Online Reporter
Aliko Dangote, the wealthiest person in Nigeria, firmly believes in the phrase “seeing is believing.” Even after years of amassing his fortune, he sought additional confirmation of his wealth. To verify this, he drove to a bank on his own, wrote himself a check for $10 million, then cashed it.
“I went home and opened it,” Dangote recalled in a 2019 interview.
“I looked at $10 million (in cash) and I said, ‘Now I believe I have money.’–I took it back to the bank the next day.”
Now if Dangote wanted to make a withdrawal, the banks might run out of cash before he does.
Last week, Forbes released the annual World’s Billionaires list. Dangote, the founder and CEO of the Dangote Group, the largest conglomerate in West Africa, ranks as the 83rd-richest person—and the richest black person—on the planet. He’s worth an estimated $23.9 billion, up from $13.4 billion on last year’s list after nearly doubling his fortune with the opening of Africa’s largest oil and gas refinery. The $23 billion project converted a Nigerian marshland into the seventh-largest refinery in the world. Among the challenges of converting a jungle were moving 365 million cubic meters of sand from the sea, building a private port and private roads, and booking a 5 000-ton crane, one of only three in the world, years in advance.
“It was the biggest risk of my life,” Dangote told Forbes in a February 2024 profile. “If this didn’t work, I was dead.”
Dangote is the richest black billionaire, but he isn’t the only one. Overall, there are a record 3,028 billionaires on this year’s ranking, worth a record $16.1 trillion combined. Twenty-three of them are black—just 0.8% of the list—but they’re a wealthy and impressive bunch. Overall, these 23 have amassed $96.2 billion in wealth, mainly from the finance, energy and technology sectors.
David Steward, an American IT entrepreneur, is the second richest, worth an estimated $11.4 billion. Private equity billionaire Robert F. Smith is the third-wealthiest Black billionaire, with an estimated net worth of $10.8 billion. Palantir Technologies cofounder and CEO Alexander Karp ($8.4 bn) and Nigerian businessman Mike Adenuga ($6.8bn) round out the top five.
Sheila Johnson, the cofounder of BET, is a new black billionaire this year, as is Herriot Tabuteau, the founder of a biotech firm focused on brain disorders. NBA Sixth Man Junior Bridgeman was also poised to debut. Bridgeman amassed an estimated net worth of $1.4 billion before his untimely death in March. He would’ve joined four other Black athletes on the list who became billionaires: Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, LeBron James and Tiger Woods.
“He didn’t waste his time just thinking about the game of basketball,” James told Forbes in February when discussing Bridgeman. “He’s always had a business mindset.”
Here are the world’s 23 black billionaires. Net worths are as of March 7, 2025:
#1. Aliko Dangote
Net worth: $23.9 billion
Source of wealth: Cement, sugar
Citizenship: Nigeria
#2. David Steward
Net worth: $11.4 billion
Source of wealth: IT provider
Citizenship: U.S.
#3. Robert F. Smith
Net worth: $10.8 billion
Source of Wealth: Private equity
Citizenship: U.S.
#4. Alexander Karp
Net worth: $8.4 billion
Source of Wealth: Software firm
Citizenship: U.S.
#5. Mike Adenuga
Net worth: $6.8 billion
Source of wealth: Telecom, oil
Citizenship: Nigeria
#6. Abdulsamad Rabiu
Net worth: $5.1 billion
Source of wealth: Cement, sugar
Citizenship: Nigeria
#7. Michael Jordan
Net worth: $3.5 billion
Source of wealth: Charlotte Hornets, endorsements
Citizenship: U.S.
#8 (tie). Patrice Motsepe
Net worth: $3 billion
Source of wealth: Mining
Citizenship: South Africa
#8 (tie). Oprah Winfrey
Net worth: $3 billion
Source of wealth: TV shows
Citizenship: U.S.
#10. Jay-Z
Net worth: $2.5 billion
Source of wealth: Music
Citizenship: U.S.
#11. Adebayo Ogunlesi
Net worth: $2.2 billion
Source of wealth: Private equity
Citizenship: U.S.
#12 (tie). Magic Johnson
Net worth: $1.5 billion
Source of wealth: Basketball, investments
Citizenship: U.S.
#12 (tie). Femi Otedola
Net worth: $1.5 billion
Source of wealth: Energy, utilities
Citizenship: Nigeria
#14 (tie). Tope Awotona
Net worth: $1.4 billion
Source of wealth: Software
Citizenship: United States
#14 (tie). Tyler Perry
Net worth $1.4 billion
Source of wealth: Movies, television
Citizenship: U.S.
#14 (tie). Tiger Woods
Net worth: $1.4 billion
Source of wealth: Golf
Citizenship: U.S.
#14 (tie). Rihanna
Net worth: $1.4 billion
#18 (tie) Mohammed Ibrahim
Net worth: $1.3 billion
Source of wealth: Communications
Citizenship: UK
#18 (tie). LeBron James
Net worth: $1.3 billion
Source of wealth: Basketball
Citizenship: U.S
#20. Strive Masiyiwa
Net worth: $1.2 billion
Source of wealth: Telecom
Citizenship: Zimbabwe
Masiyiwa founded Econet Group in 1993 and built it into a telecom conglomerate with operations and investments throughout Africa, South America and Asia. He still serves as chairman of the company and also sits on the boards of the Gates Foundation and Netflix. —www.forbes.com
