David Steward has the highest ranking for a Black Person on the 2024 Forbes 400 list.
His remarkable ascent has seen his net worth soar to an astounding $11.4 billion significant jump from $7.6 billion just a year ago and $6 billion the year before that.
Tied in 84th place with a net worth of $11.4 billion, Steward secured his placement as the founder and chairman of IT provider World Wide Technology. He co-founded the company in 1990 and now holds a majority stake in the $20 billion enterprise, which counts Citi, Verizon, and the federal government among its clients.
Not only does he surpass private equity mogul Robert Smith, whose wealth is estimated at $10.8 billion, but Steward also stands out as one of the few Black entrepreneurs to reach such impressive financial heights.
Steward’s inclusion in the 2024 Forbes 400 is a significant milestone, as he is one of only four Black individuals to make the list. With a minimum net worth requirement of $3.3 billion, this year’s ranking is the most exclusive in its history. Alongside Steward are fellow Black billionaires Robert Smith, Palantir cofounder Alexander Karp, who debuts with a net worth of $3.6 billion, and legendary basketball icon Michael Jordan,valued at approximately $3.5 billion. Despite the growing influence of Black entrepreneurs, they represent just 1% of the overall ranking, underscoring the stark underrepresentation of Black wealth in America’s upper financial echelons.
Steward, 73, comes from humble beginnings in the segregated South. He grew up with seven siblings and a father who worked as a mechanic, janitor, and trash collector. After earning his degree from Central Missouri University, he worked in sales for Missouri Pacific Railroad, Union Pacific, and FedEx before co-founding World Wide Technology. It was still a struggle before finding financial success, as Steward can recall watching his car get repossessed from the office parking lot.
His philanthropic efforts include contributing $1.3 million to the University of Missouri-St. Louis in 2018 to establish the David and Thelma Steward Institute for Jazz Studies. Stewards’ rags to riches story instilled a strong belief in the accessibility of the American Dream.
“The breadth and depth of opportunities we have here, coupled with a culture that allows you to be all you can be, makes it possible for anyone to be successful,” Steward said, as cited by the Horatio Alger Association. “We have a competitive edge over other countries, and it is important for us to preserve that. It’s great that my story is only one of millions in America. I feel blessed to live in this great country.”
Steward is engaged with various organizations dedicated to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion for historically underrepresented communities, including the National Urban League, the Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis, Boy Scouts of America, Boys Hope Girls Hope, BEYA, NPower, the National Minority Supplier Development Council, and the Jackie Joyner-Kersee Foundation.
His family is avid supporters of the family of the late Wendell Scott, the first African American driver in NASCAR and the first to win a race in what is now the Cup Series. Their advocacy played a crucial role in prompting NASCAR to acknowledge Scott’s historic achievement officially, culminating in presenting a long-overdue trophy to Scott’s children and grandchildren in 2021—almost 58 years after the race and 31 years after Scott’s passing.
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