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Despite the recent stock market volatility and the impact of risks from inflation and the Russia-Ukraine war on businesses and financial assets, America’s self-made Black businesswomen have weathered the storm, while breaking down barriers and increasing female participation in male-dominated industries.
The following is a list of America’s wealthiest Black women as compiled by Billionaires.Africa.
The ranking was created using data from U.S. business magazine Forbes’ recent ranking of America’s Richest Self-Made Women, which includes entrepreneurs, executives, and entertainers.
Only seven of the 100 self-made ultra-wealthy American women tracked by Forbes were African-American, and they account for $6.68 billion of the trailblazers’ total net worth of $111 billion.
Read Also: 7 richest Black women in the United States in December 2022
The most recent addition to the list is American businesswoman Emma Grede, whose $360-million fortune stems from a variety of ventures, including Kim Kardashian’s shapewear brands, Skims, and Good American, the size-inclusive fashion brand she co-founded with Khloe Kardashian in 2016.
#1 Oprah Winfrey
Net worth: $2.5 billion
Source: Media
With a net worth of $2.5 billion, Oprah Gail Winfrey, a talk show host turned media mogul, is the wealthiest Black woman in America, according to Forbes.
Oprah has transformed her hit talk show, which aired for 25 years, into a media and business empire.
To preserve and grow her fortune over time, the leading media mogul has reinvested profits from her show, as well as profits from films like “The Color Purple,” “Beloved,” and “Selma” into key assets and entities in the media industry.
Her net worth has dropped from $2.6 billion to $2.5 billion since the start of the year.
#2 Robyn “Rihanna” Fenty
Net worth: $1.7 billion
Source: Music and Cosmetics
With a net worth of $1.7 billion, Robyn “Rihanna” Fenty, a renowned musician and cosmetics billionaire dubbed the world’s youngest Black billionaire, is the second-richest Black woman in the United States.
The majority of her $1.7-billion fortune stems from her ownership of Fenty Beauty, a rapidly expanding cosmetics company that sells her makeup and skincare products on Sephora shelves in the United States, Canada, Mexico, France, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia, Singapore, and the Middle East, as well as online to more than 150 countries.
Rihanna’s cosmetics line debuted in 2017 as part of a collaboration with the French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH Mot Hennessy Louis Vuitton.
The company’s revenue will exceed $550 million in 2020.
#3 Sheila Johnson
Net worth: $780 million
Source: CableTV
Sheila Johnson, an American businesswoman who co-founded the cable TV channel BET, or Black Entertainment Network, in 1979, is one of the richest Black women in the world, according to Forbes, with a net worth of $780 million.
Despite being the first African-American woman to have a net worth of at least $1 billion, Johnson’s fortune has fallen from $1 billion to $780 million in recent years.
#4 Janice Bryant Howroyd
Net worth: $630 million
Source: Workforce Solutions
Janice Bryant Howroyd, the leading businesswoman who founded ActOne in 1978 with $1,500 (including a $900 loan from her mother), is one of the richest Black women in the world, with a net worth of $630 million.
Howroyd’s net worth has increased from $285 million in 2020 to $630 million at the time of writing this report. She also owns several dozen properties, including commercial rental properties and residences.
#5 Beyonce Knowles
Net worth: $450 million
Nationality: American
Beyonce Knowles, who made a significant portion of her fortune as a musician, is one of the world’s wealthiest women, with a net worth of $450 million, according to Forbes.
Beyonce has had multiple clothing lines in addition to her successful music career, the most recent being the activewear line Ivy Park, which has an existing partnership with German multinational sportswear maker Adidas.
#6 Emma Grede
Net worth: $360 million
Nationality: American
Emma Grede is the founder and CEO of Good American, a premium apparel label based in the United States that promotes a healthy body ideal with a full and inclusive size range.
She co-founded the company with Khloe Kardashian in 2016. The launch of Good American in October 2016 proved to be the largest apparel launch in history, with sales reaching upwards of one million dollars on the first day, demonstrating a gap in the market prior to Good American’s arrival.
#7 Serena Williams
Net worth: $260 million
Nationality: American
Serena Williams, who has been hampered by injuries as she pursues a record-tying 24th Grand Slam singles title, is one of the world’s wealthiest women, with a net worth of $260 million.
Despite earning $94 million in career prize money, more than any other female athlete, Williams has invested in more than 60 startups through her firm, Serena Ventures. Her firm raised an $111-million initial fund in March 2022.
