Black women across the United States, Africa, and the Caribbean continue to build significant fortunes in media, beauty, entertainment, oil and gas, hospitality, and staffing. This article profiles the ten wealthiest Black women in the world in 2026, based on the most recent and credible public reporting available, primarily from Forbes and reputable business press.
A note on methodology before the rankings: net worth estimates for private individuals are not exact figures. They are calculated by financial researchers using publicly available data such as company valuations, real estate holdings, stock stakes, and reported earnings. Figures can shift with market conditions, business performance, and currency fluctuations, so readers should treat the numbers below as informed estimates rather than audited totals.
The list
| Rank | Name | Country/Region | Estimated net worth (2026) | Primary source of wealth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oprah Winfrey | United States | ≈ US$3.2 billion | Media (Harpo Productions, OWN), investments |
| 2 | Beyoncé Knowles-Carter | United States | ≈ US$1.4 billion | Music, touring, Cécred haircare, Parkwood Entertainment |
| 3 | Rihanna (Robyn Fenty) | United States/Barbados | ≈ US$1.4 billion | Fenty Beauty, Savage X Fenty |
| 4 | Folorunsho Alakija | Nigeria | ≈ US$1.0–1.5 billion | Oil and gas (Famfa Oil), real estate, fashion |
| 5 | Sheila Johnson | United States | ≈ US$840 million | BET co-founder, Salamander Hotels and Resorts |
| 6 | Janice Bryant Howroyd | United States | ≈ US$700 million | ActOne Group (staffing and workforce solutions) |
| 7 | Hajia Bola Shagaya | Nigeria | Estimated several hundred million to over US$1 billion | Oil trading, real estate, banking |
| 8 | Serena Williams | United States | ≈ US$240–350 million | Professional tennis, endorsements, Serena Ventures |
| 9 | Wendy Appelbaum | South Africa | Estimated several hundred million | Wine estates (De Morgenzon), family mining inheritance |
| 10 | Ngina Kenyatta | Kenya | Estimated family wealth in the hundreds of millions | Banking, agriculture, media, real estate |
Profiles
1. Oprah Winfrey. Oprah Winfrey remains the richest Black woman in the world. Her fortune stems from more than four decades in media, including the 25-year run of The Oprah Winfrey Show, her cable network OWN, film and television production, and a diversified investment portfolio that includes real estate holdings in California and Hawaii, as well as a stake in Weight Watchers.
2. Beyoncé Knowles-Carter. Beyoncé crossed the billion-dollar threshold for the first time in 2026, according to Forbes’ America’s Richest Self-Made Women list. Her wealth is driven by a music and touring career spanning more than 25 years, most recently the Cowboy Carter Tour, along with her Parkwood Entertainment company, her Cécred haircare line, and her SirDavis whiskey venture with Moët Hennessy.
3. Rihanna. The Barbadian singer and entrepreneur built the bulk of her fortune away from music, through her 50 percent ownership stake in Fenty Beauty and roughly 30 percent stake in Savage X Fenty lingerie. She became a self-made billionaire in 2021 and remains one of the wealthiest entertainers of Caribbean origin.
4. Folorunsho Alakija. A Nigerian businesswoman, Alakija built her fortune through Famfa Oil, in which she holds a majority stake, alongside interests in real estate, printing, and fashion through her Rose of Sharon Group. She is consistently ranked as one of the richest women in Africa, though published estimates of her net worth vary noticeably depending on the valuation source and date.
5. Sheila Johnson. Johnson co-founded Black Entertainment Television (BET) in 1979 and became the first African American woman to attain billionaire status, a title she has since fallen below. She now leads Salamander Hotels and Resorts and holds stakes in several professional sports franchises.
6. Janice Bryant Howroyd. Howroyd founded ActOne Group in 1978 with a small loan from her mother, growing it into the largest minority- and woman-owned workforce management firm in the United States, serving thousands of clients worldwide.
7. Hajia Bola Shagaya. A prominent Nigerian businesswoman with interests spanning oil trading, real estate, photography, aviation, and banking. Her exact net worth is not officially tracked by Forbes, and published figures vary widely across sources, so estimates should be treated with caution.
8. Serena Williams. The retired tennis champion, who won 23 Grand Slam singles titles, has built lasting wealth through endorsements, her production company (behind the Shondaland-produced series Bridgerton on Netflix), and her venture capital firm, Serena Ventures.
9. Wendy Appelbaum. A South African businesswoman and philanthropist, Appelbaum’s wealth traces partly to her family’s historical stake in Anglo American, alongside her own ventures in the wine industry through the De Morgenzon estate.
10. Ngina Kenyatta. The matriarch of Kenya’s Kenyatta family, Ngina Kenyatta’s wealth is tied to extensive family business interests in banking, agriculture, media, and real estate across Kenya. Because much of this wealth is held at the family rather than individual level, independent verification of a personal net worth figure is limited.
Disclaimer
This article is provided for general informational purposes only. Net worth figures for private individuals, including those cited here, are estimates compiled by financial media and researchers; they are not official, audited, or guaranteed figures, and they fluctuate with market conditions, business performance, legal proceedings, and currency exchange rates. Readers should independently verify current figures through primary sources such as Forbes before relying on them for any financial, academic, or business purpose. Nothing in this article constitutes financial advice.
References
Face2Face Africa. (2021, February 3). How Isabel dos Santos, Africa’s richest woman, went broke. https://face2faceafrica.com/article/how-isabel-dos-santos-africas-richest-woman-went-broke/amp
Namibian, The. (2019, December 20). Isabel dos Santos: Angolan billionaire hit with £580m asset freeze. https://www.namibian.com.na/isabel-dos-santos-angolan-billionaire-hit-with-580m-asset-freeze/
UrbanGeekz. (2026, June 10). 4 Black billionaires make Forbes’ 2026 America’s Richest Self-Made Women list. https://urbangeekz.com/2026/06/4-black-billionaires-make-forbes-2026-americas-richest-self-made-women-list/
Billionaires.Africa. (2026, June 2). The richest Black women in America 2026. https://www.billionaires.africa/2026/06/02/the-richest-black-women-in-america-2026/
BusinessDay. (n.d.). With $1.8bn net worth, Folorunsho Alakija makes Forbes World Billionaires List. https://businessday.ng/interview/women-in-business/article/with-1-8bn-net-worth-folorunsho-alakija-makes-forbes-world-billionaires-list/
Rolling Stone Australia. (2022, August 4). Rihanna is officially a billionaire. https://au.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/rihanna-billionaire-28550
Gazette NGR. (2022, August 5). Rihanna debuts on Forbes billionaire list. https://gazettengr.com/rihanna-debuts-on-forbes-billionaire-list/
PrimalMogul AI. (2026, March 13). The top 12 richest Black women entrepreneurs in America (2026). https://primalmogul.com/the-top-12-richest-black-women-entrepreneurs-in-america-2026/
Forbes. (n.d.). Forbes real-time billionaires list. https://www.forbes.com/billionaires/
