Forbes 50 Over 50 2024 List: Meet Some of the Black Women Listed

With age comes wisdom. That’s why the ultra-talented women who’ve made it onto the annual Forbes 50 over 50 list are at the top of their game.

Many of these sheroes have been trailblazers for decades and continue to make an impact well into their fifties. Highlighting a variety of industries, the listicle spotlights artists, investors, investors, and entrepreneurs, among others.

Some of these women are funding the next class of unicorn startups; others are mobilizing their wealth to solve urgent issues, while many are leading dynamic businesses. Below are just some of the women who have been recognized.

Kara Walker

This year, Kara Walker, one of the most complex and acclaimed Black artists in the U.S., added book illustrator to her repertoire. Collaborating with author Jamaica Kincaid on the children’s book “An Encyclopedia of Gardening for Colored Children,” published in May with FSG. 

She has gained national and international recognition for her cut-paper silhouettes depicting historical narratives haunted by sexuality, violence, and subjugation. Her works have been exhibited in galleries and museums worldwide. 

In 1997, at the age of 28, Walker became one of the youngest-ever recipients of the MacArthur Fellowship. In 2002, she was the United States representative to the Biennale de São Paulo, and in 2012, she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Ava DuVernay

Writer and director Ava DuVernay is a visionary tour de force, having been nominated for two Academy Awards and four Golden Globes, including for her works Selma and 13th. Her current work includes her dramatic television series Queen Sugar for The Oprah Winfrey Network. 

Entirely self-taught, DuVernay began her career as a film publicist. Spending time on set around directors, she realized that directing was what she wanted to do. The Hollywood filmmaker is breaking the norm in securing independent financing for her projects. 

She walked away from a deal with Netflix to raise $38 million to make the film herself – with funding from philanthropists such as Melinda French Gates and organizations like the Ford Foundation. She also distributes and amplifies the work of people of color and women directors through her film collective ARRAY, named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in Hollywood for 2016.

LaTosha Brown

In 2016, Brown co-founded Black Voters Matter to increase voter engagement among Black communities by going door-to-door, helping voters with rides to polling places, and increasing the number of on-the-ground poll volunteers. 

In 2023, BVM worked across 184 counties in 24 states. LaTosha Brown has dedicated her life to social justice and creating better opportunities for Black Americans. Defending a classmate in elementary school from some bullies, Brown recognized that something was wrong and stood up for him. 

This formative moment was the first time she found the power of her voice, and it certainly wouldn’t be the last. In 2023, she received Ms. Foundation’s Women of Vision award, and she is now a Senior Practice Fellow at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. 

Related Post: 10 Black Women in Venture Capital Making an Impact

Darlene Goine

When Darlene Goins was appointed as the head of philanthropy and community impact and president of the Wells Fargo Foundation, one of the largest corporate philanthropies in the U.S., she became the first Black woman to lead the organization. 

In her role, she deploys her team of 125 people to advance the economic well-being of marginalized communities and improve their financial health by increasing savings and reducing debt. 

The foundation’s Open for Business Fund, a $420 million effort, has reached more than 203,000 small businesses and helped create more than 245,000 jobs. Goins also serves on the boards of national nonprofits Prosperity Now and the Bank Administration Institute.

Tanya Van Court

Tanya Van Court launched Goalsetter in 2016 with the aim of improving youth and family access to banking and financial education, including tools, investing, and savings. In 2021, it caught the eye of NBA stars Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, and Andre Drummond, who all invested $15 million in the company’s Series A funding round. 

In March this year, Goalsetter announced it closed a $9.6 million Series A extension round. Van Court obtained a degree in industrial engineering from Stamford before embarking on a career in digital strategy and marketing. Inspired by teaching her own daughter financial literacy, Van Court decided to found GoalSetter. 

Van Court says participants in Goalsetter’s programs see a nearly 50% increase in their financial aptitude. Van Court has prioritized lives impacted instead of revenue attained, a mantra that has attracted the best employees, investments, and membership.

Ayana Howard

Ayanna Howard is a roboticist, educator, and founder of the non-profit company Zyrobotics. Based on her research, Zyrobotics develops mobile therapy and educational products for children with special needs. As a little girl, Howard’s favorite TV show was The Bionic Woman, which propelled her into a career in robotics. 

She received her B.S. in engineering from Brown University and her M.S. and Ph.D. from USC. She spent 12 years at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where she worked on a space robot designed to collect data on Mars and on a group of small snowmobile robots that can explore icy terrain impacted by climate change. 

After leaving NASA, she founded her own Zyrobotics. This company uses machine learning and robots to make educational toys for kids, with an emphasis on helping kids with learning disabilities. In 2021, she became the first woman to lead The Ohio State College of Engineering.

Related Post: 10 Black Women Making Waves in AI

Sharon Bowen

In 2021, Sharon Bowen became chair of the Board of Directors of the New York Stock Exchange, making her the first Black woman ever to hold the position. Before that, she made history as the first African American to serve as the Commissioner of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission following her appointment in 2014. 

Her journey began as a remarkable student at an all-Black elementary school in Virginia, and she has since garnered over 30 years of experience in business law as a partner and associate. Former President Barack Obama picked her to serve as vice chair and acting chair of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation.  “Being the first woman, being the first woman of color just symbolizes where we are as a country,” she says of these accomplishments.

Gayle Jennings-O’Byrne

Venture capitalist Gayle Jennings-O’Byrne launched the Wocstar Fund in 2018 to make early-stage investments in women entrepreneurs of color. Jennings-O’Byrne also helps the founders in her portfolio sign collaboration deals with companies like REI and Ulta. 

In the years since the fund was launched, it has also given rise to the Wocstar Media Foundation, which supports and incubates diverse artists, actors, and filmmakers. With three decades of experience on Wall Street, in technology, and philanthropy, Jennings-O’Byrne also spent several years at JP Morgan Chase. 

Inspired by her time at Silicon Valley, where she was surrounded by women in maths and reminded of her mother’s work as a coder, she set out to change Wocstar and alter the trajectories of many women across the country.