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Top 10 Richest Black People In The World

Published

1 year ago

October 21, 2024

In a world where success is often measured by wealth, the richest Black people stand out as remarkable figures.

These individuals are pioneers in diverse fields, from business to entertainment, and their achievements not only shatter barriers but also pave the way for others to follow.

Take a look at the top 10 richest Black people in the world:

David Steward $11.4 billion USA
David Lloyd Steward, born in 1951, is an American billionaire entrepreneur. He is the founder and chairman of World Wide Technology (WWT), which is among the largest African-American-owned companies in the United States. In 2024, Steward was ranked 344th on Forbes’ list of billionaires globally, with an estimated net worth of $11.4 billion.

Aliko Dangote ($11.3 billion)
Aliko Dangote, born on April 10, 1957, is one of the richest Black people in the world. A prominent Nigerian businessman and industrialist, he is notably the first person to build a private oil refinery in Nigeria. As of October 2024, Forbes ranks him as the 211th richest person in the world, with an estimated net worth of $11.2 billion. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, his wealth is estimated at $27.7 billion.

Robert F. Smith ($10.8 billion)
Robert Frederick Smith, born on December 1, 1962, is an American billionaire businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, a private equity firm. Smith earned a chemical engineering degree from Cornell University and later an MBA from Columbia Business School. Before founding his company, he worked as an investment banker at Goldman Sachs. In 2019, during a commencement speech at Morehouse College, Smith made headlines when he pledged to cover the entire $34 million in student loan debt for the graduating class of 2019.

Mike Adenuga ($6.6 billion)
Mike Adenuga, Nigeria’s second wealthiest person, amassed his fortune through telecommunications and oil ventures. His mobile network company, Globacom, is the second-largest in Nigeria, boasting over 60 million subscribers. In addition to telecommunications, Adenuga’s oil company, Conoil Producing, operates six oil blocks in the Niger Delta.

Globacom also established Glo-1, a 6,100-mile submarine internet cable linking the U.K. with Ghana and Portugal. Adenuga holds a 74% stake in publicly traded Conoil and owns just under 6% of Nigerian bank Sterling Financial Holding.

Abdulsamad Rabiu ($ 4.7 billion)
One of the richest Black people in the world, Abdul Samad Isyaku Rabiu is a prominent Nigerian businessman and philanthropist. As of 2024, he ranks as Nigeria’s third richest man. His father, Khalifah Isyaku Rabiu, was one of Nigeria’s leading industrialists in the 1970s and 1980s. Abdul Samad is the founder and chairman of BUA Group, a Nigerian conglomerate focused on manufacturing, infrastructure, and agriculture, generating over $2.5 billion in revenue. He also serves as the chairman of Nigeria’s Bank of Industry (BOI).

In July 2020, Forbes valued his net worth at $3.2 billion, placing him 716th among the world’s billionaires. By January 2022, he was recognised as Nigeria’s second richest person. In April 2022, he ranked as the fifth-richest person in Africa with a fortune of $6.7 billion, and by January 2023, he climbed to fourth on the continent’s wealthiest list.

Michael Jordan ($3.5 billion)
Widely considered the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan won six championships with the Chicago Bulls. Throughout his career, his total salary amounted to $90 million, but his earnings from partnerships with brands like Nike, Hanes, and Gatorade have reached an astounding $2.4 billion (before taxes). In 2020, Jordan became a special advisor and investor for the sports-betting company DraftKings and also co-owned a NASCAR team. In 2023, he sold his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets in a deal that valued the NBA team at $3 billion.

Oprah Winfrey ($3 billion)
Oprah Winfrey turned her 25-year-long talk show into a powerful media and business empire. The profits from her show, combined with earnings from films like ‘The Color Purple’, ‘Beloved’, and ‘Selma’—which were co-produced by her company, Harpo Productions—have brought her wealth to an estimated $2.5 billion.

In 2011, she launched the OWN cable channel and later sold most of her shares in it to Warner Bros. Discovery in 2020, receiving company stock in return.

In 2015, Winfrey purchased a 10% stake in WeightWatchers, and in 2024, she generously donated her shares to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Winfrey also owns an extensive real estate portfolio, including homes in California and more than a dozen properties, along with 2,100 acres of land in Hawaii.

Patrice Motsepe ($3 billion)
Patrice Motsepe, founder and chairman of African Rainbow Minerals, became a billionaire in 2008, making history as the first Black African to appear on the Forbes billionaire list. In 2016, he established African Rainbow Capital, a private equity firm focused on investments across Africa. Motsepe also holds a stake in Sanlam, a publicly traded financial services company, and is the owner and president of the Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club.

In March 2021, he was elected president of the Confederation of African Football (CAF), the governing body for soccer on the continent. His business journey began in 1994 when he became the first Black partner at Johannesburg law firm Bowman Gilfillan, later launching a mining services company. In 1997, Motsepe acquired underperforming gold mine shafts, which he successfully turned around.

Jay-Z ($2.5 billion)
Since becoming hip-hop’s first billionaire in 2019, Jay-Z has significantly increased his wealth, largely due to his successful liquor ventures. In 2021, luxury conglomerate LVMH acquired a 50% stake in his champagne brand, Armand de Brignac, also known as Ace of Spades. In February 2023, he sold a majority of his ownership in his cognac brand, D’Usse, to Bacardi.

Beyond liquor, Jay-Z’s wealth includes assets like an art collection featuring works by Jean-Michel Basquiat, his extensive music catalog, and stakes in companies such as Block and Uber. In 2021, he was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, and in 2022, he won an Emmy for producing the Super Bowl Halftime Show.

Strive Masiyiwa ($1.8 billion)
Strive Masiyiwa faced huge government resistance when he launched the mobile phone network Econet Wireless Zimbabwe in his home country in 1998. He holds a 38% stake in the publicly traded Econet Wireless Zimbabwe, which is part of his larger Econet Group, as well as about 33% of EcoCash, a mobile money transfer company.

Masiyiwa also has an investment in Liquid Intelligent Technologies, a private firm that offers fiber optic and cloud services to telecom companies throughout Africa. His portfolio includes investments in fintech and power distribution companies across the continent, along with stock options in Netflix, where he has been a board member since December 2020. He and his wife, Tsitsi, founded the Higherlife Foundation, which assists orphaned and underprivileged children in Zimbabwe, South Africa, Burundi, and Lesotho.

Headline

British Family Accused Of Boarding Dead Grandmother On EasyJet Flight

Published

8 hours ago

December 20, 2025

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A British family has been accused of trying to board a dead relative onto an EasyJet flight from Málaga, Spain, to London Gatwick on Thursday, passengers said.

The woman, reportedly 89 years old, was wheeled onto the plane by five family members, who told airline staff she was unwell and had fallen asleep.

Witnesses said the woman was pushed in a wheelchair to the rear of the plane and lifted into her seat. Some claimed they overheard a family member tell a boarding clerk, “It’s OK, she’s just tired,” adding, “It’s OK, we’re doctors.”

Just before takeoff, the cabin crew realized the woman had died, and the plane was turned around, delaying the flight by 12 hours.

Petra Boddington, a passenger, said: “easyJet, when did you start letting dead people onto planes? Seriously!” Another, Tracy-Ann Kitching, added: “I saw her being wheeled onto the plane; someone was holding her head as they passed me! A doctor on board confirmed that was already dead when they sat her down.”

EasyJet has denied that a deceased person boarded the plane. The airline said the passenger had a fit-to-fly certificate and was alive when she boarded.

“The flight returned to the stand prior to take-off due to a customer on board requiring urgent medical assistance. The flight was met by emergency services, but sadly the customer passed away,” a spokesperson said.

The Guardia Civil in Málaga confirmed officers attended the aircraft, and the woman was declared dead on board. No arrests have been made.

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Russian Strike On Odesa Region Kills Eight, Injures 27

Published

8 hours ago

December 20, 2025

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Ukraine’s State Emergency Service has reported at least eight people killed and 27 others injured on Friday night after a Russian ballistic missile strike hit the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa.

According to Ukrainian authorities, the attack targeted port infrastructure facilities in the town of Pivdenne, near Odesa, and damaged nearby civilian vehicles.

The strike came one week after much of Odesa was left without power, heat, and water following a “severe” aerial assault.

“Some of the injured were on a bus that was at the epicenter of the shelling. Trucks caught fire in the parking lot, and cars were also damaged,” the State Emergency Service said.

Emergency officials said the deaths occurred at a port infrastructure facility. Medical teams and first responders were deployed after the strike, but their work was disrupted by “ongoing air raid alerts,” according to Oleh Kiper, head of Odesa’s regional administration.

Russia has carried out repeated attacks on Odesa in recent days, damaging port facilities, civilian vessels, and key infrastructure.

Two major bridges linking the northern and southern parts of the Odesa region have also been hit, with repairs under way, Kiper said.

Elsewhere, Ukraine’s State Emergency Service reported a “massive” drone attack on the southern Mykolayiv region, which damaged civilian infrastructure and vehicles. No casualties were reported.

Odesa, Ukraine’s largest seaport and a major hub in the Black Sea region, has been a frequent target since the start of the war.

Last week, civilian, energy, and industrial sites in the city suffered extensive damage after what regional officials described as “one of the enemy’s most severe airstrikes,” leaving many areas without power and water.

Russia’s Defence Ministry has not commented on the attack.

Speaking hours before the strike during his annual Direct Line call-in show, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Russia was yet to “see Ukraine’s readiness for peace”.

“[Russia] is ready for negotiations and for ending the conflict via peaceful means,” Putin said, adding that it was up to Russia’s “Western opponents” to end the war.

(CNN)

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Aircraft Crashes In Owerri With Four Persons Onboard

Published

4 days ago

December 17, 2025

Editor

Photo: File copy

A Cessna 172 aircraft with registration number 5N-ASR, operated by Skypower Express, has crashed at the Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport, Owerri, Imo State.

The aircraft had departed Kaduna International Airport en route to Port Harcourt International Airport before diverting to Owerri after the crew declared an emergency.

The crash occurred at about 8:00 pm on the airport premises, with four passengers and crew members onboard.

Confirming the incident, the Director, Public Affairs and Family Assistance of the Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau (NSIB), Mrs. Bimbo Oladeji, said the agency had been notified of the crash.

According to the NSIB, the aircraft crashed on the approach area of Runway 17, but no fatalities have been recorded so far.

The statement said: “Following the occurrence, airport emergency services were successfully activated and arrived on site promptly. Reports indicate that there was no post-crash fire, and the runway remains active for flight operations, with other aircraft taking off safely after the incident.

“Efforts are currently underway to coordinate the recovery and evacuation of the distressed aircraft from the crash site to allow for a detailed wreckage examination.”

The NSIB said it has officially activated its investigation protocols in line with its statutory mandate

The Director-General of NSIB, Capt. Alex Badeh Jr., sympathised with the management of Skypower Express over the incident and expressed relief that no lives were lost.

Badeh Jr. added that the Bureau’s investigation team is already coordinating with relevant authorities to secure the crash site and commence a detailed investigation into the cause of the accident.

Two days ago, 11 persons narrowly escaped death as a private jet crash-landed at Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport, Kano, on Sunday morning.

The occupants, including passengers and cabin crew, were safely evacuated amid an intense atmosphere, eyewitnesses told The Guardian.

The private jet, owned by Flybird Aviation, crash-landed at about 9:30 a.m. while approaching Kano Airport en route to Abuja.

The incident attracted urgent attention, with emergency staff and other stakeholders converging at the runway to render rescue operations.

The management of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) is yet to release an official statement on the incident. Unofficial sources disclosed that the passengers have been taken to an unknown destination.

Several aircraft incidents have occurred at Kano Airport, with several lives lost.

The last incident occurred in May 2002, when an EAS Airline aircraft departed the runway at Aminu Kano International Airport at 1:29 p.m. local time en route to Lagos.