Forbes Richest Black Men in the World (2023)

The Richest Black Men in the World — The “billionaire space” gets crowded by the day and it’s amazing to see black men crowd the list from time to time.

Over the years, a lot of black men have emerged as billionaires across various industries in the world, from entertainment to business and even in the world of sports. Forbes Richest Black Women in the World has also recorded some billionaires.

Becoming a billionaire is definitely a great achievement but maintaining the status earns one more respect. Here are the top 10 richest black men in the world who have managed to remain on the list overtime.

Top 10 Richest Black Men in the World

10. Strive Masiyiwa ($1.5 billion)

Strive Masiyiwa is a Zimbabwean businessman and philanthropist with a family foundation (Higherlife Foundation) where he provides scholarships to young Africans.

He is the founder and Chairman of Econet Global, an international technology group. The London-based business mogul launched Econet Wireless, a mobile phone network in Zimbabwe in 1998.

Masiyiwa equally owns over half of Liquid Telecom, a private company that provides fibre optic and satellite services to telecom firms across Africa. He has stakes in mobile phone networks in Burundi and Lesotho, and investments in fintech and power distribution firms in Africa.

His major source of wealth is Telecom. Between May and October 2022, Masiyiwa moved from being the 6th on the list of richest black men in the world to being the 10th. His net worth as of May 10, 2022 was $4.3 billion, however, at the moment (October 12, 2022), he has a net worth of $1.3 billion. According to Billionaires Africa, the reduction og his net worth is as a result of a “plunge in the shares of his publicly traded companies“.

9. Michael Lee-Chin ($1.6 billion)

Michael Lee-Chin is a Jamaican-Canadian businessman who makes a fortune from investing in financial institutions like National Commercial Bank Jamaica and AIC Limited.

He is the Chairman and CEO of Portland Holdings Inc, a private investment company in Ontario, Canada. He acquired AIC Limited in 1987 and according to Forbes, the company had less than $1 million in assets under management at the time. However, AIC was hit by a recession and had to be sold in 2009.

The majority of his wealth stems from his 60% stake in National Commercial Bank Jamaica. Michael Lee-Chin takes the number 9 spot on the list of Forbes richest black men in the world.

 8. Michael Jordan ($1.7 billion)

Michael Jordan is widely known for his former professional career in basketball. Although Jordan has ended his career in basketball, he maintains his billionaire status via endorsement deals.

He is still actively involved with Nike, Hanes, Gatorade, and Upper Deck. Other brands he worked with are Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, Wheaties, and Chevrolet.

As of 2022, Michael Jordan has a net worth of $1.7 billion, making him the richest NBA player and the 10th richest black man in the world.

7. Kanye West ($400 million)

Kanye West is not only the richest Musician but also one of the richest black men in the world in 2022. He is an African-American whose source of wealth is his music career and his brand “Yeezy”.

According to Finty.com, “West owns 100% of the company and reportedly earns between $150 million to $200 million from the brand every year“.

While his musical career earns him millions, West earns from his footwear company (Yeezy) and often partners with Addidas to launch his products.

6. Patrice Motsepe ($2.5 billion)

Patrice Motsepe is a South African businessman who is famously known to be the first billionaire to emerge from the country. Despite growing up in the Apartheid era, Motsepe has succeeded against all odds among businessmen in the country.

He is the founder and executive chairman of African Rainbow Minerals, a company that has interests in gold, ferrous metals, base metals, and platinum. Additionally, Patrice owns Mamelodi Sundowns F.C, a Premier Soccer League club, Ubuntu-Botho Investments, African Rainbow Capital (ARC), African Rainbow Energy and Power (AREP), and UBI General Partner (Pty) Ltd. He sits as the Deputy Chairman of Sanlam and Chairman of Harmony Gold.

As of October 2022, Patrice Motsepe’s net worth is $2.5 billion, making him one of the richest black men in the world.

5. Abdul Rabiu ($8 billion)

Abdul Rabiu is a Nigerian philanthropist and businessman. He is the founder of BUA Group, a conglomerate in real estate, and cement production amongst others. In 2020, Abdul merged his cement company with Cement Co, a firm he controlled personally. BUA Cement Plc currently trades on the Nigerian stock exchange and owns 98.5% of it.

The businessman started out as a business owner in 1988 with iron, steel and chemical importation and is now one of the most influential black people in the world.

4. Mike Adenuga ($6 billion)

The Nigerian telecommunuication giant, Mike Adenuga was the second on this list of forbes richest black men in the world as of May 10, 2022 with a net worth of over $7 billion. However, his net worth slumped in June 2022 with over $200 million decrease. 

Mike Adenuga made his first million at the age of 26, although he had a very humble beginning. His wealth stems from telecommunication and oil production. His company, Globacom is Nigeria’s second-largest telecom operator with a large presence in Ghana and Benin. He also owns stakes in the Equitorial Trust Bank and oil exploration firm, Conoil (a previously Consolidated Oil Company).

As of December, 2022, Mike Adenuga has an estimated net worth of $6 billion.

3. David Steward ($6 billion)

2. Robert Smith ($8 billion)

Robert Smith is currently the richest black person in America. The black investor is the founder, CEO, and chair of Vista Equity Partners, a firm that has invested in software, data, and technology-enabled organizations since its inception in 2000.

Smith is popularly known to be a pioneer in the private equity investment sector. Vista is currently the 7th largest private equity firm in the world.

With an estimated net worth of $8 billion, Robert Smith takes second place among the richest black men in the world in 2022. He is however the 232nd on the list of the world’s billionaires today.

1. Aliko Dangote ($12.3 billion)

Aliko Dangote is the richest black man in the world. The Nigerian businessman whose company (Dangote Group) is one of the biggest conglomerates in Africa with operations across the continent. Although he also experienced a drop of $2.5 billion in his net worth between May and October 2022, Dangote maintains his spot as the richest black man in the world at the moment.

For over a decade, Dangote has topped the Forbes list of richest men in Africa. Here’s a peep into Dangote’s businesses and achievements:

• He is the founder and Chairman of Africa’s Largest Cement producer- Dangote Cement. He currently holds 85% of publicly-traded Dangote Cement. The company operates in 10 countries across Africa.
• He established the Dangote Fertilizer Plant, Africa’s largest Granulated Urea Fertiliser complex, which occupies 500 hectares of land in Lekki Free Trade Zone, Lagos Nigeria. It was built at a cost of $2.5 Billion.
• Dangote Refinery (currently undergoing construction) is expected to be one of the world’s largest oil refineries once completed.
• Dangote equally owns stakes in publicly-traded salt, sugar, and flour manufacturing companies.

Summary

Here’s a summary of the top 10 richest black men in the world:

1. Aliko Dangote ($12.3 billion)
2. Robert Smith ($8 billion)
3. David Steward ($6 billion)
4. Mike Adenuga ($6 billion)
5. Abdul Rabiu ($8 billion)
6. Patrice Motsepe ($2.5 billion)
7. Kanye West ($400 million)
8. Michael Jordan ($1.7 billion)
9. Michael Lee-Chin ($1.6 billion)
10. Strive Masiyiwa ($1.5 billion)