Forbes Rich List: meet the world’s black billionaires

Published by Kunbi Tinuoye at March 2, 2015

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Forbes has published its 29th annual Billionaire Rich List and of a record 1,826 billionaires only 11 are black.

Nine of the world’s richest black people on the planet are from Africa [Nigeria has five in the exclusive billionaires club] and only 2 are black Americans.

Oprah Winfrey ranks in at number 603. The self-made media mogul has appeared on the list since 2003.

Basketball star Michael Jordan made the cut for the first time. With an estimated net worth of $1 billion, Jordan qualifies as the 1,741st richest person in the world, the magazine said. The 52-year-old is majority owner of the Charlotte Hornets basketball team but is better known for his Hall of Fame playing days.

A record 290 newcomers joined Forbes billionaire list, which includes first timer Nigerian energy magnate, Femi Otedola.

Nigerian cement tycoon, Aliko Dangote, is still the richest black person on earth, with an estimated fortune of $15.7 billion. He is followed by Saudi-Ethiopian construction magnate, Mohammed Al-Amoudi, who is worth $10.8 billion.

Angolan investor Isabel dos Santos and Folorunsho Alakija, alongside Oprah, are still the only black female billionaires on the Forbes billionaires list.

Bill Gates is once again the richest person on the planet. Gates’ net worth rose to $79.2 billion from $76 billion a year earlier, putting the Microsoft Corp co-founder at the top for the 16th year in the last 21.

Mexican telecom mogul Carlos Slim Helu ranked second, worth $77.1 billion, while Berkshire Hathaway Inc chief Warren Buffett was third, at $72.7 billion. Buffett’s fortune grew $14.5 billion from a year earlier, more than anyone’s else, despite his having donated $2.8 billion to several charities last July.

Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, 30, moved up five places to 16th with $35bn. Of the record 197 women, the highest-ranked was Wal-Mart Stores Inc heiress Christy Walton, who was eighth at $41.7 billion.

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Kunbi Tinuoye

Kunbi Tinuoye is the founder and CEO of UrbanGeekz. Previously, she worked as a News Correspondent for NBC’s theGrio. Prior, she was a senior broadcast journalist for the BBC in London. Tinuoye currently sits on the SXSW Pitch Advisory Board and CES Conference Advisory Board. She is a key player in the Atlanta tech startup ecosystem and serves as a mentor for Comcast NBCUniversal’s The Farm Accelerator. Tinuoye has received several awards and accolades, including being honored with a Resolution from the Georgia Legislative.