Black billionaires are individuals who are of Sub-Saharan African descent with net worth of at least US$1 billion. These individuals include native Africans born on the continent as well as the African diaspora. According to the 2019 Forbes 2019 ranking of the world’s billionaires, Nigerian business magnate Aliko Dangote had a net worth of $10.9 billion and was the world’s richest black man. Other black billionaires on the 2019 Forbes list included Nigerian businessman Mike Adenuga with $9.1 billion, American investor Robert Smith with $5 billion, American businessman David Steward with $3 billion, American media mogul Oprah Winfrey with $2.5 billion, Angolan businesswoman Isabel dos Santos with $2.3 billion, South African gold magnate Patrice Motsepe with $2.3 billion, Jamaican-Canadian businessman Michael Lee-Chin with $1.9 billion, American rapper Kanye West with $1.8 billion, Nigerian businessman Abdul Samad Rabiu with $1.6 billion, American sports executive Michael Jordan with $1.6 billion, American rapper Jay-Z with $1.4 billion, Mo Ibrahim of the United Kingdom with $1.1 billion, and American media mogul Tyler Perry with $1 billion.
From 2001 to 2003, Forbes listed American television network executive Bob Johnson as a billionaire but dropped him after his fortune was split in his divorce. 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 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.
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. 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. Isabel Dos Santos is of both Angolan and Russian ancestry. Alexander Karp, Co-Founder and CEO of Palantir Technologies has an African-American mother.
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.
List of Black billionaires
Black billionaires 2001 (Total African Billionaires = 2)
All World Billionaires in 2001 = 538, Richest: Bill Gates $114 billion 
#1: Bob Johnson $1.6 billion
#2: Michael Lee-Chin $1 billion
Black billionaires 2002 (Total African Billionaires = 3)
All World Billionaires in 2002 = 497, Richest: Bill Gates $52.8 billion
#1: Mohammad Al Amoudi $1.5 billion
#2: Michael Lee-Chin $1.1 billion
#3: Bob Johnson $1 billion
Black billionaires 2003 (Total African Billionaires = 4)
All World Billionaires in 2003 = 476, Richest: Bill Gates $40.7 billion
#1: Mohammad Al Amoudi $1.5 billion
#2: Michael Lee-Chin $1.4 billion
#3: Bob Johnson $1.2 billion
#4: Oprah Winfrey $1 billion
Black billionaires 2004 (Total African Billionaires = 3)
All World Billionaires in 2004 = 587, Richest: Bill Gates $46.6 billion
#1: Michael Lee-Chin $2.4 billion
#2: Mohammad Al Amoudi $1.4 billion
#3: Oprah Winfrey $1.1 billion
Black billionaires 2005 (Total African Billionaires = 3)
All World Billionaires in 2005 = 691, Richest: Bill Gates $46.5 billion
#1: Michael Lee-Chin $2.5 billion
#1: Mohammad Al Amoud $2.5 billion
#2: Oprah Winfrey $1.3 billion
Black billionaires 2006 (Total African Billionaires = 2)
All World Billionaires in 2006 = 793, Richest: Bill Gates $50 billion
#1: Mohammad Al Amoudi $6.9 billion
#2: Michael Lee-Chin $2.1 billion
Black billionaires 2007 (Total African Billionaires = 4)
All World Billionaires in 2007 = 946, Richest: Bill Gates $56 billion
#1: Mohammad Al Amoudi $8 billion
#2: Michael Lee-Chin $1.6 billion
#3: Oprah Winfrey $1.5 billion
#4: Bob Johnson $1.1 billion
Black billionaires 2008 (Total African Billionaires = 7)
All World Billionaires in 2008 = 1,125, Richest: Warren Buffett $62 billion
#1: Mohammad Al Amoudi $9 billion
#2: Aliko Dangote $3.3 billion 
#3: Oprah Winfrey $2.5 billion
#4: Patrice Motsepe $2.4 billion 
#5: Mo Ibrahim $2.5 billion 
#6: Michael Lee-Chin $1.8 billion
#7: Bob Johnson $1 billion
Black billionaires 2009 (Total African Billionaires = 7)
All World Billionaires in 2009 = 793, Richest: Bill Gates $40 billion
#1: Mohammad Al Amoudi $9 billion
#2: Oprah Winfrey $2.7 billion
#3: Aliko Dangote $2.5 billion
#4: Mo Ibrahim $2 billion
#5: Femi Otedola $1.6 billion
#6: Patrice Motsepe $1.3 billion
#7: Michael Lee-Chin $1 billion
Black billionaires 2010 (Total African Billionaires = 5)
All World Billionaires in 2010 = 1,011, Richest: Carlos Slim Helu & family $53.5 billion 
#1: Mohammad Al Amoudi $10 billion
#2: Oprah Winfrey $2.4 billion
#3: Patrice Motsepe $2.3 billion
#4: Mo Ibrahim $2 billion
#5: Michael Lee-Chin $1 billion
Black billionaires 2011 (Total African Billionaires = 6)
All World Billionaires in 2011 = 1,210, Richest: Carlos Slim Helu & family $74 billion
#1: Aliko Dangote $13.8 billion
#2: Mohammad Al Amoudi $12.3 billion
#3: Patrice Motsepe $3.3 billion
#4: Oprah Winfrey $2.7 billion
#5: Mo Ibrahim $1.8 billion
#6: Mike Adenuga $2 billion
Black billionaires 2012 (Total African Billionaires = 6)
All World Billionaires in 2012 = 1,210, Richest: Carlos Slim Helu & family $74 billion
#1: Mohammad Al Amoudi $12.3 billion
#2: Aliko Dangote $11.2 billion
#3: Mike Adenuga $4.3 billion
#4: Patrice Motsepe $2.7 billion
#5: Oprah Winfrey $2.7 billion
#6: Mo Ibrahim $1.1 billion
Black billionaires 2013 (Total African Billionaires = 7)
All World Billionaires in 2013 = 1,426, Richest: Carlos Slim Helu & family $73 billion
#1: Aliko Dangote $16.1 billion
#2: Mohammad Al Amoudi $13.5 billion
#3: Mike Adenuga $4.7 billion
#4: Patrice Motsepe $2.9 billion
#5: Oprah Winfrey $2.8 billion
#6: Isabel dos Santos $2 billion 
#7: Mo Ibrahim $1.1 billion
Black billionaires 2014 (Total African Billionaires = 9)
All World Billionaires in 2014 = 1,645, Richest: Bill Gates $76 billion
#1: Aliko Dangote $25 billion
#2: Mohammad Al Amoudi $15.3 billion
#3: Mike Adenuga $4.6 billion
#4: Isabel Dos Santos $3.7 billion
#5: Oprah Winfrey $2.9 billion
#6: Patrice Motsepe $2.9 billion
#7: Florunsho Alakija $2.5 billion
#8: Abdul Samad Rabiu $1.2 billion
#9: Mo Ibrahim $1.1 billion
Black billionaires 2015 (Total African Billionaires = 13)
All World Billionaires in 2015 = 1,645, Richest: Bill Gates $76 billion
#1: Aliko Dangote $14.4 billion
#2: Mohammed Al-Amoudi, $8.4 billion
#3: Mike Adenuga, $9.9 billion
#4: Robert Smith, $4.4 billion
#5: Isabel Dos Santos, $3.1 billion
#5: Oprah Winfrey $3.1 billion
#6: Femi Otedola, $1.85 billion
#7: Strive Masiyiwa, $1.8 billion 
#8: Folorunsho Alakija, $1.55 billion
#9: Patrice Motsepe $1.15 billion
#10: Michael Jordan, $1.14 billion
#11: Abdul Samad Rabiu $1.1 billion
#12: Mo Ibrahim $1.07 billion
Black billionaires 2016 (Total African Billionaires = 13)
All World Billionaires in 2016 = 1,810, Richest: Bill Gates $75 billion
#1: Aliko Dangote, $10.6 billion
#2: Mohammed Al-Amoudi, $8.4 billion
#3: Mike Adenuga, $9.1 billion
#4: Robert Smith, $5 billion
#5: David Steward, $3.9 billion
#6: Isabel Dos Santos, $3.1 billion
#7: Oprah Winfrey, $2.7 billion
#8: Strive Masiyiwa, $2.4 billion
#9: Patrice Motsepe, $2.3 billion
#10: Michael Jordan, $1.9 billion
#11: Abdul Samad Rabiu, $1.6 billion
#12: Folorunsho Alakija, $1.1 billion
#13: Jay-Z, $1 billion
Black billionaires 2017
All Billionaires in 2017 =
Black billionaires 2018
All Billionaires in 2018 =
Black billionaires 2019 (Total African Billionaires = 15)
All World Billionaires in 2019 = 2,153, Richest: Jeff Bezos $110 billion
#1: Aliko Dangote, $10.6 billion
#2: Mike Adenuga, $9.1 billion
#3: Mohammad Al-Amoudi, $8.4 billion
#4: Robert Smith, $5 billion
#5: David Steward, $3.9 billion
#6: Oprah Winfrey, $2.7 billion
#7: Strive Masiyiwa, $2.4 billion
#8: Isabel Dos Santos, $2.3 billion
#9: Patrice Motsepe, $2.3 billion
#10: Michael Lee-Chin $1.9 billion
#11: Michael Jordan, $1.9 billion
#12: Abdul Samad Rabiu, $1.6 billion
#13: Alex Karp $1.3 billion
#14: Folorunsho Alakija, $1.1 billion
#15: Jay-Z, $1 billion
Black billionaires 2020
All World Billionaires in 2020 = 2,095, Richest: Jeff Bezos $200 billion
#1: Aliko Dangote, $13.5 billion
#2: Mike Adenuga, $9.1 billion
#3: Mohammad Al-Amoudi, $8.4 billion
#4: Robert Smith, $5 billion
#5: David Steward, $4 billion
#6: Abdul Samad Rabiu, $3.2 billion
#7: Alex Karp $3 billion
#8: Oprah Winfrey, $2.7 billion
#9: Strive Masiyiwa, $2.4 billion
#11: Isabel Dos Santos, $2.3 billion
#11: Patrice Motsepe, $2.3 billion
#12: Michael Jordan, $2.1 billion
#13: Michael Lee-Chin $1.9 billion
#14: Kanye West, $1.8 billion
#15: Folorunsho Alakija, $1.1 billion
#16: Jay-Z, $1 billion
#16: Tyler Perry, $1 billion
Black billionaires 2021 (Total African Billionaires = 16)
All World Billionaires in 2021 = 2,095, Richest: Jeff Bezos $200 billion
#1: Aliko Dangote, $13.5 billion
#2: Mike Adenuga, $9.1 billion
#3: Mohammad Al-Amoudi, $8.4 billion
#4: Robert Smith, $5 billion
#5: David Steward, $4 billion
#6: Abdul Samad Rabiu, $3.2 billion
#7: Alex Karp $3 billion
#8: Oprah Winfrey, $2.7 billion
#9: Strive Masiyiwa, $2.4 billion
#10: Isabel Dos Santos, $2.3 billion
#10: Patrice Motsepe, $2.3 billion
#12: Michael Lee-Chin $1.9 billion
#13: Kanye West, $1.8 billion
#14: Michael Jordan, $1.6 billion
#15: Jay-Z, $1.4 billion
#16: Tyler Perry, $1.0 billion
Fact
Aliko Dangote is the richest Black billionaire and has held the title since 2013. He owns 85% of publicly traded Dangote Cement, Africa’s largest cement producer. The company’s stock price went up more than 30% over the last year. In addition, Dangote also has investments in salt and sugar manufacturing companies.
The fifth richest Black person, David Steward, owns the technology solutions provider World Wide Technology. Steward had decided he wanted to be part of the technological revolution and founded the company in 1990 before the first internet browser had even been created. The company has since grown to be the largest Black-owned business in America with over $13.4 billion in annual revenue and more than 7,000 employees.
Best known for his music career, Shawn Carter, more commonly known as Jay-Z, is number 14 on the list. However, the rapper’s wealth goes far beyond his music. Jay-Z has built a diversified business empire, including investments in a fine art collection, an entertainment company, a clothing line, and alcohol brands. He recently sold half of his champagne brand to LVMH, the parent company of Dom Pérignon.
Unequal Representation
Unfortunately, little progress has been made with regards to the proportion of Black billionaires. Since 2011, Black billionaires have made up fewer than 1% of all billionaires worldwide.
