This Tech Entrepreneur Is The Richest Black Person In America

Forbes

More than a dozen Black billionaires live in the U.S., but only these four made the 2024 Forbes 400 list.  Read the full story on Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/jabariyoung/2024/10/02/this-tech-entrepreneur-is-the-richest-black-person-in-america/ Subscribe to FORBES: https://www.youtube.com/user/Forbes?sub_confirmation=1  Fuel your success with Forbes. Gain unlimited access to premium journalism, including breaking news, groundbreaking in-depth reported stories, daily digests and more. Plus, members get a front-row seat at members-only events with leading thinkers and doers, access to premium video that can help you get ahead, an ad-light experience, early access to select products including NFT drops and more:  https://account.forbes.com/membership/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=growth_non-sub_paid_subscribe_ytdescript  Stay Connected Forbes newsletters: https://newsletters.editorial.forbes.com Forbes on Facebook: http://fb.com/forbes Forbes Video on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/forbes Forbes Video on Instagram: http://instagram.com/forbes More From Forbes:  http://forbes.com  Forbes covers the intersection of entrepreneurship, wealth, technology, business and lifestyle with a focus on people and success.

Transcript

00:00Today on Forbes, this tech entrepreneur is the richest black person in America.

00:07The wealthiest black person in America is IT entrepreneur David Stewart, according to

00:12the 2024 Forbes 400 list of wealthiest Americans.

00:16Last week, on October 1st, Forbes revealed its annual ranking, which estimated the Missouri

00:21resident's net worth at a record $11.4 billion, up from $7.6 billion last year and $6 billion

00:28the year before that.

00:30Stewart, who resides in St. Louis, tops private equity billionaire Robert Smith, who is the

00:35second richest, with an estimated net worth of $10.8 billion.

00:40There are two of just four black members on the 2024 ranking, which required a minimum

00:45net worth of $3.3 billion, the most ever.

00:50That means just 1% of the list members are black entrepreneurs or executives.

00:54The other two are Palantir co-founder Alexander Karp, who makes his debut with an estimated

00:59$3.6 billion, and NBA great Michael Jordan, worth an estimated $3.5 billion.

01:06Stewart, who is 73 years old, is the majority owner of Worldwide Technology, or WWT, alongside

01:14partner Jim Cavanaugh.

01:16A native of Clinton, Missouri, Stewart initially put up $250,000 in capital to start WWT in

01:23according to a 2019 Forbes profile.

01:26Over the years, the IT service provider went on to nab top corporate clients, including

01:31Apple, Citi, Microsoft, and the federal government.

01:35In 2023, WWT had sales of $17 billion.

01:41Roughly 67% of the Forbes 400 are self-made this year, including all four of the black

01:46members.

01:47Stewart, though, is among a very elite group of just 25 billionaires who have been given

01:52a maximum 10 on the self-made scorecard, meaning that he is one of just a handful who

01:57truly have rags-to-riches stories.

02:01Stewart grew up in the segregated South with seven siblings.

02:04His father worked as a mechanic, janitor, and trash collector.

02:08After graduating from Central Missouri University, he worked in sales for the Missouri Pacific

02:13Railroad, Union Pacific, and FedEx.

02:16In 1983, Stewart purchased his first business, an auditing company called Transportation

02:22Business Specialists, using loans from community banks throughout Missouri.

02:27In the early days of WWT, which, as we said, he co-founded in 1990, Stewart sometimes went

02:33without a paycheck and once watched his car get repossessed from the office parking lot.

02:38During a lecture in 2013 at the Optical Fiber Communication Conference, Stewart told the

02:43crowd, quote,

02:44You know what it takes to get into business and what it takes to be an entrepreneur?

02:48It takes a little risk.

02:49It takes getting past your fears.

02:51It's having much faith of the possibilities as well.

02:54And being able to put everything on the line because you know you've been called upon to

02:57do something very special.

02:59It doesn't take a whole lot of money.

03:01Overall, Stewart ranks number 84 on the 400 list in 2024, up from number 121 in 2023,

03:10and from number 155 in 2022.

03:13Smith, the CEO of private equity firm Vista Equity Partners, is ranked number 88, up one

03:19spot from last year when he was worth $9.2 billion.

03:23Karp, meanwhile, is one of 23 newcomers to the list.

03:28The trio of Stewart, Smith, and Karp made their wealth in the two most common industries

03:32for the 400 wealthiest Americans, finance and tech.

03:37Jordan made his fortune in sports, but mainly after transitioning from NBA player to NBA

03:42team owner.

03:43Jordan, who ranks number 385 with a net worth of $3.5 billion, first debuted a year ago

03:49after selling his majority stake in the Charlotte Hornets for $3 billion.

03:55Several other black billionaires are part of the 415 Americans who are worth 10 figures

04:00but are still simply not rich enough to make the Forbes 400.

04:05That includes Oprah Winfrey at $3 billion, Shawn Jay-Z Carter at $2.5 billion, Tope Awotona

04:13at $1.4 billion, Tyler Perry at $1.4 billion, Rihanna at $1.4 billion, Tiger Woods at $1.3

04:24billion, LeBron James at $1.2 billion, Magic Johnson at $1.2 billion, and Sheila Johnson

04:32at $1 billion.

04:35For full coverage and to see the whole 2024 Forbes 400 list, check out Jabari Young's

04:40piece on Forbes.com.

04:44This is Kieran Meadows from Forbes.

04:46Thanks for tuning in.

Category

Transcript

Recommended