Forbes released its annual list of billionaires, and out of 600, only four were Black. First is David Steward, who turned a $250,000 investment in 1990 into a billion-dollar operation in the IT field with World Wide Technology. The company did $11.2 billion in sales last year, with clients including Verizon, Citi and the U.S. government.
The 67-year-old Steward is the chairman and majority owner of WWT. Then there is Robert F. Smith, who is the founder, chair and CEO of Vista Equity Partners. His company did an estimated $14 billion in capital last year, with his own net worth now estimated at $5 billion. Next is Oprah Winfrey, with an estimated net worth at $2.5 billion, reports Forbes magazine. Her assets include a large stake in Weight Watchers (estimated at more than $400 million alone), her OWN cable network, Harpo film company and magazine.
The fourth billionaire from the U.S. is basketball legend Michael Jordan, worth an estimated $1.9 billion. Ironically, Jordan only made about $90 million during his stellar basketball career, but through major endorsement deals with firms such as Nike and smart business moves, he made his way into the billionaire’s club.
