America’s second-richest Black man David Steward’s wealth soars above $6 billion

Feyisayo Ajayi -

After facing a significant dip in his net worth earlier this year, David Steward, America’s second-richest Black individual, has made a remarkable recovery, with his wealth now exceeding $6 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

As of the time of writing, Steward’s net worth stands at $6 billion, securing his position as America’s second-richest Black individual and placing him at the 434th spot among the world’s wealthiest billionaires.

Steward’s fortune has skyrocketed by more than $1.1 billion recently, rising from $4.87 billion on May 9 to $6 billion. This surge is mainly due to the outstanding performance of his holdings in World Wide Technology, an IT services provider based in St. Louis.

The road to this resurgence was not without challenges, as Steward experienced significant losses between Feb. 20 and May 9, when his wealth dipped from $6.17 billion to $4.87 billion, leading to a temporary exclusion from Bloomberg’s list of the world’s top 500 billionaires.

Thanks to his latest gains, Steward has achieved year-to-date profits of $990 million, making him one of the few Black billionaires who have enjoyed substantial financial growth this year.

Steward’s business interests extend beyond World Wide Technology. He also holds a significant $14-million stake in Centene Corporation, a prominent healthcare services provider operating across the United States.

However, despite his notable resurgence, David Steward remains in the shadow of Robert F. Smith, the founder of Vista Equity Partners, who currently holds the title of America’s richest Black individual with a fortune of $12 billion.

While Robert F. Smith’s fortune has seen a more modest increase of $100 million since the beginning of the year, he has achieved remarkable milestones in other ventures. Notably, leading his technology investment firm, Vista Equity Partners, to broker the $4-billion deal with International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) for the sale of software company Apptio.