Success Story

David Steward borrowed $2k to start his first business. He is now worth $6 billion

David Steward is the second richest Black American with a net worth of $6 billion, per Forbes’ estimates. The self-made billionaire started his entrepreneurial journey from a humble background and worked his way up the ladder to become successful.

Born in Chicago in 1951, Steward grew up in segregation with his seven siblings, and at one point, he was the only Black boy in his school. His father worked as a janitor, mechanic, and trash collector.

Steward obtained a B.S. in business in 1973 from Central Missouri State University. He was also awarded Honorary Doctorates of Humane Letters by Harris Stowe State University in 2002 and Lindenwood University in 2010.

Steward 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?”

“That vision sort of hit me then that there was an emptiness and a confinement to working for someone else. That’s when I really started thinking about buying my own business,” he told Horatio Alger Association.

He approached his father for a $2000 loan which he used to launch Transportation Business Specialists, which audited and reviewed freight-bill 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.

WWT notes that it has more than 8,000 employees and generates more than $14.5 billion in annual revenue, according to Bloomberg. The technology services provider specializes in cloud capabilities, data center, and virtualization, security, mobility, and networking technologies along with voice, video, and collaboration solutions.

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 — Doing Business by The Good Book, published in 2004, and Leadership by the Good Book, published in 2020.

The entrepreneur has been married for over 44 years. He has two children and two grandchildren. In addition to his business success, Steward has won several awards. He was recognized as the 2012 Black Engineer of the Year (BEYA) and the 2015 St. Louis Post-Dispatch Citizen of the Year. He and his wife, Thelma, have received the Jane and Whitney Harris St. Louis Community Service Award.

Abu Mubarik

Abu Mubarik is a journalist with years of experience in digital media. He loves football and tennis.

Recent Posts

After being slammed for bragging about being rich, rapper Latto sends fan $2K for rent money

Latto has once again won the hearts of her followers after making a generous donation…

47 mins ago

Man accused of fatally stabbing Walmart worker allegedly gave all African Americans at store ‘dirty looks’

Authorities in Illinois have arrested and charged a man in connection with the fatal stabbing…

1 hour ago

Diddy no longer owner of Revolt TV as new mystery owner takes over: report

Almost a decade ago, Sean "P Diddy" Combs launched a cable music channel called Revolt…

2 hours ago

Krystal Anderson: Longtime Kansas City Chiefs cheerleader dies after stillbirth

Krystal Lakeshia Anderson, a longtime cheerleader for the Kansas City Chiefs and a women’s health…

2 hours ago

Owners of bowling alley where Takeoff was shot blame rapper for his death in response to lawsuit

The owners of the bowling alley where Takeoff was fatally shot are asking a judge…

3 hours ago

How Crawford-Williams started a movement in her apartment that now supports hundreds of small businesses in Detroit

Get to know Jennyfer Crawford-Williams; she is behind All Things Detroit Day, an annual event…

17 hours ago

Two friends treat South African security guard to once in a lifetime helicopter ride over the rainbow nation

Two friends in their 20s made a heartwarming gesture to their apartment's security guard after…

18 hours ago

From errand-runner to multi-business owner, meet 2024 Enterprising Woman of the Year Roslyn Ellerbee

Roslyn Ellerbee, the CEO and founder of Dream Team Digital Marketing, Manifesting Greatness with Roslyn…

19 hours ago

Kevin Hart loses big after selling his Bored Ape NFT, raises concerns over future of NFTs

In 2022, American actor and comedian Kevin Hart joined a growing list of celebrities who…

22 hours ago

Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley makes history again with national coach of the year win

The U.S. Basketball Writers Association has picked South Carolina women's basketball head coach Dawn Staley…

24 hours ago

First grader who overcame trouble hearing accepted into Mensa

Taurian Collins is making waves with his intelligence. The first-grader has already been accepted into…

1 day ago

Halle Berry shares how a doctor misdiagnosed her perimenopause as the ‘worst case of herpes’

During a talk about women’s health with First Lady Jill Biden at Monday’s A Day…

1 day ago

Nicki Minaj and husband ordered to pay $500K to security guard who sued them

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge has ordered rapper Nicki Minaj and her husband…

1 day ago

Nigeria: Chinese businessman sentenced to death for fatally stabbing girlfriend

A 49-year-old Chinese businessman accused of fatally stabbing his Nigerian girlfriend has been sentenced to…

1 day ago

Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse: Baltimore mayor calls for prayers as 6 missing now presumed dead

Six workers who were missing after the Baltimore bridge collapsed are presumed dead, officials said.…

1 day ago