Despite economic headwinds that affected Nigeria’s economy, three Nigerians have appeared in the list of richest black people on earth. They are Aliko Dangote, Abdulsamad Rabiu and Mike Adenuga.
Aliko Dangote, President of the pan-African Conglomerate, the Dangote Group, tops the list.
Here is a list of 17 richest black people on earth
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- Aliko Dangote ($10.8 billion)
Aliko Dangote, Africa’s richest person, founded and chairs Dangote Cement, the continent’s largest cement producer.
He owns 85% of publicly-traded Dangote Cement through a holding company.
- Robert F. Smith ($8 billion)
Robert F. Smith founded private equity firm Vista Equity Partners in 2000. It focuses exclusively on investing in software companies.
- David Steward ($7.6 billion)
David Steward is the founder and chairman of IT provider World Wide Technology.
In the early days, Steward sometimes went without a paycheck and once watched his car get repossessed from the office parking lot.
Today he is majority owner of the $14.5 billion (sales) company, whose customers include Citi, Verizon and the federal government.
- Abdulsamad Rabiu ($5.6 billion)
Abdulsamad Rabiu is the founder of BUA Group, a Nigerian conglomerate active in cement production, sugar refining and real estate.
In early January 2020, Rabiu merged his privately-owned Obu Cement company with listed firm Cement Co. of Northern Nigeria, which he controlled.
The combined firm, called BUA Cement Plc, trades on the Nigerian stock exchange; Rabiu owns 98.2% of it.
- Mike Adenuga ($3.6 billion)
Adenuga, Nigeria’s second richest man, built his fortune in telecom and oil production.
His mobile phone network, Globacom, is the third largest operator in Nigeria, with 55 million subscribers.
- Jay-Z ($2.5 billion)
Since becoming hip-hop’s first billionaire in 2019, Jay-Z has more than doubled his fortune thanks to his lucrative liquor businesses.
- Oprah Winfrey ($2.5 billion)
Oprah Winfrey has transitioned her hit talk show, which ran for 25 years, into a media and business empire.
- PATRICE MOTSEPE ($2.3 billion)
Patrice Motsepe, the founder and chairman of African Rainbow Minerals, became a billionaire in 2008 – the first black African on the Forbes list.
- Michael Jordan ($2 billion)
Regarded by most as the NBA’s greatest all-time player, Michael Jordan won six titles with the Chicago Bulls.
His salary during his career totaled $90 million, but he has earned $1.8 billion (pre-tax) from such corporate partners as Nike, Hanes and Gatorade.
- STRIVE MASIYIWA, ($1.8 billion)
Strive Masiyiwa overcame protracted government opposition to launch mobile phone network Econet Wireless Zimbabwe in his country of birth in 1998.
He owns just over 50% of the publicly-traded Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, which is one part of his larger Econet Group.
- Alexander Karp ($1.8 billion)
Alex Karp is cofounder and CEO of data mining firm Palantir Technologies, which received early backing from CIA investment arm In-Q-Tel.
The company does contract work for government agencies like the Department of Defense, the FBI and the Danish National Police.
- Rihanna ($1.4 billion )
Rihanna, Barbados’ most famous export, is a billionaire thanks to the success of cosmetics line Fenty Beauty.
The cosmetics company, which she co-owns with French luxury retailer LVMH, doubled its revenue in 2022.
- Michael Lee-Chin ($1.4 billion each)
Michael Lee-Chin made a fortune investing in financial companies like National Commercial Bank Jamaica and AIC Limited.
The native of Jamaica acquired AIC in 1987, when it had less than $1 million in assets under management.
- MOHAMMED IBRAHIM ($1.2 billion)
Mohammed “Mo” Ibrahim founded Celtel International in 1998, one of the first mobile phone companies serving Africa and the Middle East.
He sold Celtel to Kuwait’s Mobile Telecommunications Company for $3.4 billion in 2005 and pocketed $1.4 billion.
- Tiger Woods ($1.1 billion)
Woods has earned roughly $1.8 billion during his pro golf career, including a PGA Tour-record $121 million in prize money. In 2022, Forbes certified him as a billionaire, making him only the second active athlete ever with that distinction, after LeBron James.
- LeBron James ($1 billion)
James is the first active NBA player to become a billionaire, with Forbes estimating his net worth at $1 billion in June 2022.
Born to a 16-year-old single mother, he lived with an assortment of family members, friends and neighbors, plus his youth football coach, before being drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2003.
- Tyler Perry ($1 billion)
A director, actor, producer and writer, Tyler Perry is best known for his “Madea” franchise, which has grossed more than $660 million.
Perry started out in live theater in the 1990s and became extremely popular before transitioning to film and television in the 2000s.