Staff writer
(1) ALIKO DANGOTE 🇳🇬 – NETWORTH 13.6 billion USD. The richest black person on earth since 2013. [Commodities]
Group President & Chief Executive Officer, (CEO) of DANGOTE GROUP (multi national conglomerate).
The group is headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria and employs more than 30,000 people, annually generating revenue in excess of US $4.1 billion in 2017.
Dangote Industries Limited Headquarters; Lagos, Nigeria 🇳🇬.
Dangote came from an upper middle class family in Nigeria. In 1977, he graduated with a business degree from Egypt’s Al-Azhar University.
It is widely reported that when he was still a primary school student, he would buy candy cartons and sell them to his peers to make a profit.
At a later stage after his studies, he got a $500,000 loan from his uncle to purse some business ventures.
He began to trade commodities such as bagged cement and agricultural products like rice and sugar. He was an instant success and was able to repay the loan in just three months.
He once said, “You’d like to be remembered for things that you’ve actually done,” “We Africans are the only ones that can make Africa great.”
Forbes Africa
Dangote’s drive to succeed in his business ventures is driven by the positive impact he can have on others.
Dangote Industries Limited is a diversified and fully integrated conglomerate with vibrant operations in Nigeria and Africa across a wide range of sectors including cement, sugar, salt, condiments, packaging, energy, port operations, fertilizer, and petrochemicals. (Source: Dangote Group)
PRODUCTS: Cement; Sugar; Salt; Flour; Steel; Oil and gas; Packaging.
DANGOTE GROUP/SUBSIDIARIES: Dangote Sugar Refinery, Dangote Transport Limited, National Salt Company- Nigeria, Dangote Cement, Okpella Cement, Sephaku Cement (Pty) Limited, Dangote Agro Sacks Limited.
Dangote Cement, the largest cement production company in Africa, with a market capitalization of almost US$14 billion on the Nigeria Stock Exchange, has subsidiaries in Benin, Cameroon, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa and Zambia.
(2) Abdulsamad Rabiu 🇳🇬 – NETWORTH 7.0 BILLION USD. [Commodities]
Billionaire Abdulsamad is the founder and CEO of BUA Group, a Nigerian conglomerate involved in cement production, sugar refining and real estate.
Billionaire Abdulsamad owns 98.5% of his company BUA Cement Plc, which trades on the Nigerian stock exchange.
Abdulsamad inherited a sizable estate from his late father Khalifah Isyaku Rabiu which included land. His father was a Nigerian businessman who founded a major holding company in Kano State.
Abdulsamad got his education at Federal Government College, Kano. On completion, he proceeded to the United States to study Economics at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio.
(3) MIKE ADENUGA 🇳🇬 – NETWORTH 6.7 Billion USD. [Telecom, Oil]
He is the Chairman/CEO at Globacom Ltd. Globacom Ltd is Nigeria’s third-largest telecom operator with 55 million subscribers and has a presence in Ghana and Benin.
His oil exploration outfit, Conoil Producing, operates 6 oil blocks in the Niger Delta.
According to Forbes, Adenuga got an MBA at Pace University in New York and worked to support himself and his studies as a taxi driver. He made his first million at age 26 selling lace and distributing soft drinks.
He owns stakes in the Equitorial Trust Bank and the oil exploration firm Conoil.
(3) Robert F Smith 🇺🇸 – NETWORTH 6.7 Billion USD. [Private Equity]
He is the founder, chairman and CEO of Vista Equity Partners.
Image credit: Chester Higgins Jr. /The New York Times/
Mr. Smith earned a degree in chemical engineering from Cornell University. He also graduated with honors from Columbia Business School and entered investment banking working with some of the biggest players at Wallstreet.
He has patents from US and Europe. He is an investor, inventor, engineer, philanthropist and entrepreneur.
In the summer of 2019, Mr. Smith was an invited guest speaker for the graduating class at Morehouse College. During his speech, he shocked everyone when he said he would wipe out their student loans. Shortly after, he made good on his promise and paid of about 34 million dollars of loans owed by that class.
Billionaire Smith seems to have taken a keen interest to investing in young men’s education. This past October, he donated his company shares to Eagle Academy Foundation.
Eagle Academies for Young Men Receive Stock Donation from Robert F. Smith
(4) David L Steward 🇺🇸 – NETWORTH 5.8 Billion USD. [Internet Technology]
David Steward is the co-founder and chairman of World Wide Technology Inc. (WWT) which is a privately-held technology service (IT) provider based in St. Louis, Missouri.
Billionaire David started from very humble beginnings. He was one of 7 siblings. His father Harold Steward was a mechanic, a trash collector, and janitor while his mother Dorothy Steward, was a homemaker.
He started the company with his meger savings and struggled to pull the company through. Many a times, he went without pay to support the company.
He wrote at one time, he had to rush and pull out his briefcase as his Lincoln vehicle was being repossessed outside his office.
His breakthrough came after taking advice to partner with the federal government through the 8(a) Business Development Program. https://www.sba.gov/federal-contracting/contracting-assistance-programs/8a-business-development-program
Mr. David has credited his success to his deep Christian faith and has written a book, ‘Doing Business By The Good Book‘, 52 Lessons on Success Straight from the Bible.
Mr. Steward is fully committed and gives a lot back to his local communities and beyond.
(5) Patrice Motsepe 🇿🇦 – NETWORTH 3.1 Billion USD. [Investments & Mining]
Mr. Motsepe is the founder and chairman of African Rainbow Minerals which has interests in gold, ferrous metals, base metals, and platinum.
In 2016, he launched African Rainbow Capital with a focus of investing in Africa.
Image credit: /Memelodi Sundowns FC/
Billionaire Motsepe is also the president and owner of the Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club.
He is the son of Augustine Motsepe who was a school teacher and a shop owner, popular with black mine workers. He learnt the basics of business at the shop and became interested in the mining industry.
He has a bachelor of arts at the University of Swaziland and a law degree from the University of the Witwatersrand. He did practice law briefly but dived in the mining business.
South African laws that aimed to empower black South Africans has played a pivotal role in cementing his success besides his business acumen.
The Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) laws established after South Africa’s 1994 first General Elections that black South Africans participated in a significant manner.
Per BEE laws, a business must have a minimum of 26% black ownership to be considered for a mining license.
Businessman Motsepe has committed to give away half of his entire wealth to charity.
(6) Strive Masiyiwa 🇿🇼 🇬🇧 – NETWORTH 2.8 Billion USD. [Technology]
Billionaire Masiyiwa is the founder and executive chairman of the international technology group Econet Global.
He is the first billionaire, Black Briton/ African decent. He as born in Zimbabwe, then moved to Zambia to where he got his formative primary and secondary education.
Mr. Masiyiwa moved to Scotland to complete his secondary education after which he attended University of Wales and graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering.
He returned to Zimbabwe and worked as an electrical engineer. He later formed a company, Retrofit Engineering. Most of the contracts came from the government and at one time, political interference jeopardized the business and threatened the livelihoods of many under his employ.
According to StartupBiz Zimbabwe – He remembered and quote – “Meanwhile my detractors turned their attention to forcing me out of business altogether. Their plan was to force me into bankruptcy. They knew that over 80%, of my projects were for government. I was given an ultimatum: “drop your interest in telecoms or we will shut down all your other businesses!”
Strive Masiyiwa
I was facing bankruptcy. It also meant the loss of jobs of over 1000 people.I had to act quickly:I decided to sell all my businesses that relied on any type of government contracts. I sold my businesses within 2 weeks. This meant I was not paid the proper value of the businesses; I agreed to basically walk away, with almost nothing… It was more important to save the businesses, and the jobs, but it meant that 10 years of my work was all gone.… I was not bitter.”
Strive Masiyiwa
Billionaire Masiyiwa was involved in a 5 year legal battle with the government of Robert Mugabe that had denied him a mobile telecoms licence.
He won the lawsuit and in1998 was granted the licence. He soon formed and listed Econet Wireless Zimbabwe (EWZ).
It is currently Zimbabwe’s largest provider of telecommunications services, providing solutions in mobile and fixed wireless telecoms, Internet access, mobile payment and banking solutions via Ecocash.
Econet Group is the global company which is the parent company of most of his business enterprises.
Econet is a privately held diversified telecommunications conglomerate with operations and investments in Africa, Europe, South America, North America and the East Asia Pacific Rim, offering products and services in the core areas of mobile and fixed telephony services, broadband, internet, satellite and fibre optic networks.
Econet subsidiaries include Econet Global, Econet Wireless International, Econet Wireless Africa, Econet Enterprises, Econet Media and the Liquid Telecom Group.
(7) Oprah Winfrey 🇺🇸 – NETWORTH 2.6 Billion USD. [Media & Entertainment]
Ms. Winfrey is a well known personality. She is the chairman and CEO of Harpo Productions. She is also the founder and CEO of OWN Cable Network with a 25.5% stake ownership.
The self made billionaire madam has a 7% stake of WW International Inc. (formerly Weight Watchers).
Ms. Winfrey was born to a unwed teen mother and housemaid in rural Mississippi. She had a rough upbringing in the small farming community.
Oprah lived with her maternal grandmother Hattie Mae Lee. They were very poor that she made Oprah dresses made of potato sacks. But her grandma instilled in her a love to read before she was 3 years. She was able to recite Bible scriptures and earned respect from other children.
Due to her mother’s neglect, she was sexually assaulted by a number of male relatives and friends of her mother Vernita Lee. She had stillbirth of a son at age 14.
She moved in with her father Vernon Winfrey, a at the time barber and small business man in Nashville, Tennessee. When Oprah was born, he had been a coal miner and was in the armed forces.
The reading and recital skills she had horned in as a child; the intellect and ability to speak powerfully in public earned her a full ride to HBCU – Tennessee State University on an Oratory Scholarship.
Ms. Winfrey became the youngest news anchor and the first black female news anchor at Nashville’s WLAC-TV. Oprah then became an anchor in the larger market of Baltimore, MD before taking over the hosting position at a small market AM Chicago in 1984.
Oprah took in some wise counsel to make a syndication deal with King World Media and have ownership in her show, hence the beginning of the Oprah brand.
The Oprah Winfrey Show topped day time talk show ratings for 25 years till she retired the show before she launched OWN Cable Network.
She was inspired to give back to girls that were disadvantaged just like she was but had immense potential to change their communities and the world as a whole.
/courtesy/
(8) Kanye West 🇺🇸 – NETWORTH 1.8 Billion USD. [Musician & Entrepreneur]
Kanye owns 100% the Yeezy shoes brand which is estimated to be worth 1.8 billion USD.
USB Group AG, a Swiss Bank estimates that Yeezy shoe collaboration with Adidas and the upcoming Yeezy clothing collaboration with Gap Inc. ups up the valuation and future potential earnings that could propel Kanye’s networth to north of 7 billion dollars.
According to Forbes, estimates for Kanye’s other wealth — cash and other assets (real estate, furniture, jewelry, etc): $160 million; music catalog: $90 million; Skims: $64 million.
Donda C. West, Kanye’s mother was an American professor and chairwoman of Chicago State University’s Department of English, Communications, Media and Theater. She was able to afford little Kanye a middle-class upbringing in Chicago. Mr. West attended Chicago University but never graduated.
Kanye’s father, Ray West has only one child, Kanye. He was divorced from Donna West in 1980 when Kanye was 3 years old. He was a member of the Black Panther Party in the 60s and 70s. He was a photo journalist with Atlanta Constitution-Journal.
Kanye West is now separated from his famous wife Kim Kardashian West. They have 4 children.
(9) Robyn Rihanna Fenty 🇧🇧 🇺🇸 – NETWORTH 1.7 Billion USD. [Entrepreneur, musician, personality]
Barbadian American entrepreneur, pop and rhythm-and-blues (R&B) singer/ diva became a billionaire this year.
Rihanna founded and launched a beauty company Fenty Beauty in 2017 with the help of French billionaire and the third richest man in the world Bernard Arnault, CEO and owner of the French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH.
The company is estimated to be worth 1.4 billion USD. 49.99%. It is a joint venture and a 50:50 ownership of both Ms. Rihanna and Mr. Arnault.
The cosmetic beauty company has a broad range of product offerings popular across a range of skin tones and gender especially it’s Pro Filt’R Foundation.
The impetus of the company was inclusivity – to provide beauty products for a segment of the population long ignored by the major label companies.
Billionaire Rihanna also owns 30% of the lingerie company, Savage x Fenty, with an estimated networth of 270 million USD.
The success of her music career positioned her to capitalize on her fame and business wiz.
She is the best selling digital artist of all time with more than 100 million [riaa] gold & platinum song certifications and an eight-time grammy award winner who also counts 14 billboard music awards.(Source: www.rihannanow.com)
https://fentybeauty.com/
(10) Michael Jordan 🇺🇸 – NETWORTH 1.6 Billion USD. [Sports & Investments]
Michael is one if not there greatest basketball 🏀 players of all time. He’s had great partnerships with companies such as Nike, Hanes and Gatorade.
Mr. Jordan became a NASCAR team co-owner in late year (2020) and he also owns (97%) of the Charlotte Hornets; a basketball franchise. He bought it on 2010 for $ 275 million. It is currently valued $1.9 billion.
It is reported that Michael is relentless, resilient and he’s never satisfied with average. He was an average basketball player but his quest and determination to be a great player drove him to work hard and horn his skills.
I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.
Michael Jordan
Dean Smith, Michael’s former North Carolina coach, remembered Michael saying “I’m going to show you, nobody will ever work as hard as I work.” And he kept his promise.
Michael in involved in numerous charities. Some include – $10 million gift to open two medical clinics in New Hanover County, NC earlier this year. In 2019, he opened two Novant Health Michael Jordan Family Medical Clinics for the uninsured and underinsured in Charlotte, North Carolina.
(10) Michael Lee-Chin 🇯🇲 🇨🇦 – NETWORTH 1.6 Billion USD. [Banking & Investments]
He is Black Chinese, Jamaican-Canadian billionaire businessman, and the chairman and CEO of Portland Holdings Inc.
A large portfolio of Mr. Lee-Chin is his 65% stake in National Commercial Bank Jamaica. He has amassed wealth with strategic investments in financial services and mutual fund firms .
Mr. Lee-Chin graduated from Canada’s McMaster University with a Civil Engineering degree. He returned home to Jamaica and worked briefly as a road engineer for the Jamaican government.
He was unable to find work in his qualified field and allegedly, because his Canadian wife did not like living in Jamaica, they returned to Canada.
Billionaire Lee-Chin has pledged and donated more than $60 million to hospitals, universities and most notably, the Royal Ontario Museum.
Other notable contributions include a donation of $200 million from the National Commercial Bank’s Jamaica Education Initiative, donations to the University of Technology, Kingston and the gift of the state-of-the art Hyacinth Chen School of Nursing to the Northern Caribbean University in the mid-island parish of Manchester.
Other African/ black billionaires are –
(11) Mohammed Ibrahim, $1.1B – United Kingdom Communications (12) Folorunsho Alakija, $1.1B – Nigerian Oil executive (13) Shawn Carter, (Jay-Z) $1.0B United States – Music (14) Tyler Perry, $1.0B United States – Movies, television.
