David Steward Richest Black Man with Estimated Worth 0f $11.4 Billion

David Steward has a true rags to riches story.

Black billionaires in sports and entertainment, from LeBron James to Tyler Perry, often get all the headlines.

But one Black billionaire businessman, David Steward, has set the Black billionaire bar extremely high with an estimated worth of $11.4 billion.

Steward heads up World Wide Technology, which is an information technology (IT) management business.

World Wide Technology launched in 1990.

The company has become a solutions provider for more than 80 Fortune 500 companies like Cisco, Verizon and NVIDIA.

The IT company also has the federal government as a client.

World Wide Technology’s website states, “Our expertise in AI, cloud, networking, cybersecurity, data analytics, automation, digital transformation and more allows us to deliver groundbreaking solutions that redefine businesses, revolutionize industries, transform communities and exceed expectations. We don’t just envision a better future—we create it.”

The company is earning more than $20 billion annually and $6 billion internationally.

Steward is tied at 84th in the Forbes 400 richest people’s list.

To get onto this latest Forbes 400 list, a person must have a net worth of $3.3 billon.

While Steward is the richest Black American, he is definitely not the only Black billionaire.

In addition to NBA legend James and entertainment mogul Perry, media mogul Oprah Winfrey, NBA great Michael Jordan, golf superstar Tiger Woods, Calendly software company CEO Tope Awotona, Palantir software company CEO Alexander Karp, hip-hop impresario Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter and Vista Equity Partners CEO Robert F. Smith are members of the exclusive club, according to KTVZ Channel 21 News in Bend, Ore.

BET co-founder Sheila Johnson, music superstar Rihanna and former NBA legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson are also members of the Black billionaire’s club.

Smith is worth $10.8 billion.

Karp is worth $3.6 billion.

Jordan is worth $3.5 billion.

Winfrey is worth $3 billion.

Carter is worth $2.5 billion.

Awotona, Perry and Rihanna are all worth $1.4 billion.

Woods is worth $1.3 billion.

James and “Magic” Johnson are both worth $1.2 billion.

And Sheila Johnson is worth $1 billion.

However, of those billionaires, only Smith, Jordan and Karp made the list of Forbes’ wealthiest 400 people with Steward.

Afrotech reported, “Smith was a former chemical engineer who desired to be on the other side of the equation, eventually forging the launch of Vista Equity Partners in 2000. The private equity firm now has over $100 billion in assets and most recently acquired Smartsheet, an enterprise platform for modern work management, in collaboration with investment management company Blackstone for a reported $8.4 billion. The deal aims to close by Jan. 31, 2025.”

Unfortunately, only one percent of the Forbes 400 were Black entrepreneurs and executives.

According to Forbes, “Steward grew up in the segregated South with seven siblings; his father worked as a mechanic, janitor and trash collector. After graduating from Central Missouri University, he worked in sales for the Missouri Pacific Railroad, Union Pacific and Fed Ex.

“In 1983, Steward purchased his first business—an auditing company called Transportation Business Specialists—using loans from community banks throughout Missouri. In the early days of World Wide Technology…Steward sometimes went without a paycheck and once watched his car get repossessed from the office parking lot.”

Steward said, “You know what it takes to get into business and what it takes to be an entrepreneur? It takes a little risk. It takes getting past your fears. It’s having much faith of the possibilities as well. And being able to put everything on the line because you know you’ve been called upon to do something very special. It doesn’t take a whole lot of money.”

However, he along with the other have made a lot of money thanks to taking those risks.

The two most common businesses for the 400 wealthiest Americans are finance and technology.

Forbes added, “Roughly 67% of The Forbes 400 are self-made, including all four of the Black members. Steward, though is among a very elite group of just 25 billionaires who have been given a maximum 10 on the self-made score card, meaning that he is one of just a handful who truly have rags to riches stories.”

Steward gives credit to America, and the opportunities that the country provides to all, for his rags to riches tale.

He said, “The breadth and depth of opportunities we have here, coupled with a culture that allows you to be all you can be, makes it possible for anyone to be successful. We have a competitive edge over other countries, and it is important for us to preserve that. It’s great that my story is only one of millions in America. I feel blessed to live in this great country.”

And in Black America, entrepreneurs like Steward have shown young Black Americans that many avenues exist to get them into the exclusive billionaire’s club outside of the usual suspects, which are sports and entertainment/media.

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