3 Black Celebrities Who Are Officially Billionaires and How They Did It
When we think of rich celebrities, we often imagine dazzling vehicles, lavish villas, diamonds, and a net worth of hundreds of millions.
While many celebrities are rich, there are some who have crossed the billionaire mark! Read on to find out who the top richest black American celebrities are, in ascending order:
3- Jay-Z (Net Worth $1.3 billion)
The Forbes billionaire list includes Jay-Z as one of the few billionaire celebrities. Apart from being an amazing rapper, Jay-Z has amassed a fortune by making the right investments at the right time. He has invested more than $425 million in companies such as Uber, Ethos, Sweetgreen, Outly, and Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
In 2021, he sold his streaming service Tidal to Square (Jack Dorsey’s company) for $300 million. He also made fortune last year when he sold 50% of his champagne brand, Armand de Brignac to luxury conglomerate LVMH for $640 million. His music catalog alone is worth $200 million.
2- Oprah Winfrey (Net Worth $3.5 billion)
One of the richest self-made women in history, Oprah Winfrey caught the attention of every eye when she got to host her morning talk show in Chicago (she signed a $1 million contract for 4-years). Her show remained number 1 on the charts and ultimately, she became a national phenomenon. Oprah was directed to Jeffrey Jacobs by Roger Ebert. Jacobs explained to her that you need to be an owner to get the share you are expecting. Oprah and Jeffrey then founded HARPO productions, where Oprah held 90% of the equity.
She then produced “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and sold the show. As a result of the agreement with ABC, they moved on to produce movies, and magazines, as well as launch other shows and projects under one production umbrella. Oprah bought King World for $2.5 billion. She owns 1% of CBS and she also has a significant share in Disney stock. She was also awarded shares of around $43.5 million which has even been valued at $400 million over the past years. She even earned $300 million per year from her “The Oprah Winfrey Show”.
1- Kanye West (Net Worth 6.6 billion)
Kanye West is officially the richest black man in America. Kanye owns Yeezy Apparel Line (he owns 100% equity). In 2021, the company generated a profit of $1 billion, and the brand itself is valued at $3-5 billion. Yeezy has a partnership with GAP worth $1 billion. His yearly income is around $100-200 million per year! That’s not to mention his extensive music catalog, which is worth hundreds of millions on its own.
More from Myhapyplace
