How Africa News
The average black family in America makes one-tenth as much money as the average white family and owns less than 1% of the country’s wealth. Numerous reputable media have tracked the development of black families in accumulating generational wealth and ranking among the richest in the world over the past few years.
Black families are demonstrating dominance in entertainment, politics, and industry, but their success stories are still unknown. In this article, we highlight a few Black American families’ success stories and the processes through which they built up their wealth. The ranking is based on projections released by reputable organizations like Forbes, Bloomberg, and other.
Here are seven affluent Black American families whose net worth you probably didn’t know, along with information on how they accomplished it.
The Smith family
Robert F. Smith, usually recognized as the wealthiest Black American with an estimated net worth of $8 billion, is from the Smith family.
In 2000, Robert established Vista Equity Partners, a private equity company that only invests in software firms. According to Forbes, the CEO of Vista Equity Partners and native of Denver will be worth $8 billion on May 15, 2023.
He gained notoriety when he eliminated the 2019 Morehouse graduating class’s student loan burden.
The Steward family
David Steward’s family is the Steward family. Steward, who is recognized as the second richest man in America, is responsible for the prosperity of this family. Steward’s net worth is estimated by Forbes to be $6 billion.
Steward began his career as a substitute teacher in St. Louis while also looking for full-time employment. Before beginning his career as a production manager at Wagner Electric Corp. in 1974, he spent a brief time as an associate executive for the Boy Scouts of America.
The Winfrey family
The Winfrey family is thought to be worth $2.5 billion. The media entrepreneur reportedly made her money by reinvesting the proceeds from her chat show and movies like The Color Purple, Beloved, and Selma, claims Forbes. In 2011, Winfrey introduced the cable network OWN.
She owns a 25.5% stake in the network, which is worth more than $65 million, and a 10% stake in Weight Watchers. She graduated from Tennessee State University with a degree in arts and sciences.
With a net worth of $2.5 billion, Winfrey is one of the wealthiest Black women in the world, according to Forbes. Reinvesting the proceeds from her talk show and movies like The Color Purple, Beloved, and Selma allowed the media tycoon to build her fortune.
The Carter Family
The Carters are a wealthy music mogul and entrepreneur couple in the United States, comprised of Jay-z and Beyonce. The net wealth of the Carter family is reportedly $1.7 billion.
The duo’s debut album, “Everything is Love,” was published in 2018. Additionally, they collaborated on two international tours and created a number of cooperative ventures.
The duo works on individual projects in addition to combined ones. Jay-Z is a musician and entrepreneur; his business endeavors make up a sizable portion of his estimated $2.5 billion net worth.
His extensive music collection, business empire, and endorsement deals are just a few of the things that contribute to his wealth. The business empire holds stakes in SpaceX, Uber, and as of late, Square. Additionally, he has stock in Oatly, an oatmilk company that is anticipated to go public this year for an estimated $10 billion. Jay-Z’s music library, which contains over 300 songs, is also worth $75 million.
Beyonce, on the other hand, has a $400 million personal fortune. She had a career and fortune both inside and outside the studio, much like her husband. She and her husband have invested in several companies together.
She founded 22 Days Nutrition, an on-demand meal delivery service, in 2015 that was centered on the vegan food movement.
Beyonce also debuted Beyonce Heat, her own collection of perfumes. She made $400 million from the product, claims a Forbes story.
However, Tidal, a music streaming service, is her primary source of income. Several stories claim that she receives funding from Tidal.
Beyonce earns money via endorsement deals and social media sharing in addition to her businesses. She became one of the top two paid Black Instagram celebs.
Beyonce and Netflix agreed to a 60 million dollar deal in 2019, and Netflix then aired her Coachella performance. She has additionally served as the spokesperson for companies like Tommy Hilfiger and Giorgio Armani.
She collaborates with Adidas as well. The musician is also a spokeswoman for L’Oreal and runs a streaming music service. She produces movies and promotes Pepsi as well. She recently disclosed that she was planning to invest in a hemp farm in order to produce her own CBD.
The Jordan Family
An estimated $2 billion in wealth belongs to the Jordan family. Michael Jordan, a former NBA great, has made the family renowned.
After playing in the NBA for 13 seasons, Jordan decided to reinvent himself as an entrepreneur. Forbes believes that the former NBA star is worth $2 billion. His income from Nike, who has been his main financial and marketing supporter, accounts for a sizeable portion of his net worth.
The Perrys
Tyler Perry and his family come next. The actor, director, writer, and studio tycoon is now the first Black performer to appear on Forbes’ list of the 10 highest-paid entertainers for the second year in a row.
He earned $175 million in 2022, according to Forbes, from his movies, BET TV series, and his sizable Atlanta production backlot. On Forbes’ list of the highest-paid entertainers, he is ranked third.
With an estimated net worth of $1 billion, he was given the title of billionaire by Forbes in 2020. His fortune includes $300 million in cash and investments, $320 million from his body of work (movies, television shows, plays, etc.), $280 million for his 330-acre Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, $60 million for his stake in BET+, and $40 million in properties and toys.
The Perry Family is worth over $1 billion.
The Young Family
According to estimates, the Dr. Dre family is worth $800 million. Dre is an American rapper, record producer, and businessman.
Co-founded by Dr. Dre, Beat Electronics was bought by Apple for $3.4 billion. He was also a founding member of Aftermaths Entertainment and Death Roll Records.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, he presently has a $500 million net worth. The transactions are anticipated to bring him one step closer to entering the elite group of black billionaires. Dr. Dre earns a living through music and different business ventures.
At the height of his musical career, he reportedly sold hundreds of millions of records and singles. Additionally, he co-founded Beats, a maker of consumer electronics that was eventually acquired by Apple for $3 billion, and received around $750 million from the transaction.
Despite not having released an album since 2015, Forbes stated that in 2020 he was the top-paid musician with $800 million, earning more than Taylor Swift and Beyonce combined. His riches was largely the result of his 20% ownership in Beats Electronics, a division of Apple Inc.
