There are 2,755 billionaires in the world, but only 15 are Black and of that 15, only two are women and nine are American.
Forbes tallies a list of the world’s billionaires annually using a snapshot of financial information including stock prices, exchange rates and more.
15. Tyler Perry ($1 billion)
Perry may have made his bones acting in small stage plays, but today he is a titan in the movie and acting industry. The actor, producer, director, and screenwriter has appeared in dozens of movies of his own making including Temptations: Confessions of A Marriage Counselor and numerous Madea movies. Perry has also appeared in big-budget movies including Gone Girl and Alex Cross, but he also owns Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta. Perry also owns Tyler Perry Studios
in Atlanta.14. Jay-Z ($1.4 billion)
The Brooklyn-born rapper became the first person in hip-hop to hit the billionaire mark in 2019 thanks to a diverse portfolio that includes liquor and clothing and a small stake in the Brooklyn Nets when they first moved to the borough.
13. Strive Masiyiwa ($1.5 billion)
12. Michael Lee-Chin ($1.6 billion)
11. Michael Jordan ($1.6 billion)
The six-time NBA champion still carries many of the sponsorship deals he had as a player including Hanes, Gatorade and Upper Deck trading cards. Additionally, he’s been the majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets NBA franchise since 2010 and still has the world’s most coveted basketball shoe lines of any athlete before or since he retired for the last time in 2003.
10. Rihanna ($1.7 billion)
Her last album dropped in 2016, but the recording artist’s Fenty clothing line. which sells lingerie, underwear, makeup and beauty products has changed both industries, forcing large companies who previously ignored Black women, women of color and their full figures to take them and their more than $2.5 billion in spending power seriously as they have her quickly becoming a multi-billionaire
9. Kanye West ($1.8 billion)
The musician has jumped into the fashion industry head first and is making bank. the college dropout sports a multi-year deal to design sneaker brand Yeezy for Adidas. West also has a multi-year deal with Gap.
8. Alex Karp ($2.1 billion)
7. Oprah Winfrey ($2.7 billion)
Orpah has spent more than two decades building a media and entertainment empire and her name on the billionaire’s list proves it. The former talk show host owns a state in Weight Watchers, has a partnership with Apple and has donated more than half a billion dollars to various causes in America and Africa including the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa.
6. Patrice Motsepe ($2.9 billion)
5. David Steward ($3.7 billion)
4. Abdulsamad Rabiu ($4.9 billion)
3. Robert Smith ($6 billion)
Robert F. Smith became a billionaire through the private equity firm Vista Equity Partners
, which he founded in 2000. Smith made headlines last year when he promised to pay off the student debt of the 2021 Morehouse College graduating class.2. Mike Adenuga ($6.1 billion)
1. Aliko Dangote ($11.5 billion)
Dangote is currently the richest Black man on Earth. Dangote, who was born in Kano, Nigeria, is worth more than $10 billion according to Forbes and is overseeing the construction of what will be one of the world’s largest oil refineries, which is expected to end the country’s dependence on foreign refined oil. Once completed, the refinery is expected to produce 650,000 barrels of refined oil per day.