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The 2025 World's Black Billionaires List Has Been Released, And Together, All Of Them Are Worth A Combined $96B

Black wealth, especially at the billionaire level, remains a statistical anomaly in global finance. But in 2025, that narrative continues to shift — if only incrementally. According to Forbes, out of 3,028 billionaires worldwide, only 23 are Black, representing less than 1% of the list. Despite this underrepresentation, these 23 individuals collectively hold an impressive $96.2 billion in wealth. The figures tell one story. The names behind them tell another story — one of legacy, innovation, cultural power, and long-game strategy. This year, two notable newcomers joined the global roster of Black billionaires: Sheila Johnson, the media and hospitality powerhouse, and Herriot Tabuteau, a biotech founder with a focus on brain health. Both represent not only financial achievement but industry-specific influence in spaces where Black leadership is often overlooked or underestimated. Who’s New To The 2025 Black Billionaires List? Sheila Johnson, widely known as the co-founder of Black...

Apr 8, 2025

Inside Marvin Sapp’s Legacy: From 'Never Would Have Made It' To A $4M Net Worth

Marvin Sapp has long been a pillar of gospel music — but his story isn’t just about hits and accolades. It’s a calling from the divine, a testament to personal resilience, and an unwavering commitment to one’s purpose. With a voice that rings with power and conviction, Sapp has built a legacy that spans faith, music, and community leadership. Marvin Sapp Is More Than A Singer According to Sapp’s church website, the 58-year-old is often quick to clarify his identity: “Not a singer that happens to preach, but a preacher called by God who is gifted to sing.” That dual calling has shaped every step of his journey. From his start singing at the age of 4 to joining the legendary gospel group Commissioned in 1990, and eventually launching his solo career in 1996, Sapp’s artistry has always been an extension of his ministry. As a solo artist, he released influential projects, including “Grace and Mercy,” “Thirsty,” and “Here I Am.” His 2007 hit, “Never Would Have Made It,” became a cultural...

Mar 27, 2025

Chef Kwame Onwuachi Opens An Afro-Caribbean Restaurant In Washington DC, Honoring A Black Mathematician And Astronomer

Award-winning chef Kwame Onwuachi’s new restaurant is honoring a Black mathematician. The Nigerian-American restaurateur, raised in New York City, NY, opened Dōgon on Sept. 9, 2024, inside luxury hotel Salamander Washington DC. The fine-dining establishment’s design honors Benjamin Banneker, a mathematician and astronomer who primarily taught himself by watching the stars and studying math textbooks while on his family’s 100-acre farm in Baltimore, MD, according to the Library of Congress. In 1752, Banneker gained recognition for reportedly creating the first all-wood clock in American history . Nearly four decades later, he was among the individuals responsible for designing and surveying Washington, DC, including choosing the sites of the U.S. Capitol building and the White House, among others. Not only was the new restaurant’s grand opening date chosen to commemorate when DC was officially named in 1791, Onwuachi also pays homage to Banneker’s West African Dogon tribe lineage...

Sep 12, 2024

LeVelle Moton Went From Living In The Projects Of Raleigh, NC, To His Company Leading A $8.3M Affordable Housing Project

An affordable housing project is underway to preserve a Black neighborhood in Raleigh, NC. According to The News & Observer, LeVelle Moton, the North Carolina Central University head basketball coach, will lead an $8.3 million real estate project called Cottages of Idlewild through his company, Raleigh Raised Development, created alongside business partners with CJ Mann and Terrell Midgett. This project aims to support Idlewild, a primarily Black community that was one of Raleigh’s earliest neighborhoods where former slaves achieved homeownership. The outlet notes that as time went on, however, it became harder for the community to afford to live in the area due to gentrification. Cottages of Idlewild will consist of 18 affordable houses on 1.7 acres of city-owned property, backed by assistance from donors, including NC Realtors Housing Foundation, Wells Fargo Foundation, and the Coastal Credit Union Foundation. The venture holds greater significance to Moton because, per the...

Apr 3, 2024

How Jay-Z’s And 50 Cent’s Reebok Reign Led Its Footwear Sales To Jump By A Reported 11% In 2003

Jay-Z is known for breaking barriers in music. However, his secret to reaching billionaire status has been his ability to succeed in areas beyond the billboard charts. Among his various ventures, he reminds the world that the shoe brand Reebok is one of the successes documented in his portfolio. According to Finurah, Jay-Z signed a sneaker deal with Reebok in 2002. In 2003, the rapper became the first non-athlete to sign an endorsement deal with the shoe and apparel company, per ABC News. At the time, record executive Steve Stoute was working with Reebok and convinced Jay-Z to accept the deal; the rapper signed on as a 50/50 partner with the brand. “Jay-Z’s not the ambassador of anything except himself. He was a partner. He was a 50/50 partner,” Stoute said in an interview on “Club Shay Shay.” The first collaboration to result from the partnership was the “S. Carter Collection,” which had a better debut than any of its previous shoes, surpassing the sales of Allen Iverson’s shoe...

Mar 15, 2024

$40M High-Rise Development In Chicago's South Side Led By 5 Black Men Will Later Integrate Youth Entrepreneurship Program

Jemal King is holding on to his commitment to provide financial security to his family. WLS-7 in Chicago, IL, reports King once desired to play in the NFL. However, the goal never materialized, and he chose to become a police officer instead. “I said to myself that just because I didn’t make it to the NFL did not mean that the vision and the dream I had, taking care of my family, that didn’t have to stop,” King told WLS-7. While maintaining his 9-5 job as an officer, King decided to venture into the real estate industry. He saw great success and came to be known as the “9-to-5 millionaire” the outlet notes. King is also part of a real estate group that includes Mark Beaufort, Damen Stuart, Gerald Williams and Johnny Mullins. The five men started the group called “Model of Transformation,” which is behind a $40 million high-rise building that will honor Black American culture. The 17-story development project named “The Xchange” will be located at 72nd Street and Exchange Avenue in...

Feb 26, 2024

How BET's Co-Founder Sheila C. Johnson Became America's First Black-Woman Billionaire, Owner Of 3 Professional Sports Teams, And A Real Estate Mogul

Remember when Beyoncé danced to O.T. Genasis’ hit song “Everybody Mad”? She had the entire “Coachella” audience screaming the iconic line, “I been getting to the money.” Although this is on brand for the Houston, TX, native, a long history of successful Black women can say the same thing about success. This is where Sheila C. Johnson enters the chat. Johnson is the first Black woman to become a billionaire, and her journey toward that fortune is just as fascinating as it is history-making. Born in 1949 and originally from McKeesport, PA — Johnson had a father who was a prominent neurosurgeon and a mother who was an accountant, per Black Past. Both career successes would prove to be a marker for Johnson’s accomplishments throughout her life. According to a Forbes profile, her parents enrolled her in an all-white Kentucky elementary school before desegregation. As a student, she pursued a love for music, becoming a concert violinist during high school. Johnson’s love for music would...

Feb 12, 2024

BET Founder Robert Johnson Proposes $30B Tax Incentive For Investors Who Invest In Black-Owned Businesses

BET’s founder is demanding a change when it comes to Black wealth! Robert Johnson, also the founder of The RLJ Companies, has proposed a new program that would change the way Black-owned businesses gain access to capital. The Better Opportunity and Outcomes for Socially Disadvantaged Talent (BOOST) Act is based on the FCC Tax Certificate Policy which was created in the 1970s as an effort to increase minority ownership of media properties, according to PR Newswire. It is a response to the historic problem of attracting capital, specifically “strategic equity” capital, that Black business owners and socially disadvantaged minorities face — something that has long affected them since before the COVID-19 pandemic. “The biggest challenge to racial equality in our nation is the glaring wealth chasm between Black and white American families,” said Johnson in a news release. “To close that gap, there must be a commitment to finding a workable solution to the lack of capital in the Black...

Apr 26, 2021

America's First Black Woman Billionaire Sheila Johnson Backs Musical Celebrating Black Female Entrepreneurship

Sheila Johnson became the first Black woman billionaire in America when she co-founded BET with her husband, Robert Johnson. At the time, she made headlines by providing the first Black platform for arts and entertainment, and doing so at a time when the Black narrative was either whitewashed to be more palatable to “Middle America” or eliminated from the status quo altogether. Today, Sheila Johnson — who is now 72-years-old and the owner of Salamander Hotels & Resorts — is entering what some might call the “golden years” of her career. And according to CNN, part of those “golden years” involve investing in a new musical called “Grace.” The musical, which was by acclaimed composer and playwright Nolan Williams Jr. and executive producer Dale A. Mott, pays homage to Black culinary history as well as Black women entrepreneurship. Naturally, with these themes resonating so strongly in Johnson’s life, investing in the musical was a foregone conclusion. “If you listen to the music, it...

Meet Sheila C. Johnson, the First Black Woman to Reach a Billion-Dollar Net Worth

We hear stories about Black women millionaires and business leaders but rarely do we get a chance to know the origin stories of Black women billionaires like Sheila C. Johnson — co-founder of BET and CEO of Salamander Hotels and Resorts — who was able to build up her fortune as a trailblazer in business. Born in Pennsylvania to George P. Crump — a neurosurgeon — and Marie Iris Crump — an accountant — and raised in Maywood, Illinois, Johnson grew up to graduate from Proviso East High School in Chicago. She later attended the University of Illinois obtaining a B.A. degree in music. As an accomplished violinist, co-founder of a popular cable network, co-owner of professional sports franchises, CEO of a chain of hotels and resorts, Johnson has amassed quite an accomplished resume all while triumphing some remarkable feats in the industry. Her billionaire mindset didn’t come until later in her career, but Johnson credits her skills as a violinist with shaping her path in business....

Aug 11, 2020

Meet Some of the Richest Black Women in the World

Who runs the world? Black women run the world. In celebration of Women’s History Month, we want to highlight Black women who have been able to break through glass ceilings and find success in financial mobility. These eight women created a seat at their own table becoming independent businesswomen. Get to know some of the richest Black women in the world below: Oprah Winfrey ($2.7 billion) Steve Jennings/Getty Images Media mogul and billionaire Oprah Winfrey built her wealth from the ground up. Her courageous strides in the television industry helped her create a successful media empire that has jumpstarted the careers of hundreds of actors, directors, and producers, according to Forbes . She earned the title as the first Black female billionaire and still reigns supreme as one of the richest Black women in the world. Folorunsho Alakija ($1.7 billion) Twitter / @ROSGMI Meet billionaire businesswoman and philanthropist, Folorunsho Alakija , overseer of several business ventures such...

Mar 8, 2020

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