Black billionaires

Aliko Dangote, the world's wealthiest black person

Oprah Winfrey at the White House in 2010, the first female black billionaire and the only black billionaire from 2004 to 2006

According to Forbes 2014 ranking of the world's billionaires, Nigerian business magnate Aliko Dangote with a net worth of $25 billion is the world's richest black person.^[1] Others on the list are Nigeria's Mike Adenuga with $4.6 billion,^[2] American media mogul Oprah Winfrey with a net worth of $3.9 billion (2015) and South African gold magnate Patrice Motsepe, with $2.9 billion, Nigeria's Folorunsho Alakija with $2.5 billion and Mo Ibrahim, a British billionaire of Sudanese Nubian ancestry,^[3] who has been on the Forbes Billionaire list since 2008 and in 2012 had a net worth of $1.1 billion.^[4]

In the years since, American investor Robert Smith, with a net worth of $3.0 billion, and American sports executive Michael Jordan, with $1.1 billion, have risen to the list.

From 2001 to 2003, Forbes listed American television network executive Bob Johnson as a billionaire,^[5] but dropped him after his fortune was split in his divorce.^[6] He returned to Forbes Billionaire list in 2007 with a net worth of $1.1 billion. In 2008 Johnson's wealth dropped again, this time to approximately $1.0 billion ^[7] and by 2009 he fell off the list again. Nigerian petroleum executive Femi Otedola briefly emerged as a billionaire in 2009, but did not remain one in subsequent years. He returned to the list in the company of a fellow Nigerian, sugar tycoon Abdul Samad Rabiu, in 2016, but both were dropped from the rankings the following year. ^[8]

Multiracial billionaires with significant black ancestry have also been identified over the years. Saudi Arabian billionaire Mohammed Al Amoudi, of Hadhrami Yemeni and Ethiopian descent, has been on the Forbes billionaire list since 2002 and in 2012 had a net worth of $12.5 billion.^[9] Michael Lee-Chin of Canada, who is Jamaican of Chinese and Black ancestry was on the list from 2001 to 2010, but dropped off in 2011.^[10] In 2013 Isabel Dos Santos who is of both Black and Middle Eastern ancestry made the list with a $2 billion net worth.

Of all the above-mentioned billionaires identified by Forbes, only Oprah Winfrey qualified for Forbes 2009's list of the world's 20 most powerful billionaires, a list which considered not only wealth, but also market sway and political clout. Winfrey was considered especially powerful because of her influence on American consumer choices and her pivotal role in getting Barack Obama elected.^[11]

Members

Wealth valuations by Forbes magazine

Year	Black billionaires	Bi/Multiracial billionaires with Black ancestry	All billionaires
1996	0	0	423, Richest: Bill Gates $18.5 billion
1997	0	0	224, Richest: Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah $38 billion
1998	0	0	209, Richest: Bill Gates $51 billion
1999	0	0	298, Richest: Bill Gates $55 billion
2000	0	0	322, Richest: Bill Gates $60 billion
2001	1: Bob Johnson $1.6 billion	1: Michael Lee-Chin $1 billion[12]	538, Richest: Bill Gates $58.7 billion
2002	1: Bob Johnson $1 billion	2: Mohammad Al Amoudi $1.5 billion Michael Lee-Chin $1.1 billion[13]	497, Richest: Bill Gates $52.8 billion
2003	2: Bob Johnson $1.2 billion Oprah Winfrey $1 billion[14]	2: Mohammad Al Amoudi $1.5 billion Michael Lee-Chin $1.4 billion[15]	476, Richest: Bill Gates $40.7 billion
2004	1: Oprah Winfrey $1.1 billion	2: Michael Lee-Chin $2.4 billion Mohammad Al Amoudi $1.4 billion [16]	587, Richest: Bill Gates $46.6 billion
2005	1: Oprah Winfrey $1.3 billion	2: Michael Lee-Chin $2.5 billion Mohammad Al Amoud $2.5 billion	691, Richest: Bill Gates $46.5 billion
2006	1: Oprah Winfrey $1.4 billion	2: Mohammad Al Amoudi $6.9 billion Michael Lee-Chin $2.1 billion[17]	793, Richest: Bill Gates $50 billion
2007	2: Oprah Winfrey $1.5 billion Bob Johnson $1.1 billion[18]	2: Mohammad Al Amoudi $8 billion Michael Lee-Chin $1.6 billion[19]	946, Richest: Bill Gates $56 billion
2008	5: Aliko Dangote $3.3 billion Oprah Winfrey $2.5 billion [20] Patrice Motsepe $2.4 billion [21] Mo Ibrahim $2.5 billion [22] Bob Johnson $1 billion [7]	2: Mohammad Al Amoudi $9 billion Michael Lee-Chin $1.8 billion[23]	1,125, Richest: Warren Buffett $62 billion
2009	5: Oprah Winfrey $2.7 billion Aliko Dangote $2.5 billion Mo Ibrahim $2 billion Femi Otedola $1.6 billion Patrice Motsepe $1.3 billion	2: Mohammad Al Amoudi $9 billion Michael Lee-Chin $1 billion[24]	793, Richest: Bill Gates $40 billion
2010	4: Oprah Winfrey $2.4 billion Patrice Motsepe $2.3 billion Aliko Dangote $2.1 billion Mo Ibrahim $2 billion	2: Mohammad Al Amoudi $10 billion Michael Lee-Chin $1 billion[25]	1,011, Richest: Carlos Slim Helu & family $53.5 billion[26]
2011	5: Aliko Dangote $13.8 billion [2] Patrice Motsepe $3.3 billion Oprah Winfrey $2.7 billion Mo Ibrahim $1.8 billion [4] Mike Adenuga $2 billion [2]	1: Mohammad Al Amoudi $12.3 billion	1,210, Richest: Carlos Slim Helu & family $74 billion
2012 [1]	5: Aliko Dangote $11.2 billion [2] Mike Adenuga $4.3 billion [2] Patrice Motsepe $2.7 billion Oprah Winfrey $2.7 billion Mo Ibrahim $1.1 billion [4]	1: Mohammad Al Amoudi $12.3 billion	1,210, Richest: Carlos Slim Helu & family $74 billion
2013	5: Aliko Dangote $16.1 billion [2] Mike Adenuga $4.7 billion Patrice Motsepe $2.9 billion Oprah Winfrey $2.8 billion Mo Ibrahim $1.1 billion [4]	2: Mohammad Al Amoudi $13.5 billion Isabel Dos Santos $2 billion	1,426, Richest: Carlos Slim Helu & family $73 billion
2014	8: Aliko Dangote $25 billion Mike Adenuga $4.6 billion Oprah Winfrey $2.9 billion Patrice Motsepe $2.9 billion Florunsho Alakija $2.5 billion Abdulsmad Rabiu $1.2 billion Mo Ibrahim $1.1 billion [4]	2: Mohammad Al Amoudi $15.3 billion Isabel Dos Santos $3.7 billion	1,645, Richest: Bill Gates $76 billion
2016	10: Aliko Dangote $14.4 billion Mike Adenuga, $9.9 billion Oprah Winfrey $3.1 billion Robert Smith, $2.5 billion Femi Otedola, $1.85 billion Folorunsho Alakija, $1.55 billion Patrice Motsepe $1.15 billion Michael Jordan, $1.14 billion Abdulsmad Rabiu $1.1 billion Mo Ibrahim $1.07 billion [27]	2: Mohammed Al-Amoudi, $8.4 billion Isabel Dos Santos, $3.1 billion

See also

• List of African-American firsts
• Lists of billionaires
• List of countries by the number of billionaires

References