Despite the challenges they confront, black entrepreneurs are among the most influential business individuals in the world. They have developed and led some of the world’s largest enterprises in a variety of industries.
According to the United States Census Bureau’s 2021 Annual Business Survey, there are 140,918 Black-owned businesses with employees in the country. According to the research, they earn $141.1 billion in annual revenue and employ 1.3 million people.
In addition, an Intuit QuickBooks analysis on the “Black entrepreneurial experience in America” revealed that “in addition to the pressures of running a business, Black business owners must navigate racism and biases that threaten their success.”
Despite these obstacles, successful black businesses have developed all throughout the world. This magazine features some of the world’s most prominent and significant black entrepreneurs who have altered many industries.
1. Aliko Dangote
Dangote‘s net worth is $12.7 billion, according to Forbes, and 19.0 billion according to Bloomberg. He makes much of his money from Dangote Cement, one of Africa’s most successful and well-known firms. His cement production has a capacity of 48.6 million metric tons per year and operates in ten African countries.
Dangote, in addition to his cement industry, also manufactures sugar and, until recently, fertilizer and oil refinery. He has lately opened one of the world’s largest refineries. Furthermore, he is involved in car assembly under the name Dangote Peugeot Automobiles Nigeria Limited (DPAN). The Land Trek, 3008, 5008, and the new 508 were the first vehicles to be assembled.
2. Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey has established herself as one of the most well-known media figures not only in the United States, but around the world. She began her media career as a teenager and eventually established herself as the queen of talk programs. Her journey has been a roller coaster, yet she has overcome hardships and tragedy to become a global superstar, icon, and entrepreneur with a net worth of over a billion dollars.
While still in high school, she secured a radio job as a co-anchor for the local evening news at the age of 19. She was reassigned to a daytime talk program, which opened up new doors for her. She popularized and changed modern-day television as a chat show host. Winfrey is now one of the world’s wealthiest women.
Apart from being a media figure, she also has a business life that is rarely discussed. Winfrey is an active investor with holdings in various companies. Her multiple enterprises and other money streams helped her become one of the first Black female billionaires.
3. Robert L. Johnson
Robert Johnson is a philanthropist, entrepreneur, media magnate, and investor. He co-founded Black Entertainment Television (BET) and was a previous majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats of North Carolina. He also formed the RLJ Companies, which invests in other companies.
Johnson founded BET after leaving the National Cable and Television Association NCTA as vice president of government relations in 1980. Prior to that, he worked as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s public affairs director and as the National Urban League’s Washington, D.C. office’s director of communications.
On Friday night, he debuted BET, which barely aired for two hours. The first cable television network geared to African Americans took five years to generate a profit. In 1991, it became the first black-controlled firm to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
BET was purchased by Viacom in 2000 for a reported $3 billion, and Johnson served as CEO until 2006. His RLJ holding firm was still making money from its offices all around the world, including one in Monrovia, Liberia. Johnson served on the NBA Board of Governors, The Business Council, and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.
With his 2002 purchase of the Charlotte Bobcats, he became the first African-American majority club owner of a major American sports league, which he sold to Michael Jordan in 2010.
4. Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan became the first athlete to become a billionaire in 2014, thanks in large part to his contract with Nike, which gave birth to Air Jordan.
Jordan, after retiring from the NBA, pursued entrepreneurship and became one of the world’s few Black millionaires. His paycheck from Nike, his main financial and marketing backer, accounts for a sizable portion of his fortune.
Jordan’s 36-year collaboration with Nike has earned him $1.3 billion and counting, and Forbes estimated his net worth to be $1.7 billion in 2022. According to the most recent estimations, his net worth has climbed by $300 million.
According to Forbes, Jordan’s net worth has increased to $2 billion. His net worth is derived on his ownership of the Charlotte Hornets, a professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina, as well as a modest share in DraftKings.
5. Jay-Z
Jay-Z’s net worth is projected to be $2.5 billion as of June 2023. Shawn Carter, the musician-turned-entrepreneur, was born in 1969 and has created a name for himself as one of the top rappers in the world, uncovering music talents. While still engaged in music, he delved into entrepreneurship by launching a number of businesses and startup investments.
According to a recent asset appraisal, the rapper’s move into entrepreneurship paid well, as a series of partnerships saw his net worth climb by 40%. For example, he sold more than half of his share in Tidal, a video and audio streaming business run by Jack Dorsey, to Square, a digital payment company.
Square paid $297 million in cash and shares, while Tidal’s superstar shareholders, including Beyoncé, Madonna, and Rihanna, remained, making them the second-largest co-owners. Jay-Z owns stakes in Uber, SpaceX, and now Square. He owns stock in Oatly, an oatmilk startup.
6. Tyler Perry
Tyler Perry, an American actor, playwright, director, and entrepreneur, began his career in obscurity, as do many successful black people. He grew raised in a poor family with an abusive father. Perry had to create a home in his automobile at one time, but he is now a celebrity billionaire.
With a net worth of $1 billion, the seasoned Hollywood filmmaker and business entrepreneur joined the “billionaires club” in 2020. Perry’s exclusive 100% ownership of his works is acknowledged as one of the contributing elements to his success and ascension up the financial ladder.
According to Forbes, Perry made $300 million in cash and investments, $320 million from his repertoire of movies, series, and plays, $280 million for his 330-acre Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta, $60 million for his BET+ ownership interest, and $40 million in mansions and toys.
7. Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson, born Earvin Johnson Jr., is an NBA Hall of Famer who was honored for the first time in 2002 for his solo career and again in 2010 as a member of the Dream Team. His spectacular NBA career lasted seventeen years, from 1979 to 1996.
Johnson was chosen in 1979 and spent 13 seasons as a point guard for the Los Angeles Lakers. Three NBA MVP Awards, nine NBA Finals appearances, 12 All-Star games, and ten All-NBA First and Second Team nods are among his career accomplishments.
While enjoying his NBA career, Johnson had an eye for business. When his basketball career ended, his desire to become a businessman led him to form a relationship with famed super-agent Michael Ovitz, who taught him how to be a great businesswoman.
He has made one business move after another since leaving the NBA. He owns and operates over 100 Starbucks locations in places such as Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Atlanta, San Diego, Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. He also owned multiple Burger King restaurants in various areas. According to The Sports Rush, he purchased 30 Burger King shops in Atlanta, Birmingham, Dallas, and Miami in 2004 and eventually sold them for $15 million.
Johnson made a significant push into the financial services business in 2015. He expanded his business portfolio by acquiring a 60% stake in a life insurance company. The NBA icon has lately expanded his business empire by becoming an official co-owner of the Washington Commanders.
8. Steve Harvey
Stephen Harvey is a comedian, broadcaster, show host, author, and businessman from the United States. He is well-known for hosting “The Steve Harvey Morning Show” and game series such as “Family Feud” and “Celebrity Family Feud.”
Harvey was born on January 17, 1957, in Welch, West Virginia, to coal miner Jesse Harvey and Eloise Vera. His family moved to Cleveland, Ohio, while he was young, and he attended Glenville High School before going on to Kent State University and subsequently West Virginia University.
In 1990, Harvey made his breakthrough as a finalist in the Second Annual Johnnie Walker National Comedy Search. He took over as host of the TV show “It’s Showtime at the Apollo,” succeeding Mark Curry. That is how he got his start in the comedy business, and he hasn’t looked back since.