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Feb 21, 2024

Question of the Day [Black History Month]: There are 9 Black billionaires in the U.S. How many can you name?

Spanning across multiple different industries, how many of America's Black billionaires can you name?

Answer:

A chart showing America's 9 Black billionaires, their total wealth, and their industry.

Questions:

  1. What patterns do you notice about the sources of wealth for these billionaires?
  2. What types of education or skills might be necessary to achieve success in the industries listed?
  3. Why is it significant to highlight the success of Black individuals in these industries?
  4. In what ways does the increase in the number of Black billionaires both highlight and fail to address wealth inequality?

 

Click here for the ready-to-go slides for this Question of the Day that you can use in your classroom.

 

Behind the Numbers (NCRC):

"There are more billionaires in the United States (735) than anywhere in the world. Though the number of US Black billionaires has increased from one to nine in about 20 years, the rise of the Black billionaire has done nothing to bridge wealth inequality. In 2001, when Johnson and Chin broke the billionaire color barrier, the median wealth of an African American family was about $15,000 according to Dr. Edward Wolff’s research. White median wealth was 10 times that, a little over $150,000. By 2019, median white wealth had risen to $160,000 while Black household wealth had shrunk to $9,000. What had been a 10-to-one median wealth advantage for whites leapt to about 18-to-one in less than two decades."


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NGPF's Entrepreneurship mini-unit will give you lots of tools to get your students thinking like innovators and problem solvers!

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About the Author

Ryan Wood

Ryan is the Partnerships and Adoption Manager for Next Gen Personal Finance’s midwest region. He brings his experience as a former teacher, curriculum designer, and sales and marketing professional to state organizations and school districts in supporting the implementation of their personal financial education efforts. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and earned his teaching credential from Saint Mary’s University in Winona, Minnesota. He proudly taught at two rural high schools in Wisconsin before transitioning to curriculum design at NGPF, and is now excited to be on the front lines in delivering the best possible financial education in the midwest. He and his wife have three beautiful daughters, each of which inspire him to share the impact of being sound financial stewards both at home and as lifelong learners.

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