Black billionaires


Black billionaires are individuals of African ancestry with a net worth of at least US$1 billion. According to the 2019 Forbes 2019 ranking of the world's billionaires, Nigerian business magnate Aliko Dangote had a net worth of $10.9 billion and was the world's richest black person. Other black billionaires on the 2019 Forbes list included Nigeria's Mike Adenuga with $9.1 billion, American investor Robert Smith with $5 billion, American businessman David Steward with $3 billion, American media mogul Oprah Winfrey with a net worth of $2.5 billion, Zimbabwean businessman Strive Masiyiwa with $2.4 billion, Angolan businesswoman Isabel dos Santos with $2.3 billion, South African gold magnate Patrice Motsepe with $2.3 billion, American sports executive Michael Jordan with $2.1 billion, Michael Lee-Chin of Canada with $1.9 billion, Nigeria's Abdul Samad Rabiu with $1.6 billion, Nigeria's Folorunsho Alakija with $1.1 billion, and Mo Ibrahim of the United Kingdom with $1.1 billion.
From 2001 to 2003, Forbes listed American television network executive Bob Johnson as a billionaire, but dropped him after his fortune was split in his divorce. He returned to 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 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.
Multiracial billionaires with significant black ancestry have been identified over the years. Saudi Arabian billionaire Mohammed Al Amoudi, of Hadhrami Yemeni and Ethiopian descent, has been on the Forbes billionaire list since 2002 and in 2012 had a net worth of $12.5 billion. 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. Isabel Dos Santos is of both Angolan and Middle Eastern ancestry.
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.

List of Black billionaires

YearBlack billionairesBi/Multiracial billionaires with Black ancestryAll billionaires
199600423, Richest: Bill Gates $18.5 billion
199700224, Richest: Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah $38 billion
199800209, Richest: Bill Gates $51 billion
199900298, Richest: Bill Gates $55 billion
200000322, Richest: Bill Gates $60 billion
20011: Bob Johnson $1.6 billion 1: Michael Lee-Chin $1 billion538, Richest: Bill Gates $58.7 billion
20021: Bob Johnson $1 billion 2:
  • Mohammad Al Amoudi $1.5 billion
  • Michael Lee-Chin $1.1 billion
497, Richest: Bill Gates $52.8 billion
20032:
  • Bob Johnson $1.2 billion
  • Oprah Winfrey $1 billion
    		• 2: Mohammad Al Amoudi $1.5 billionMichael Lee-Chin $1.4 billion476, Richest: Bill Gates $40.7 billion
    20041: Oprah Winfrey $1.1 billion 2:
    • Michael Lee-Chin $2.4 billion
    • Mohammad Al Amoudi $1.4 billion
    		587, Richest: Bill Gates $46.6 billion
    20051: Oprah Winfrey $1.3 billion 2:
  • Michael Lee-Chin $2.5 billion
  • Mohammad Al Amoud $2.5 billion
    		• 691, Richest: Bill Gates $46.5 billion
    20061: Oprah Winfrey $1.4 billion2:
  • Mohammad Al Amoudi $6.9 billion
  • Michael Lee-Chin $2.1 billion
    		• 793, Richest: Bill Gates $50 billion
    20072:
  • Oprah Winfrey $1.5 billion
  • Bob Johnson $1.1 billion
    		• 2:
  • Mohammad Al Amoudi $8 billion
  • Michael Lee-Chin $1.6 billion
    		• 946, Richest: Bill Gates $56 billion
    20085:
  • Aliko Dangote $3.3 billion
  • Oprah Winfrey $2.5 billion
  • Patrice Motsepe $2.4 billion
  • Mo Ibrahim $2.5 billion
  • Bob Johnson $1 billion
    		• 2: Mohammad Al Amoudi $9 billionMichael Lee-Chin $1.8 billion1,125, Richest: Warren Buffett $62 billion
    20096:
    • Oprah Winfrey $2.7 billion
    • Aliko Dangote $2.5 billion
    • Mo Ibrahim $2 billion
    • Femi Otedola $1.6 billion
    • Patrice Motsepe $1.3 billion
    		2: Mohammad Al Amoudi $9 billionMichael Lee-Chin $1 billion793, Richest: Bill Gates $40 billion
    20104:
    • Oprah Winfrey $2.4 billion
    • Patrice Motsepe $2.3 billion
    • Adam Sedik $2.1 billion
    • Mo Ibrahim $2 billion
    		2: Mohammad Al Amoudi $10 billionMichael Lee-Chin $1 billion1,011, Richest: Carlos Slim Helu & family $53.5 billion
    20115:
    • Aliko Dangote $13.8 billion
    • Patrice Motsepe $3.3 billion
    • Oprah Winfrey $2.7 billion
    • Mo Ibrahim $1.8 billion
    • Mike Adenuga $2 billion
    		1: Mohammad Al Amoudi $12.3 billion1,210, Richest: Carlos Slim Helu & family $74 billion
    20125:
  • Aliko Dangote $11.2 billion
  • Mike Adenuga $4.3 billion
  • Patrice Motsepe $2.7 billion
  • Oprah Winfrey $2.7 billion
  • Mo Ibrahim $1.1 billion
    		• 1: Mohammad Al Amoudi $12.3 billion1,210, Richest: Carlos Slim Helu & family $74 billion
    20135:
  • Aliko Dangote $16.1 billion
  • Mike Adenuga $4.7 billion
  • Patrice Motsepe $2.9 billion
  • Oprah Winfrey $2.8 billion
  • Mo Ibrahim $1.1 billion
    		• 2:
  • Mohammad Al Amoudi $13.5 billion
  • Isabel dos Santos $2 billion
    		• 1,426, Richest: Carlos Slim Helu & family $73 billion
    20147:
  • Aliko Dangote $25 billion
  • Mike Adenuga $4.6 billion
  • Oprah Winfrey $2.9 billion
  • Patrice Motsepe $2.9 billion
  • Florunsho Alakija $2.5 billion
  • Abdul Samad Rabiu $1.2 billion
  • Mo Ibrahim $1.1 billion
    		• 2:
  • Mohammad Al Amoudi $15.3 billion
  • Isabel Dos Santos $3.7 billion
    		• 1,645, Richest: Bill Gates $76 billion
    201611:
  • Aliko Dangote $14.4 billion
  • Mike Adenuga, $9.9 billion
  • Robert Smith, $4.4 billion
  • Oprah Winfrey $3.1 billion
  • Femi Otedola, $1.85 billion
  • Strive Masiyiwa, $1.8 billion
  • Folorunsho Alakija, $1.55 billion
  • Patrice Motsepe $1.15 billion
  • Michael Jordan, $1.14 billion
  • Abdul Samad Rabiu $1.1 billion
  • Mo Ibrahim $1.07 billion
    		• 2:
  • Mohammed Al-Amoudi, $8.4 billion
  • Isabel Dos Santos, $3.1 billion
    		• 1,810, Richest: Bill Gates $75 billion
    201911:
  • Aliko Dangote, $10.6 billion
  • Mike Adenuga, $9.1 billion
  • Robert Smith, $5 billion
  • David Steward, $3.9 billion
  • Oprah Winfrey, $2.7 billion
  • Strive Masiyiwa, $2.4 billion
  • Patrice Motsepe, $2.3 billion
  • Michael Jordan, $1.9 billion
  • Abdul Samad Rabiu, $1.6 billion
  • Folorunsho Alakija, $1.1 billion
  • Jay-Z, $1 billion
    		• --
    202012:
  • Aliko Dangote, $10.6 billion
  • Mike Adenuga, $9.1 billion
  • Robert Smith, $5 billion
  • David Steward, $4 billion
  • Abdul Samad Rabiu, $3.2 billion
  • Oprah Winfrey, $2.7 billion
  • Strive Masiyiwa, $2.4 billion
  • Patrice Motsepe, $2.3 billion
  • Michael Jordan, $2.1 billion
  • Kanye West, $1.3 billion
  • Folorunsho Alakija, $1.1 billion
  • Jay-Z, $1 billion
    		• 3:
  • Mohammad Al-Amoudi, $8.4 billion
  • Isabel Dos Santos, $2.3 billion
  • Michael Lee-Chin $1.9 billion
  • Alex Karp $1.3 billion
    		• 2,153, Richest: Jeff Bezos $180 billion

    Michael Jackson

    On February 6, 2003, Martin Bashir asked Michael Jackson how much he was worth, and Jackson replied: "It's way up there." Bashir then asked, "A billion dollars?" to which Jackson replied, "It's over there." Bashir asked for confirmation: "Over a billion dollars!" to which the star replied "Yes." Jackson never appeared on the Forbes Billionaire list in his lifetime nor was he ever ranked among Forbes 400 richest Americans. Estimates of Jackson's net worth during his life range from negative $285 million to positive $350 million for 2002, 2003 and 2007. In August 2018 Forbes reported that Jackson's total career pretax earnings in life and death were $4.2 billion.