The richest black person alive is the Nigerian business magnate Aliko Dangote, founder and chairman of the Dangote Group. As of early January 2026, his net worth is estimated to be nearly $30 billion.
Aliko Dangote has been the richest man in Africa for 13 years in a row, with a net worth of around $23.3 billion, and is the richest Black man in the world. Dangote's fortune is primarily built from Dangote Cement, although he started his business empire by selling commodities such as sugar, salt, and flour.
As of early January 2026, Elon Musk is consistently ranked as the world's richest man, leading lists from Forbes and Bloomberg, with significant wealth derived from Tesla, SpaceX, and his various tech ventures, often holding over $600-$700 billion, followed by tech leaders like Larry Page and Jeff Bezos. His fortune has seen significant growth, making him the first person to reach several multi-hundred-billion-dollar milestones, notes Wikipedia.
Africa's Youngest Billionaire Mohammed Dewji Promises To Create 100,000 Jobs In Tanzania. Africa's youngest billionaire, Mohammed Dewji, has promised to create 100,000 Jobs In Tanzania over the next few years.
Dangote 's wealth is estimated $11b, while CR7 is around $900m.
The American business magazine Forbes produces a global list of known U.S. dollar billionaires every year and updates an internet version of this list in real time. The American oil magnate John D. Rockefeller became the world's first confirmed billionaire in 1916.
Jay-Z's fortune now ranks just below Aliko Dangote, Abdul Samad Rabiu, and Mike Adenuga, making him officially wealthier than Femi Otedola, the nation's fourth-richest man.
A trillionaire is someone who has a net worth of one trillion in their local currency; a level of wealth no one has reached as yet, but which is expected to be reached in the near future.
Top 10 Richest Black People on Earth 1) Aliko Dangote - $14 billion 🇳🇬 Nigeria 2) Mike Adenuga - $7.3 billion 🇳🇬 Nigeria 3) Abdulsamad Rabiu - $6.9 billion 🇳🇬 Nigeria 4) Robert F.
Of the nearly 2,800 billionaires in the world, only 21 are Black. That's fewer than 1%. Of those 21, only two are women. Eleven are Americans.
FIRST BLACK BILLIONAIRE Reginald F. Lewis (December 7, 1942 – January 19, 1993), was an American businessman. He was the richest African-American man in the 1980s. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, he grew up in a middle-class neighborhood.
Top 10 Black-owned businesses
Yes, Nike signed Cristiano Ronaldo to a lifetime contract reportedly worth over $1 billion, making him one of only a few athletes (like LeBron James and Michael Jordan) with such a deal, which began around 2016 and pays him tens of millions annually for his ongoing endorsements and massive social media presence.
Nigeria's Aliko Dangote once again topped the list, extending his reign as Africa's richest person to a 14th straight year. His fortune jumped to $23.9 billion from $13.9 billion a year earlier, driven mainly by the addition of the value of his long-awaited oil refinery near Lagos, which began operations in early 2024.
According to Bloomberg, the African billionaire businessman's total fortune is now worth $20 billion, letting him overtake Russian businessman and owner of Chelsea Football Club Roman Abramovich on the publication's billionaires list.
5 Richest Kids in the World
The incredibly wealthy little influencer Muhammed Awal Mustapha, true name Muhammed Awal Mustapha, counts his 25,000 Instagram followers as one of the few tangibles in his existence. Ismailia Mustapha's multimillionaire son from Nigeria, Mompha, inherited his father's love of chains, money, and extravagance.
The number 1 billionaire in the world is Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, consistently holding the top spot with a fluctuating net worth in the hundreds of billions (around $600+ billion in early January 2026), followed closely by figures like Larry Page (Google/Alphabet) and Jeff Bezos (Amazon) as their company valuations shift, according to Forbes and Bloomberg reports.
Kim was officially declared a billionaire by Forbes in 2021 thanks to the unbeatable money machines known as KKW Beauty and SKIMS. Less than a year later, Forbes increased Kim's net worth to $1.7 billion thanks to a new round of funding for SKIMS.
Michael Jordan earns an estimated $250 million per year from his lifetime partnership with Nike through the Air Jordan brand. The payments are not a fixed salary but royalties tied directly to global sales of Air Jordan shoes and apparel. The deal originated in 1984 and remains active decades after Jordan's retirement.
Beyoncé is now a billionaire, according to a report from Forbes – becoming the fifth musician to obtain the status.