Black billionaires

Black billionaires are individuals primarily of African descent whose net worth reaches or exceeds US$1 billion.

In 2025, Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote topped the list with a net worth of US$28.3 billion, establishing him as the wealthiest black individual worldwide according to both the Forbes Real Time Billionaires and the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Among other prominent billionaires of African heritage in 2025 were Nigerian entrepreneur Mike Adenuga ($7.1 billion), American financier Robert Smith ($12.0 billion), U.S. businessman David Steward ($12.8 billion), media titan Oprah Winfrey ($3.7 billion), South African mining tycoon Patrice Motsepe ($3.2 billion), Zimbabwean business leader Strive Masiyiwa ($3.1 billion), Barbadian singer and entrepreneur Rihanna ($1.9 billion), American rappers Jay-Z ($2.5 billion) and Kanye West ($2.7 billion), sports executive Michael Jordan ($3.5 billion), Jamaican-Canadian investor Michael Lee-Chin ($1.6 billion), Nigerian industrialists Abdul Samad Rabiu ($7.6 billion) and businesswoman Folorunsho Alakija ($1.1 billion), UK-based entrepreneur Mo Ibrahim ($1.4 billion), American athletes Tiger Woods and Tyler Perry, each valued at $1 billion, as well as basketball star Lebron James ($1.2 billion).

Between 2001 and 2003, American television executive Bob Johnson was listed among Forbes' billionaires but lost his status following his divorce which split his assets; he re-entered the list in 2007 with $1.1 billion but dropped off again by 2009. Nigerian oil magnate Femi Otedola briefly appeared as a billionaire in 2009, resurfaced alongside sugar magnate Rabiu in 2016, with both exiting the rankings in 2017; Otedola returned to billionaire status in 2024. Haitian medical entrepreneur Herriot Tabuteau joined the billionaire ranks in 2025 with a net worth of $1.1 billion.

Billionaires of mixed heritage with substantial African lineage include Saudi businessman Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi, who is of Yemeni-Ethiopian background and held $10.5 billion in 2025; Canadian entrepreneur Michael Lee-Chin, who is of Jamaican-Chinese-Black descent; Angolan-Russian heiress Isabel dos Santos, valued at $4.0 billion in 2018; and Palantir Technologies cofounder and CEO Alex Karp, whose mother is African-American, with a net worth exceeding $12 billion in 2025. Pop icon Rihanna has Afro-Guyanese and Irish roots.

Among these figures, only Oprah Winfrey was featured on Forbes' 2009 list of the world's 20 most influential billionaires, acknowledged for her wealth, market sway, and political influence—especially her effect on U.S. consumer behavior and her contribution to Barack Obama's victorious 2008 presidential campaign.

List of Black billionaires

(Wealth estimates by Forbes magazine)

Year	Black billionaires	Bi/Multiracial billionaires with Black ancestry	All billionaires
2001	1: Bob Johnson, $1.6 billion Template:Country data AmericaTemplate:Namespace detect showall	1: Michael Lee-Chin, $1 billionTemplate:Country data JamaicaTemplate:Namespace detect showall	538; Richest: Bill Gates, $114 billion
2002	1: Bob Johnson, $1 billion	2: Mohammad Al Amoudi, $1.5 billion Template:Country data EthiopiaTemplate:Namespace detect showallTemplate:Country data Saudi ArabiaTemplate:Namespace detect showall Michael Lee-Chin, $1.1 billionTemplate:Country data JamaicaTemplate:Namespace detect showall	497; Richest: Bill Gates, $52.8 billion
2003	2: Bob Johnson, $1.2 billion Oprah Winfrey, $1 billion	2: Mohammad Al Amoudi, $1.5 billionTemplate:Country data EthiopiaTemplate:Namespace detect showallTemplate:Country data Saudi ArabiaTemplate:Namespace detect showall Michael Lee-Chin, $1.4 billionTemplate:Country data JamaicaTemplate:Namespace detect showall	476; Richest: Bill Gates, $40.7 billion
2004	1: Oprah Winfrey, $1.1 billion	2: Michael Lee-Chin, $2.4 billion Template:Country data JamaicaTemplate:Namespace detect showall Mohammad Al Amoudi, $1.4 billion Template:Country data EthiopiaTemplate:Namespace detect showallTemplate:Country data Saudi ArabiaTemplate:Namespace detect showall	587; Richest: Bill Gates, $46.6 billion
2005	1: Oprah Winfrey, $1.3 billion	2: Michael Lee-Chin, $2.5 billion Template:Country data JamaicaTemplate:Namespace detect showall Mohammad Al Amoudi, $2.5 billion Template:Country data EthiopiaTemplate:Namespace detect showallTemplate:Country data Saudi ArabiaTemplate:Namespace detect showall	691; Richest: Bill Gates, $46.5 billion
2006	1: Oprah Winfrey, $1.4 billion	2: Mohammad Al Amoudi, $6.9 billion Template:Country data EthiopiaTemplate:Namespace detect showallTemplate:Country data Saudi ArabiaTemplate:Namespace detect showall Michael Lee-Chin, $2.1 billionTemplate:Country data JamaicaTemplate:Namespace detect showall	793; Richest: Bill Gates, $50 billion
2007	2: Oprah Winfrey, $1.5 billion Bob Johnson, $1.1 billion	2: Mohammad Al Amoudi, $8 billionTemplate:Country data EthiopiaTemplate:Namespace detect showallTemplate:Country data Saudi ArabiaTemplate:Namespace detect showall Michael Lee-Chin, $1.6 billionTemplate:Country data JamaicaTemplate:Namespace detect showall	946; Richest: Bill Gates, $56 billion
2008	5: Aliko Dangote, $3.3 billion Oprah Winfrey, $2.5 billion Mo Ibrahim, $2.5 billion Template:Country data SudanTemplate:Namespace detect showall Patrice Motsepe, $2.4 billion Bob Johnson, $1 billion	2: Mohammad Al Amoudi, $9 billionTemplate:Country data EthiopiaTemplate:Namespace detect showallTemplate:Country data Saudi ArabiaTemplate:Namespace detect showall Michael Lee-Chin, $1.8 billionTemplate:Country data JamaicaTemplate:Namespace detect showall	1,125; Richest: Warren Buffett, $62 billion

(Note: The table continues for subsequent years detailing key figures such as Nigerian businessmen like Aliko Dangote and Mike Adenuga, American investors including Robert F. Smith (investor), among others, reflecting their estimated net worth and influence.)