by BLACK ENTERPRISE Editors
December 17, 2025
Stacker compiled a list of the 11 richest Black billionaires, using Dec. 5, 2025 data from Forbes. Individuals were ranked by their overall wealth ranking, with the richest person taking the No. 1 spot.
America’s Black billionaires: They’re entertainers, media moguls, elite athletes, music artists, tech tycoons, and investors.
Stacker compiled a list of the 11 richest Black billionaires, using data from Forbes as of Dec. 5, 2025. Individuals were ranked by overall wealth, with the richest person taking the No. 1 spot.
America’s Black billionaires represent an array of industries and business ventures; however, over half of those on this list made the bulk of their wealth in the sports or entertainment industries. The people on this list are worth $54.9 billion combined, which is a lot of money—but that’s just about a ninth of the net worth of America’s richest person, Elon Musk, at an estimated $496.7 billion.
The United States is home to the most billionaires of any country represented on Forbes’ Real-Time Billionaires List. Of the 1,000 wealthiest people in the world in 2025, only three are Black billionaires. This wealth gap results from long-standing practices in the United States that denied Black Americans the ability to accumulate wealth while their labor often contributed to the wealth of white Americans. This dates back to slavery and continued with discriminatory practices in the housing and labor markets that have never been fully redressed.
Despite these barriers, America’s Black billionaires have risen to the top tiers of financial success.
#11. LeBron James (tie)
– 2025 net worth: $1.3 billion
– Source of wealth: Basketball
Considered one of the all-time greatest basketball players—on March 4, 2025, he surpassed 50,000 career points—LeBron James is the first active NBA player to make Forbes‘ billionaire list. This Black billionaire started his NBA career at 18 years old with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and he went on to play for the Miami Heat and his current team, the Los Angeles Lakers. Beyond basketball, James makes money through endorsement deals with Pepsi, Walmart, and Nike and has equity in Beats by Dre and Blaze Pizza. In July 2024, James signed a two-year contract extension with the Lakers, worth $101.35 million.
#11. Tiger Woods (tie)
– 2025 net worth: $1.3 billion
– Source of wealth: Golf
Tiger Woods is considered one of the best golfers ever and is tied for first in PGA Tour wins. He is the second active athlete—after LeBron James—to make the Forbes billionaire list. In April 2024, Woods finished the Masters with the highest score of his three-decade-long career.
Beyond golf, Woods makes money through his investments in real estate, a golf course design business, a high-end mini-golf chain, and TMRW Sports, a tech and sports venture he co-founded and used to launch a new golf league, TGL.
#9. Tyler Perry (tie)
– 2025 net worth: $1.4 billion
– Source of wealth: Movies, television
Tyler Perry is a director, actor, producer, and writer who built his empire from movies and television. He owns 100% of his content, including the popular “Madea” franchise. Perry lives in Atlanta, where his 330-acre, 12-stage Tyler Perry Studios is located. Perry is currently one of Hollywood’s biggest moguls, expanding his deals with both Netflix and BET in early 2024. In 2025 alone, he has written, directed, and produced the films “Tyler Perry’s Duplicity,” “Straw,” “Madea’s Destination Wedding,” and “Tyler Perry’s Finding Joy.”
#9. Tope Awotona (tie)
– 2025 net worth: $1.4 billion
– Source of wealth: Software
Tope Awotona is the founder and CEO of Calendly, a software company that automates meeting scheduling. Born in Nigeria, Awotona and his family immigrated to Atlanta when he was a teenager. He has a background in sales for tech companies and founded Calendly in 2013. As of 2025, Awotana is one of the richest immigrants in the U.S.
#7. Magic Johnson
– 2025 net worth: $1.5 billion
– Source of wealth: Basketball, investments
In October 2023, NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson became the fourth athlete to attain billionaire status. Renowned for his creativity on the court throughout his 13-year career, Johnson made most of his money from business deals and investments. He currently owns a highly lucrative majority stake in life-insurance company EquiTrust and has purchased and sold stakes in Starbucks and the Los Angeles Lakers, his former team. Johnson also serves as the chairman and CEO of Magic Johnson Enterprises.
#6. Jay-Z
– 2025 net worth: $2.5 billion
– Source of wealth: Multiple
Jay-Z, born Shawn Carter, is a multihyphenate and hip-hop’s first billionaire. As of August 2025, he is the only rapper to claim a spot on Forbes’ real-time billionaires list. The record producer and entrepreneur is also married to singer Beyoncé. Jay-Z’s wealth comes from his fine art collection, music catalog, the Roc Nation entertainment company he founded, and various brand investments, including liquor, clothing lines, music streaming, a chain of sports bars, and more.
#5. Oprah Winfrey
– 2025 net worth: $3.2 billion
– Source of wealth: TV shows
Oprah Winfrey was the first Black woman billionaire in the U.S. and is the only woman on this list. The foundation of her wealth is her nationally syndicated talk show, “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” which aired for 25 years starting in 1986. Winfrey leveraged her talk show into a media empire that now includes the OWN cable channel and Harpo Productions. Winfrey, born in Mississippi and raised in Milwaukee and Nashville, has made additional money as an actor and an investor in WeightWatchers.
She’s also known for her philanthropy, which is what she says makes her the happiest. “That philosophy of sharing what you have, understanding that all things in life get better when you share it, and when you do something for someone else, the benefit comes back to you as well as to them,” Winfrey told NPR in late 2023. “That’s where I get my great joy.”
#4. Michael Jordan
– 2025 net worth: $3.8 billion
– Source of wealth: Charlotte Hornets, endorsements
Michael Jordan is considered one of the all-time greatest basketball players alongside LeBron James. Jordan won six NBA titles with the Chicago Bulls in the 1990s. A March 2024 report from Sportico found that Jordan is the highest-paid athlete of all time, with his inflation-adjusted earnings coming in at a massive $3.75 billion. Today, his wealth comes from owning the Charlotte Hornets NBA team, co-owning a NASCAR team, investing in DraftKings, and endorsement deals with Nike, Hanes, and Gatorade.
#3. Robert F. Smith
– 2025 net worth: $10 billion
– Source of wealth: Private equity
Robert F. Smith founded Vista Equity Partners, a private equity firm that invests in software companies. Smith grew up in Denver and worked as a chemical engineer before earning his MBA. He started Vista Equity Partners in 2000, and it has posted annual returns of 30% every year. In April 2024, the firm raised over $20 billion for its new fund, its largest to date. Months later, in November, Smith joined the board of directors at Grand Slam Track, an up-and-coming track league. Smith is also a philanthropist who has made a number of notable donations, including $15 million to Cornell University in 2022 to provide financial aid for engineering students from underrepresented communities.
#2. David Steward
– 2025 net worth: $12.4 billion
– Source of wealth: IT provider
The richest Black American is David Steward, the founder of World Wide Technology, an IT provider that helps large companies with digital strategy, technology, and supply chain solutions. Steward also co-founded Telcobuy, a spinoff of World Wide Technology that provides enterprise networking services and data security. In 2023, Steward’s son founded Lion Forge Animation, which seeks to create racially diverse movies and TV shows. The billionaire was born in Chicago and grew up in Missouri.
#1 Topping the Black Billionaires list: Alexander Karp
– 2025 net worth: $16.1 billion
– Source of wealth: Software firm
Alexander Karp is co-founder and CEO of Palantir, a software company specializing in big data analytics driven by artificial intelligence. Palantir does contract work for the Department of Defense, the FBI, and the Danish National Police, which use the platform for defense and intelligence strategy. The Economist named him CEO of the year in 2024, and Time magazine listed him as one of the most influential people of 2025. He made $2 billion selling company stock in 2024, and in 2025, his company was involved in President Donald Trump’s administration. Karp is originally from New York and grew up in Philadelphia; Palantir is headquartered in Denver.
Depending on the economy, the number of Black billionaires will hopefully rise in 2026.
This post was formulated by Slackr.
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