Agriculture
Born in Kano, Nigeria; Rabiu is a savvy businessman, as is obvious and evidenced by the fact that he is one of only fourteen black billionaires in the world at the moment.
However, a lot of the credit also goes to his successful father Isyaku Rabiu, who was one of Nigeria's pioneering industrialists back in the 70's and 80's. So yes, we are talking about generational wealth here.
Which is not that common for the list, however. That shouldn't take away from Abdul's drive and success in founding and heading the BUA Group, a conglomerate with business in the manufacturing, infrastructure and agriculture industries. The BUA Group take in revenue in excess of $2.5 billion USD annually.
Fun fact: Abdul Samad Rabiu is the chairman of Nigerian Bank of Industry.
Michael Jordan
Net Worth: $1.14 billion
Nationality: American
Source of Wealth: Basketball / Sponsorships
According to the NBA website, Michael Jeffery Jordan, his Airness, is the greatest basketball player of all time. Michael Jordan, also known as MJ, is a former American basketball player who led the Chicago Bulls to six NBA championships and won the won the Most Valuable Player Award five times.
In 2016 he was presented with the Presidential Medal of Freedom honor by Barack Obama. He is the majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats. He is the first athlete to be counted among the billionaires of the world.
Patrice Motsepe
Net Worth: $1.15 billion
Nationality: South African
Source of Wealth: Mining
“One has to set high standards. I can never be happy with mediocre performance.” – Patrice Motseppe
Patrice Motseppe, Africa’s first black billionaire clearly sets high standards in his daily living. Patrice Motsepe, a South African mining magnate, is the founder and chairman of African Rainbow Minerals.
He acquired his wealth in 1994 by buying low – producing gold shafts and turning them profitable. In April 2016, Motsepe launched an equity firm which focuses on investment in Africa and is the president and owner of the Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club.
He was the first African to sign the Giving Pledge, in which he promises to give half of his wealth to charity.
Folorunsho Alakija
Net Worth: $1.55 billion
Nationality: Nigerian
Source of Wealth: Oil
“I once dared to dream and if I succeed, then so can you!” – Folorunso Alakija
Nigerian businesswoman, Folorunso Alakija is one of the world's richest black people. She created The Rose of Sharon Prints & Promotions Limited and Digital Reality Prints Limited companies.
Later, she sought to diversify her portfolio with the acquisition of an oil prospecting license which subsequently led to the development of her company Famfa Oil Limited of which she is the executive vice-chairman.
According to Forbes magazine, she is the richest black woman in Nigeria and the second most powerful woman in Africa.
Strive Masiyiwa
Net Worth: $1.80 billion
Nationality: Zimbabwean
Source of Wealth: Telecommunications / Media / Tech Philanthropist, entrepreneur and businessman
Strive Masiyiwa was raised in Zimbabwe and earned his wealth through telecommunications, media and tech. You may know him as the founder of companies such as Econet Wireless and Econet Media (Kwesé).
A member of the Africa Progress Pane (APA), Strive, along with ten other distinguished Africans, promotes equitable and sustainable developments in Africa; at the very highest level.
Fun fact: He supports 40,000 orphans through his education projects.
Femi Otedola
Net Worth: $1.85 billion
Nationality: Nigerian
Source of Wealth: Oil
Nigerian businessman who was born in the capital of Oyo State in Western Nigeria called Ibadan. His family owned a printing press for which he ran the marketing department.
After which he went on to trade petroleum products, and the rest, as they say, is history. Femi is an entrepreneur, businessman, philanthropist and made his money importing fuel products.
He founded Zenon Petroleum and Gas Ltd., and he owns numerous other businesses. Outside of oil his other sectors of choice include Real Estate, finance, and shipping.
Isabel Dos Santos
Net Worth: $3.1 billion
Nationality: Angolan
Source of Wealth: Investments
Isabel Dos Santos is an Angolan investor considered by Forbes to be the richest woman in Africa and is counted among the world's richest black people in the world.
She is the oldest daughter of Angola’s Jose Eduardo dos Santos. Dos Santos assets in Angola include 25% of Unitel, the country’s largest mobile phone network and 42% of the bank, Banco BIC.
In Portugal, she owns nearly 6% of oil and gas firm Galp Energia and nearly 19% of Banco BPI, the country’s fourth largest bank.
Oprah Winfrey
Net Worth: $3.1 billion
Nationality: American
Source of Wealth: Media / Entertainment
“Think like a queen. A queen is not afraid to fail. Failure is not a stepping stone to greatness.” – Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media owner, talk show host, actress, producer, and philanthropist. Winfrey is most popular for a being a host of her own wildly popular program, The Oprah Winfrey Show, which aired for 25 seasons, from 1986 to 2011.
She also established her own channel, The Oprah Winfrey Network in 2011. Winfrey has been crowned the queen of media and has been ranked the richest African-American and the greatest black philanthropist in American History. Winfrey was called “arguable the world’s most powerful woman” by CNN.
Robert Smith
Net Worth: $4.4 billion
Nationality: American
Source of Wealth: Investments
Robert Fredrick Smith is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist. Smith’s success came through perseverance as seen when he applied for an internship at Bell Labs but was told the program was intended for college students. Smith persisted, calling every day.
For this reason, when a student from M.I.T failed to show up, he got the job. Today, the former chemical engineer is the founder, chairman, and CEO of private equity firm Vista Equity Partners. Smith is the 247th richest person in America and the second richest black man in the US.
Mohammed Al-Amoudi
Net Worth: $8.4billion
Nationality: Saudi Arabian
Source of Wealth: Oil
Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi is a billionaire that was born in Ethiopia but later on became a Saudi Arabian citizen. As such he is able to claim the titles of the richest in Ethiopia, the second richest Saudi Arabian citizen and the second richest of all black people in the world.
Al Moudi made his fortune in construction and real estate before branching out to buy oil refineries in Sweden and Morocco. Al Moudi portfolio is made up of businesses in construction, energy, agriculture, healthcare, and manufacturing among others.
Mike Adenuga
Net Worth: $9.9 billion
Nationality: Nigerian
Source of Wealth: Oil
Mike Adenuga, counted among the world's richest black people and the second richest man in Africa, is a man that knows the value of hard work.
Adenuga earned an MBA from Pace University in New York while he worked as a taxi driver to support himself. After completing his studies, he returned to Nigeria where he made his first fortune selling lace and Coco-Cola.
From there he went on to build his fortune in telecom and oil production. He is the owner of the mobile phone network Globacom which is the second largest operator in Nigeria with over 36 million subscribers.
Adenuga also owns the exploration outfit, Conoil Producing which operates 6 oil blocks in the Niger Delta and real estate firm, Proline Investments.
Aliko Dangote
Net Worth: $14.4 billion
Nationality: Nigerian
Source of Wealth: Sugar / Cement / Flour
Aliko Dangote business career started as early as primary school when he would purchase cartons of sweets to sell to make money. It should come as no surprise that today Aliko Dangote is a Nigerian billionaire and at top of the list of richest black people in the world since he started so early.
Dangote is the owner of the Dangote Group has operations in several African countries.
The Dangote Group began as a small trading firm before the group took over controlling interests in food processing, cement manufacturing, and freight companies.
The Dangote Group, the largest industrial group in Nigeria, comprises of Dangote Sugar Refinery, Dangote Cement, and Dangote Flour. Dangote was awarded African Person of the Year in 2014 by Forbes Magazine.
Related: African Social Entrepreneurs Proudly Leading Africa
Final say on black billionaires
"Only by acknowledging the success and sacrifice made by those who came before us can we fully understand what we must do to ensure the liberty of those who will succeed us" - Yvette Clarke
There you have it my friend, the lifestyles of the rich and the famous black people on our planet. Hopefully you learned something and are on you way to building your own empire.
Now, here's a comprehensive list of the richest black people in the world in a nice table format.
List of all black billionaires
| # | Black billionaires | Nationality | Worth (2018) |
| 1 | Aliko Dangote | Nigeria | $14.4 billion |
| 2 | Mike Adenuga | Nigeria | $9.9 billion |
| 3 | Mohammed Al-Amoudi | Saudi | $8.4 billion |
| 4 | Robert Smith | USA | $4.4 billion |
| 5 | Oprah Winfrey | USA | $3.1 billion |
| 6 | Isabel Dos Santos | Angola | $3.1 billion |
| 7 | Byaruhanga Kimberly | South Africa | $2.1 billion |
| 8 | Femi Otedola | Nigeria | $1.85 billion |
| 9 | Strive Masiyiwa | Zimbabwe | $1.8 billion |
| 10 | Folorunsho Alakija | Nigeria | $1.55 billion |
| 11 | Patrice Motsepe | South Africa | $1.15 billion |
| 12 | Michael Jordan | USA | $1.14 billion |
| 13 | Abdul Samad Rabiu | Nigeria | $1.1 billion |
| 14 | Mo Ibrahim | British | $1.07 billion |
What to read next: 10 Wealthiest African Politicians
Sources:
- "Home - East African Business Week Newspaper: The region's leading business newspaper". Busiweek.com. Retrieved 25 October 2017.
- Nsehe, Mfonobong. "The Black Billionaires 2016". Forbes. Retrieved 2017-07-21.
- "The Nation - Are Dangote and Adenuga truly Nigeria's richest men?". 16 March 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2017.