Feb 03, 2025

Question of the Day [Black History Month]: There are 12 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:

  • David Steward ($11.4 billion)
  • Alex Karp ($3.6 billion)
  • Michael Jordan ($3.5 billion)
  • Oprah Winfrey ($3 billion)
  • Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter” ($2.5 billion)
  • Tope Awotona ($1.4 billion)
  • Tyler Perry ($1.4 billion)
  • Rihanna ($1.4 billion)
  • Tiger Woods ($1.3 billion)
  • LeBron James ($1.2 billion)
  • Magic Johnson ($1.2 billion)
  • Sheila Johnson ($1 billion)

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 (Forbes):

"America’s Black billionaires span across a diverse range of industries and business sectors. Nevertheless, a significant majority of individuals on this list have accumulated the majority of their wealth through sports and the entertainment sector."


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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

Dave Martin

Dave joins NGPF with 15 years of teaching experience in math and computer science. After joining the New York City Teaching Fellows program and earning a Master's degree in Education from Pace University, his teaching career has taken him to New York, New Jersey and a summer in the north of Ghana. Dave firmly believes that financial literacy is vital to creating well-rounded students that are prepared for a complex and highly competitive world. During what free time two young daughters will allow, Dave enjoys video games, Dungeons & Dragons, cooking, gardening, and taking naps.

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