Forbes has released its annual Forbes 400 list, which ranks America’s richest people. The magazine featured wealthy individuals with a net worth of at least $3.3 billion, an increase of $400 million from the year before.
In all, the 400 richest people in America this year are worth a record $5.4 trillion, up nearly $1 trillion from last year.
America has around 10 Black billionaires, but only these three were able to make the cutoff grade of $3.3 billion to be included in the list.
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David Steward $11.4 B (84)
By virtue of his rank on Forbes’ 400 richest people in America, David Steward is the richest black man in America. As per Forbes, he has a net worth of $11.4 billion.
The self-made billionaire started his entrepreneurial journey from a humble background and worked his way up the ladder to become successful.
He started his career in St. Louis, where he worked as a substitute teacher while applying for full-time jobs. He briefly became an associate executive for the Boy Scouts of America before joining Wagner Electric Corp. in 1974 as a production manager.
When Wagner Electric Corp. went out of business a year later, he joined Missouri Pacific Railroad Company in 1975 and exited the firm in 1979. While with the company, he worked as a sales representative.
He subsequently moved to Federal Express, where he worked for five years. Steward was so diligent and hardworking, earning him the best salesman at Federal Express. The award, he said in an interview, “was a defining moment. I asked myself, Is this what I want out of life?”
He approached his father for a $2000 loan, which he used to launch Transportation Business Specialists, which audited and reviewed freight- bills and overcharges for the rail industry. He later established a sister company that was in charge of auditing undercharges for railroad companies called Transport Administrative Service.
In 1990, he launched what would later turn out to be his most important business. He founded IT provider World Wide Technology (WWT) with a shoestring budget and with seven employees. Today, the company is one of the largest black-owned IT providers in the U.S., with more than 20 locations across the world. The company provides services for both the American government and private organizations.
Steward is also the founder of Kingdom Capital, a values-driven private investment firm with a focus on early-stage companies with technology-based health and medical solutions. What is more, the billionaire is also the author of two books—DDoing Business by The Good Book, published in 2004, and Leadership by the Good Book, published in 2020.
Robert F. Smith – $10.8 B (88)
Robert F. Smith is the second black entrepreneur to make it on the list of Forbes’ 400 richest in America with a net worth of $10.8 billion.
Smith founded the private equity firm Vista Equity Partners in 2000, which focuses exclusively on investing in software companies. The Denver native and philanthropist made headlines when he paid off the student debts of Morehouse’s graduating class in 2019. Steward occupied the 121st position on the list with a net worth of $7.6 billion.
He made headlines when he paid off the student debts of Morehouse’s graduating class in 2019.
Michael Jordan – $3.5 B (385)
Seen by many as the NBA’s greatest player of all time, Jordan’s salary during his career totaled $90 million, but he has earned $2.4 billion (pre-tax) from corporate partners including Nike, Hanes and Gatorade, Forbes said.
In 2023, he sold his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets, valuing the NBA franchise at $3 billion. Today, he is the third richest Black person in America with a net worth of $3.5 billion.
