From the Forbes list of world Billionaires in 2017, out of the total of 2,043 people that made the list, 10 of them are black. This year experienced a reduction of Black Billionaires by 2 since last year has a record of 12. In this post, you will get to see the current top 10 richest black people in the world (including men and women) that made the Forbes list for the year 2017.
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Nigeria’s own Aliko Dangote which is unarguably the richest black man in the world once again tops the Forbes list of Black Billionaires for the year 2017. He has an overall wealth estimated at about $13.8 Billion. On the list, he is followed by Saudi-Ethiopian construction magnate Mohammed Al-Anoudi, who has an estimated worth of $10.2 Billion.
Like I said from the start, two black moguls fell out of this year’s Forbes list of black billionaires. They are none other than Nigerian oil tycoon, Femi Otedola, and cement mogul Abdusalam Rabiu, who is also a Nigerian. Otedola fell out of the list as a result of the plunging share price of his oil company, Forte Oil. Rabiu also experienced a decline due to the devaluation of the Nigerian currency, the Naira.
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The three richest black women in the world still made the Forbes list of back billionaires in 2017. They are Angolan investor, Isabel Santos, American media mogul Oprah Winfrey, and Nigerian Oil mogul Folorunsho Alakija. Now, take a look at those that made the top 10 list below.
Forbes List Of Top 10 Black Billionaires in The world 2017
- Aliko Dangote
Worth: $13.8 billion
Country: Nigeria
Business: Manufacturing; Sugar, Cement, Flour
Aliko Dangote is not only the richest man in Africa, he is also the richest black person in the world. Dangote started his fortune by trading in cement, sugar, and flour, but later he ventured into manufacturing of these commodities himself. “Dangote Cement” is the largest cement manufacturing company in Africa, with operations in several countries in Africa. In January 2017, Dangote made known his plan to establish a $100 million truck manufacturing facility in Lagos, in partnership with a Chinese firm “SINOTRUK”.
- Mohammed Al-Amoudi
Worth: $10.2 billion
Country: Saudi Arabia
Business: Oil, Manufacturing, Mining
Mohammed Al-Amoudi comes second in the list of black billionaires in 2017. He is one of the richest men in the Arab, but he also has deep Ethiopian roots. His mother came from Ethiopia, and Al-Amoudi has been investing heavily in Ethiopia for many years now. Midroc Ethiopia Technology, a company owned by him, has investments in gold mining, agro processing, leather production, transport and construction. Outside of Ethiopia, he also owns oil refineries in counties like Morocco and Sweden and oil fields in West Africa.
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- Mike Adenuga
Worth: $5 billion
Country: Nigeria
Business: Oil, Telecom
Nigerian billionaire, Mike Adenuga was conferred with the Ghanaian national award of “Companion of the Star of Ghana” in October 2016. The award is the highest national honor in Ghana, and it is given to him on account of his extensive investments in the West African country. Adenuga is also one of the top owners of residential and commercial properties in Ghana. “Globacom” Adenuga’s mobile telecom company also has operations in Ghana. Globacom is also the second-largest telecom operator in Nigeria. Adenuga’s fortune also extends to oil and gas. His “Conoil” was the first indigenous oil exploration company in Nigeria to strike oil in commercial quantities in Nigeria.
- Isabel Dos Santos
Worth: $3.5 billion
Country: Angola
Business: Investments
On the fourth position in the list of black billionaires, we are going to take a shift to the female gender. Isabel Dos Santos is the oldest daughter of Angola’s former president and she is the richest woman in Africa. She holds a major stake in Unitel, Angola’s largest mobile phone network, and also in Banco BIC. Outside her country, she owns nearly 6% of the Oil and Gas firm “Galp Energia” (together with Portuguese billionaire Americo Amorim), and nearly 19% of Banco BPI, Angola’s fourth-largest bank. Isabel is also a controlling shareholder of Portuguese cable TV and telecom firm Nos SGPS (formerly known as Zon)
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- Robert Smith
Worth: $3.3 billion
Country: USA
Business: Investments
Robert Smith occupies the 5th position in Forbes list of black billionaires in the world. He is the founder of private equity shop, Vista Equity Partners, in Austin Texas. The firm is best known for fixing up enterprise software outfits. He is happily married to the 2010 Playboy Playmate of the Year Hope Dworaczyk.
- Oprah Winfrey
Worth: $3 billion
Country: USA
Business: Television
The 6th position in Forbes list of black richest people in the world 2017 is also occupied by a woman. Oprah Winfrey, who was once the queen of daytime TV is still the richest African-American woman in the world. Her cable channel, OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network), which was struggling from the onset, is now a means of positive cash flow and it is enjoying soaring ratings on the back series of successful sitcom and drama collaborations with director Tyler Perry.
- Patrice Motsepe
Worth: $1.78 billion
Country: South Africa
Business: Mining, Investments
Initially making his first fortune in mining through African Rainbow Minerals, South African first black billionaire, Patrice Motsepe, is now investing through private equity. Just last year, his new investment company, African Rainbow Capital, has made series of investments in leading financial services companies in South Africa. Patrice Motsepe is also the president and owner of the Mamelodi Sundowns Football Club in South Africa.
- Folorunsho Alakija
Worth: $1.41 billion
Country: Nigeria
Business: Oil
The 8th position of Forbes’s current list of black billionaires is also occupied by a woman, but this time she is from Nigeria. Folorunsho is the founder of Famfa Oil, a Nigerian company that owns a substantial participating interest in OML 127, a lucrative oil block on the Agbami deep-water oil field in Nigeria. In the late ’70s, Foloruhsho started as a secretary in a Nigerian merchant bank. She later quit her job to study fashion design in England. As she returned back to her country, she founded a Nigerian fashion label that catered for top clients which include Maryam Babangida, wife to Nigeria’s former military president, Ibrahim Babangida.
- Michael Jordan
Worth: $1.39 billion
Country: USA
Business: Basketball, Investments
Michael Jordan, which is one of the greatest players in the history of basketball, is a major shareholder of Charlotte Bobcats and enjoys lucrative deals with the likes of Gatorade, Hanes, and Upper Deck. Making the league of black billionaires, his biggest income comes from Brand Jordan, a $1 billion (sales) sportswear partnership with Nike.
- Mohammed Ibrahim
Worth: $1.14 billion
Country: Sudan
Business: Mobile Telecoms, Investments
Mohammed Ibrahim is a Sudanese-British, and he made his initial fortune as the founder of Celtel and African Mobile Phone Company. He sold Celtel to MTC of Kuwait for a whooping sum of $3.4 billion in 2005. He later reinvests through Sativa Capital, a United Kingdom-based, African-focused private equity firm.
These are the top 10 black billionaires that made the current list of Forbes richest black men and women in the world. You can take a look at the previous list from here at Wikipedia. Mind you, this list is updated with time to give you the current and latest information, you can always check on it frequently. Feel free to follow this blog on our various social media platforms to get the latest information that might be useful to you. Or better still, subscribe to our feeds by using the email subscription box found on this page, all recent posts will be forwarded right into your inbox.
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