Black Elites

Markets, capital and the companies redefining the global economy.

Deep reporting on the deals, firms and industries where the next chapter of wealth is being written.

In business

How Justin Samuels Built One of America’s Biggest Tech Conferences by Betting on Atlanta

Most people would have built a major tech conference where the money already was.Justin Samuels didn’t buy it. He bet on Atlanta instead. When Samuels launched RenderATL in 2019, he wanted...

The AI Race Is Getting More Dangerous, Will Black Entrepreneurs Be Users Or Owners?

A recent security incident involving OpenAI and Hugging Face gave us a disturbing glimpse. AI is moving fast. It’s shifting from a simple business tool to a powerful digital instrument. During an...

How Riana Lynn Turned Doubt Into an AI Platform Powering Food Innovation Across 122 Countries

For decades, the global food industry flew blind. Scattered data. Slow lab testing. Pure intuition. That’s how companies tackled everything from product formulation to food allergies. AI was already...

Why Black Tech Entrepreneurs are Skipping Silicon Valley to Buy Boring Businesses

For ten years, the script was rigid. If you were a Black tech operator with talent, you built a deck. You moved to San Francisco or New York. Then you spent eighteen exhausting months begging for a...

Why Ashley Williams Left Journalism to Build RIZZARR

Journalism once seemed like the safe bet.You got influence. Access. A real voice in the room. But by the late 2010s, the industry’s foundations were beginning to crack.Newsrooms were shrinking...

The Clarity Act Could Reshape Crypto—But Will Black Entrepreneurs Finally Benefit?

The Clarity Act could become one of the most consequential cryptocurrency bills the United States has considered in years. A revised version of the legislation would temporarily bar public officials...

Black-Owned Businesses Generated $249 Billion. Why Is Capital Still Missing? 

Black-owned employer firms posted $249 billion in receipts in 2023 and employed an estimated 1.9 million people, according to the Census Bureau’s own count — proof of a...

The $272 Billion Black Consumer Economy Brands Still Misunderstand 

Black households now account for an estimated $272 billion in discretionary spending. That proves market significance. It does not reveal who owns the companies converting that demand into...

Inside Luke Bailey’s 100-Plus VC Pitches, and the 60-Second Reel That Unlocked $4.4 Million

Most founders spend months refining pitch decks, polishing financial models, and preparing for lengthy meetings with investors. By the time they start fundraising, many expect that funding will depend...