Uchechukwu Onwuzuruoha
---written by Uchechukwu Onwuzuruoha
2018 was a record year for black billionaires with some billionaires seeing a decrease in net worth, while other billionaires got richer. Nigerian cement mogul, Dangote, went down $2B, while Zimbabwean Telecom magnate, Strive Masiyiwa, went up $1B. For the purposes of this list, I have defined "Black Billionaire" as people of Black or African descent, worth at least $1B. Furthermore, since Forbes set precedent to exclude all Saudis of African ancestry, we have decided to do the same.
As is their money, most of the names on this list might seem foreign to some, because of the 13 billionaires on these list, 4 are Americans, 4 are Nigerians, 1 Canadian, 1 Zimbabwean, 1 Sudanese, 1 Angolan, and 1 South African. These 13 people are the richest black billionaires in the world!
1) Aliko Dangote:
Country: Nigeria. Net Worth: $10.9B. [Sugar, Cement, Flour; Dangote Group]
"My great-grandfather was a kola nut trader and the richest man in West Africa at the time of his death. My father was a businessman and politician. I was actually raised by my grandfather."
According to Dangote, at age 21, he borrowed a small sum of $3000 from his uncle to start his business venture which evolved into Dangote Group, a multinational conglomerate. With a 2017 revenue of $4B+ Dangote Group is one of Africa's largest sugar, cement, and flour manufacturers. Dangote owns the larger majority stake in his publicly traded companies. The development of his oil and gas refinery is also near completion, which is expected to be one of the largest oil and gas refineries in the world.
2) Mike Adenuga:
Country: Nigeria. Net Worth: $9.1B. [Oil, Telecom; Globacom]
"The harder you work", the luckier you get."
Mike Adenuga is the founder of African telecommunications giant, Globacom which has over 50M+ users and is the second largest telecom company in Nigeria. In addition to that, Adenuga owns the most real estate in Nigeria.
3) Robert F. Smith:
Country: United States. Net Worth: $5B. [American Private Equity; Vista Equity Partners]
"The most important thing you can do as a young person is to become an expert. There is no substitute for becoming the best at your craft."
Smith is the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of one of the most successful asset management firms in the world; Vista Equity Partners. Having kept a majority of his moves low-key, he is quite popular for his donations and active philanthropy including a large donation of $50M to Cornell University, his alma mater.
4) David Steward:
Country: United States. Net Worth: $3B. [IT; World Wide Technology]
David Steward: Country: United States. Net Worth: $4.4B. Steward is the Chairman and Founder of World Wide Technology, an IT Services Company, and one of the largest African American owned businesses in the United States of America.
5) Oprah Winfrey:
Country: United States. Net Worth: $2.5B. [Television; Oprah Winfrey Network]
"Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough."
One of America's favorite television personalities, Oprah is the owner of OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network), popular known for airing the interview with gay NBA player, Jason Collins.
6) Strive Masiyiwa:
Country: Zimbabwe. Net Worth: $2.4B. [Telecom; Econet]
"Attitude determines your altitude, if you have a bad attitude, even if you are way up there, you will come crashing down, and if you are still trying to take off, a bad attitude, will keep you on the ground, revving your engines but going nowhere."
Masiyiwa is another Telecom mogul on this list. He is the founder of Econet, one of Africa's largest telecommunications companies with over 15M people subscribing to his network.
7) Isabel Dos Santos:
Country: Angola. Net Worth: $2.3B. [Investments]
"I've had business sense since I was very young. I sold chicken eggs when I was six."
Isabel Dos Santos amassed her fortune from a diverse portfolio of investments ranging fromCable TV to holding 20% Stake and higher in Banco BPI, Banco BIC SA, Unitel, amongst multiple others. She is also the daughter of former Angolan president, José Eduardo Dos Santos, who was president for 38 years.
8) Patrice Motsepe:
Country: South Africa. Net Worth: $2.3B. [Mining; African Rainbow Minerals]
"My comrades would call me a 'black capitalist.' If we continue doing the right things in Africa, we can create a very exciting and competitive global market here"
Apart from being South Africa's first wealthiest black and only billionaire, the mining mogul is also the Chairman and Founder of African Rainbow Minerals; a South African company that mines gold, platinum and other metals.
9) Michael Jordan:
Country: United States. Net Worth: $1.9B. [Basketball; Charlotte Bobcats]
"Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships"
(Basketball). Apart from owning sportswear giant, "Jordan", Jordan is also the majority shareholder of Charlotte Bobcats. Emerging as one of the earliest wealthiest African American billionaires, Jordan has been very active in charity organizations in sports and beyond.
10) Michael Lee-Chin:
Country: Canada. Net Worth: $1.9B. [Investments; Portland Holdings Inc]
"You must look like a money person for clients to trust you"
Michael Lee-Chin, a Jamaican-Canadian Investor is also the CEO of Portland Holdings Inc and the 20th richest man in Canada. With a net worth of $1.9B, he comes in as the 10th richest black billionaire in the world.
11) Abdulsamad Rabiu:
Country: Nigeria. Net Worth: $1.6B. [Cement, Sugar]
Abdulsamad Rabiu (CON) is the Chairman and founder of BUA group, a Nigerian conglomerate holding interests in real estate, agriculture, cement manufacturing, sugar refining, oil, gas, and steel among multiple other interests. His company boasts an excess of $2.5B yearly revenue. Rabiu formerly served as the Chairman of the Nigerian Bank of Industry, the oldest and largest Development Finance Institution currently operating in Nigeria. A safe calculation of his net worth results in at least $1.6B, making him the 11th richest black billionaire in the world.
12) Folorunsho Alakija:
Country: Nigeria. Net Worth: $1.7B. [Oil]
"I never went to a university, and I am proud to say so because I don't think I have done too badly"
Ranked by Forbes as one of the top 100 most powerful women in the world, Folorunsho Alakija amassed fortune from Oil when the Nigerian government granted her an Oil Prospecting license, commonly known as an OPL 216. She struck oil and the rest is history. With a networth of $1.7B, Folorunsho Alakija is the second richest black female billionaire in the world.
