David Steward, one of the wealthiest Black businessmen globally and America’s second-richest Black individual, has experienced a substantial decrease in his net worth since mid-February, after a remarkable increase of $1.16 billion in the first 36 days of 2023.
According to data tracked by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which tracks and compares the fortunes of the world’s top 500 wealthiest individuals, reveals that Steward, who ranks as one of the world’s richest black businessmen, has endured a $570-million reduction in his net worth over the past 56 days.
Since Feb. 16, the African-American billionaire who is the co-founder and majority owner of closely held information technology services provider, World Wide Technology, has seen his net worth decline by $570 million, reducing his fortune to $5.6 billion from $6.17 billion.
The decline in his wealth figures can be attributed to the recent pullback in tech company shares, as the valuation of World Wide Technology is based on the enterprise value-to-sales multiple of three publicly traded peer companies – Insight Enterprises, Eplus, and CDW. Steward’s stake in World Wide Technology accounts for almost the entirety of his wealth.
Despite experiencing a decline of $570 million since mid-February, Steward continues to hold the position of America’s second-richest Black individual, with a net worth of $5.6 billion. He trails behind Robert F. Smith, who is not only America’s wealthiest Black billionaire but also the world’s second-richest Black billionaire.
However, the African-American billionaire’s net worth has risen by $584 million since the beginning of this year, making him one of the few Black billionaires who have experienced a significant increase in their wealth in 2023.
In addition to his stake in St. Louis-based World Wide Technology, which provides cloud computing and security services, and digital consulting, Steward holds a $14-million stake in Centene Corporation, a healthcare services provider operating across the United States.
