Only 12 Out of 2,043 Billionaires Worldwide are Black
Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, and Warren Buffet are not the only richest individuals languishing in billions. Across the globe, there are other 2,043 billionaires, but only 12 of them are black persons. And black means African ancestry.
These individuals are characterized by fierce determination and courage they have upheld throughout their careers. Needless to say, they are not any different from countless other black men and women whose achievements are not yet visible, in fact, there are way more black millionaires across the globe currently.
The number of black billionaires, however, has dropped due to plunging stock prices and weaker currencies, among others. For instance, Forbes listed American television network executive Bob Johnson as a billionaire, but he was dropped after his fortune was split in his divorce.
Also, Femi Otedola, a Nigerian petroleum executive briefly emerged as one of the black billionaires in 2009 but failed to remain in the list. He made the ranking again in 2016 with another Nigerian sugar tycoon Abdul Samad Rabiu but were both in 2017.
However, through the years one name has remained at the top; Aliko Dangote. For 8 years in a row, he has remained as Africa’s richest person. He is also the richest black person in the world. Here is a complete list.
- Aliko Dangote, $10.7 Billion
Aliko Dangote ranks first in the list of black billionaires in the world. His estimated net worth as of February 2019 was 10.7 billion US dollars. According to Forbes ranking, his current net worth is over 2 billion dollars less from the 2018 ranking where he had a net worth of 13.8 billion dollars.
Dangote is the founder and the chairman of Dangote Cement, the continent’s largest cement producer. He owns almost 88 percent of publicly-traded Dangote Cement through a holding company.
Dangote also owns stakes in publicly-traded salt, sugar, and flour manufacturing companies.
- Mike Adenuga, $9.7 Billion
Mike Adenuga is the second richest black person in the world. He is also Nigeria’s second richest man, with his net worth attributed to the telecom and the oil industry.
Adenuga’s mobile phone network, Globacom, is the third largest telecom operator in Nigeria, with over 43 million subscribers. His oil company, Conoil Producing, operates 6 oil blocks in the Niger Delta.
In early 2016, Adenuga’s personal wealth reached 10 billion US dollars but due to a load of debt and sanctions by the court, his net worth significantly reduced the following year.
It is worth noting that Adenuga has come a long way to becoming one of the billionaires with African ancestry. He made his first million aged 26 by selling lace and distributing soft drinks.
- Robert Smith, $5 Billion
Robert Smith is the founder of Vista Equity Partners, a private equity firm, which began operations in 2000. The company focuses exclusively on investing in software companies, and this is what has tremendously contributed to Smith’s 5 billion-dollar net worth.
He is the third richest black person on earth, thanks to Vista, which boasts over 30 billion dollars in assets making it one of the best-performing private equity firms.
It posts annualized returns of 22 percent, a figure it has consistently upheld since inception.
Well, being an engineer by training certainly doesn’t stop you from joining the billion-dollar club. He is also a philanthropist for that matter and he pledged 50 million dollars (personally and through a foundation) to his former university in 2016.
- Oprah Winfrey, $2.5 Billion
Oprah Winfrey is not just a global influential woman, she is rich! She makes the richest black billionaire among women with a net worth of 2.5 billion dollars as of February 2019. Winfrey has transitioned famous talk show into a media, entertainment and business empire earning her millions.