It is no news that Africa as a continent is doing well and getting much more recognition all over the world, we recently talked about the top 10 richest lawyers in Nigeria, but today we are going to focus on Forbes list of top ten richest black women in the world.
These women are well educated, talented, and resourceful and possessed some distinct qualities, they are a force to reckon with as far as the world is concerned.
The list of richest people in Africa is majorly filled with men, but we have to present the black women that are making history too.
The Top 10 Richest Black Women in the World
Table of Contents
Below is the list of the top 10 richest black women in the world;
1. Oprah Winfrey
Net Worth: $2.6Billion
Country: United States
Oprah Winfrey is a famous and renowned TV personality popularly known for her Oprah Winfrey Talk Show. She is well known all over the world and her name should ring a bell. According to the Forbes ranking, Oprah Winfrey is the richest black woman in the world with a net worth of $2.6 billion US dollars.
Not only known for TV presentations, but she is also an actress and a producer. Born on the 29th of January 1954 in Mississippi in the United States.
Oprah made her fortune from the media and is also one of the biggest philanthropists the world ever had, staged as the most influential black woman in the world.
2. Isabel Dos Santos
Net Worth: $1.5Billion
Country: Angola
Isabel Dos Santos was born in Baku, Azerbaijan, on the 1st of April, 1973, though from Angola Isabel Dos Santos is rated as the first African female billionaire and in 2019 as the richest black woman in the world.
The eldest daughter of a former Angolan President Jose Eduardo dos Santos who had his reign as a president from 1979 to 2017. It was said that she was able to make this spot mainly because of her fathers’ influence.
She is a Russian-Angolan businesswoman whose net worth according to Forbes exceeded 2 billion US dollars in 2013 making her the richest woman in Africa as of then.
She is the CEO of Miami Beach Club and also has so many other investments both in Angola and in Portugal.
3. Folorunsho Alakija
Net Worth: $1 Billion
Country: Nigeria
Straight from Africa’s most populous country “Nigeria” comes Folurunsho Alakija, she is the richest woman in Nigeria.
Born on the 15th of July 1951, Folorunso Alakija is a Nigerian billionaire businesswoman. She is involved in the fashion, oil, real estate and printing industries. She is a serious-minded personality and a career woman with a promising future.
Folorunsho Alakija was once the richest black woman in the world, making waves than with the richest man in Africa Aliko Dangote before Isabel Dos Santos beats her to it and later on overtaken by Oprah Winfrey.
Folorunsho Alakija is the current CEO of Rose of Sharon Group and the Chairman of Famfa Oil Limited. Rated as the second most powerful woman in Africa behind the ever mighty Ngozi Okonjo Iweala.
4. Sheila Crump Johnson
Net Worth: $820 million
Country: United States
Sheila Crump Johnson, an African-American woman born in Pennsylvania, in the United States on the 25th of January 1949. According to Forbes Sheila Crump is the first of her kind to garner a net worth of $1 billion in history.
She is the co-founder of BET, CEO of Salamander Hotels and Resorts and beyond being one of the richest black women in the world she has stakes in the Washington Capitals (NHL), Washington Wizards (NBA), and the Washington Mystics (WNBA).
Sheila is a big wig in the entertainment industry and also she is a film producer.
5. Hajia Bola Shagaya
Net Worth: $630 million
Country: Nigeria
Bola Shagaya is a Nigerian Businesswoman from Ilorin, Kwara State in Nigeria, born on the 10th of October 1959. She is one of the richest women to spring out from Africa.
She started her career in the banking sector at the Central Bank of Nigeria before exploring and going into importation and exportation of photographic materials. She is a member of the board Unity Bank, Managing Director of Practoil, and she is the patron of the Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria to crown it all, she is also into real estate, you can see she is loaded.
6. Ngina Kenyatta
Net worth: $515 million
Country: Kenya
Popularly known as Mama Ngina, Ngina Kenyatta is the former First Lady of Kenya, she is the widow of the famous Jomo Kenyatta, the first president of Kenya and she is the mother of the current president of Kenya President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Ngina Kenyatta was born on the 24th of June 1933. Ngina Kenyatta is a stakeholder in almost half of all multinationals in her country Kenya and her net worth is around $515 million.
Her wealth is perceived to be from real estate, farming, banking, and manufacturing.
7. Beyonce Knowles
Net worth: $470 Million
Country: United States
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter is a popular American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, and actress. Beyonce was born on the 4th of September 1981 and raised in Houston.
Beyonce is rated as one of the biggest and most successful female musicians in the world, she is filled with unique talent which has been the source of her performance and prolificacy in her musical career.
She is also married to one of the richest American rappers Jay-Z, they are both swimming in fame and wealth.
8. Wendy Appelbaum
Net Worth: $310 Million
Country: South Africa
Wendy Appelbaum is rated as the richest woman in South Africa and one of the biggest philanthropists in Africa. Born in 1961, the weight of her success was attributed to the influence of her father Donald Gordon.
Appelbaum made the list of Forbes Top 10 female Millionaires to watch in Africa with a net worth of $310 million. She is the present chairman of De Morgenzon Wine Estate in Stellenbosch, South Africa.
9. Rosalind Brewer
Net worth: $13.3 Million
Country: United States
Born in 1962, Rosalind G. Brewer is an African-American businesswoman, she is the COO of Starbucks and the former President and CEO of Sam’s Club, which is a division of the popular Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
She is referred to as “one of corporate America’s most prominent women and black female executives.”
Rosalind Brewer is one of the most influential women in the world and ranked according to Forbes as the 34th most powerful woman in the world.
10. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey
Net Worth: $526, 000
Country: United States
Risa Lavizzo Mourey was born in the U.S. in 1954, she is an American Doctor and CEO executive who served as president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation from 2003 to 2017.
It was a great achievement for her to be the first African to attain the position as the first Black-American to sit in that position.
Conclusion
The richest black women in the world have done a lot of work to build their empires. These women started from humble beginnings and have made their fortunes through innovation, hard work, and determination. They have been successful in their chosen fields, and we can learn a lot from them. If you enjoyed this list of the richest black women in the world, be sure to share it with your friends on social media!