The World’s 10 Richest Black Billionaires
In 2017, 10 of the world’s billionaires — fewer than 1 percent — are black, down from 12 last year, reports Forbes.
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Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and may be the richest men in the world, but they aren’t the only billionaires.
There are 2,043 people across the globe with three commas in their net worths, according to the 2017 Forbes Billionaires list. .
In 2017, 10 of the world’s billionaires — fewer than 1 percent — are black, down from 12 last year, reports . Three of the 10 are women. All but one, Isabel Dos Santos, are billed by Forbes as self-made.
To compile the full list, Forbes uses stock prices and exchange rates to estimate the net worths of the world’s richest people, and then ranks them based on their wealth. This year’s list was created using data from Feb.17, 2017, but Forbes also maintains a current snapshot of the world’s billionaires, .
Continue reading to see the richest 10 black billionaires in the world, according to the .
Ben Curtis/APMohammed Ibrahim: $1.14 billion
Self-made billionaire 71-year-old Mohammed Ibrahim was born in Sudan and now lives in the United Kingdom, where . Ibrahim became a billionaire after selling his telecommunications company, Celtel International, in 2005, . Now he spends much of his time focusing on improving the lives of African citizens through the .
Chuck Burton/APMichael Jordan: $1.31 billion
One of the most successful athletes of all time, Michael Jordan, 54, made a total of $90 million as a basketball player, . Since retiring from the NBA, he has amassed the majority of his wealth through his relationship with Nike and other corporate partnerships. Jordan, who also owns a stake in the Charlotte Hornets, now makes more in one year than he did during his entire professional basketball career, as .
APFolorunsho Alakija: $1.61 billion
Folorunso Alakija, vice chair of Nigerian oil company Famfa Oil, got her start in business as the founder of an elite Nigerian fashion label, . The 66 year-old self-made billionaire lives in Lagos, Nigeria, and has four children. Her son, Folarin Alakija, recently married Iranian model Nazanin Jafarian Ghaissarifar, in a lavish, , which took place in England.
Getty/HandoutPatrice Motsepe: $1.81 billion
South-African Patrice Motsepe, 55, founder of the mining company African Rainbow Minerals, was Africa’s first black billionaire. The father of three was also the first African to sign Bill Gates’s Giving Pledge, Motsepe and his wife Precious created the in 1999 to help create new jobs, support education and improve the lives of children, the unemployed and the disabled, among others.
Stephen Lovekin/GettyRobert Smith: $2.5 billion
When Robert Smith, 54, left Goldman Sachs in 2000 to start his own private equity firm, Vista Equity Partners, . But since then, his success and wealth has sky-rocketed, landing him on the . In 2015, Smith wed Hope Dworaczyk, a former Playboy playmate and mother of his young son in an incredible villa on the Amalfi Coast in Italy. The , who resides in Austin, Texas, .
Joe Seer | ShutterstockOprah Winfrey: $3 billion
Oprah Winfrey, 63, is the only African-American woman to make the Forbes billionaire list. to become the well-known and beloved media mogul she is today. While generous with her wealth, Winfrey still . Earlier this year, Winfrey delivered the commencement address at Smith College, telling graduates .
Ian Gavan | GettyIsabel Dos Santos: $3.1 billion
The wealthiest of the three woman to make this list, and the youngest black billionaire in the world, 44 year-old Isabel Dos Santos is the daughter of Jose Eduardo dos Santos, . Her fortune comes from multiple investments, many of which are controversial and linked to her father, , although Dos Santos maintains her investments are private and independent.
Afolabi Sotunde/ReutersMike Adenuga: $6.1 billion
Nigerian Mike Adenuga, 64, is chairman of telecommunications company Globacom, which has 36 million subscribers, as well as the majority owner of Lagos-based oil company Conoil, . While earning an MBA from Pace University in New York, he drove a taxi to pay the bills. Today, Adenuga, who has seven children, is the second-wealthiest man in Nigeria, .
Jordan Pix / GettyMohammed Al Amoudi: $8.4 billion
Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi, 71, moved from Ethiopia to Saudi Arabia when he was 19, and began amassing his fortune from government-contracts in real estate and construction, . Now, the father of eight owns businesses across multiple industries, including oil, mining and agriculture, in Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Sweeden.
Ben Gabbe/GettyAliko Dangote: $12.2 billion
Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and may be the richest men in the world, but they aren’t the only billionaires.
There are 2,043 people across the globe with three commas in their net worths, according to the 2017 Forbes Billionaires list. .
In 2017, 10 of the world’s billionaires — fewer than 1 percent — are black, down from 12 last year, reports . Three of the 10 are women. All but one, Isabel Dos Santos, are billed by Forbes as self-made.
