David Steward, America’s second-richest Black individual, has encountered a significant setback in his financial standing.
As the market value of his privately held assets experienced a sustained decline, Steward’s net worth has slumped below $5.5 billion, representing a substantial drop from the $6-billion mark he reached earlier this year.
According to the latest data from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which tracks the fortunes of the world’s 500 wealthiest billionaires,Steward has suffered a staggering $900-million loss in wealth over the past 98 days alone.
This decline in his net worth can be attributed to the depreciation of his holdings in World Wide Technology, an information technology services provider that he closely owns.
At the time of writing, Steward’s net worth stands at about $5.27 billion, placing him at the 476th position among the richest individuals worldwide, based on Bloomberg’s calculations.
It is worth noting that his fortune had dwindled from $6.17 billion since Feb. 20, marking a significant downturn in a relatively short period. World Wide Technology, with an annual revenue of $14.5 billion, accounts for almost all of Steward’s wealth estimate.
The company’s valuation is determined by the enterprise value-to-sales multiple of three publicly traded companies: Insight Enterprises, Eplus, and CDW. Remarkably, Steward’s stake in World Wide Technology accounts for almost the entirety of his $6-billion fortune.
Despite this notable loss, Steward’s net worth has experienced a modest increase of more than $258 million since the start of this year.
This solidifies his position as not only the second-richest Black individual in the United States but also as one of the wealthiest Black billionaires globally, standing alongside influential businessmen such as Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote, Robert F. Smith, the richest Black individual in the United States, and Africa’s first Black billionaire Patrice Motsepe.
In addition to his ownership in World Wide Technology, Steward also holds a significant $14-million stake in Centene Corporation, a leading healthcare services provider operating across the United States.
