Black billionaires

Black billionaires are individuals who are of predominantly black African ancestry with a net worth of at least US$1 billion.

Nigerian business magnate Aliko Dangote had a net worth of US$30.3 billion and was the world's richest black man, according to the 2025 ranking of the world's billionaires by Forbes Real Time Billionaires and Bloomberg Billionaires Index.^[1]

Other billionaires of African descent on the 2025 Forbes list included Nigerian businessman Mike Adenuga with $7.1 billion, American investor Robert Smith with $12.0 billion, American businessman David Steward with $12.8 billion, American media mogul Oprah Winfrey with $3.7 billion, South African gold magnate Patrice Motsepe with $4.3 billion, Zimbabwe Strive Masiyiwa with $2.2 billion, Barbadian music artist/entrepreneur Rihanna with $1.9 billion,^[2] American rapper Jay-Z with $2.5 billion, American rapper Kanye West with $2.7 billion, sports executive Michael Jordan with $3.5 billion, Jamaican-Canadian businessman Michael Lee-Chin with $1.6 billion, Nigerian businessman Abdul Samad Rabiu with US$14.6 billion, Nigerian businesswoman Folorunsho Alakija with $1.1 billion, Mo Ibrahim of the United Kingdom with $1.3 billion, American athlete Tiger Woods with $1 billion, American media mogul Tyler Perry with $1 billion, and American professional basketball player LeBron James with $1.2 billion.^[3]

From 2001 to 2003, Forbes listed American television network executive Bob Johnson as a billionaire,^[4] but dropped him after his fortune was split in his divorce.^[5] 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,^[6] 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.^[7] Otedola re-emerged as a billionaire in 2024.^[8] Haitian medical entrepreneur Herriot Tabuteau joined the list in 2025 with an estimated net worth of US$1.1 billion.^[9]

Multiracial billionaires with significant African ancestry have been identified over the years. Saudi Arabian billionaire Mohammed Al Amoudi, of Hadhrami Yemeni and Amhara Ethiopian descent, has been on the Forbes billionaire list since 2002 and in 2025 had a net worth of $10.3 billion.^[10] 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.^[11] Isabel dos Santos is of both Angolan and Russian ancestry is worth US$4.0 billion in 2018. The net worth of Alex Karp exceeded US$18.6 billion in 2025. He is cofounder and CEO of Palantir Technologies, Black mother.^[12] Rihanna is of both Guyanese and Irish descent.^[13][14]

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.^[15]