David Steward America’s Richest Black Billionaire, Loses $500 Million in Net Worth

David Steward, the majority shareholder and co-founder of World Wide Technology (WWT), has seen his net worth dip recently. His fortune, which reached $12.3 billion in April and made him America’s wealthiest Black billionaire, has decreased by half a billion dollars over the last two weeks.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Steward’s net worth dropped from $12.3 billion on April 27 to $11.8 billion. This decline is linked to the recent fall in the market value of his 59-percent stake in WWT, a leading information services and hardware provider.

The decline follows a reassessment by Bloomberg in April that increased WWT’s valuation by $2 billion due to updated financials. Since then, the company’s valuation has decreased notably, impacting David Steward wealth.

Despite the recent $500 million drop in his fortune, Steward’s year-to-date wealth gains are now at $2.31 billion, down from $2.78 billion on April 27. Steward remains among the few Black billionaires to record substantial wealth growth this year.

David Steward leads U.S. Black billionaires despite net worth decline

Despite the recent decline in Steward’s net worth, the tech entrepreneur still maintains his position as America’s richest Black man, ahead of Robert F. Smith, founder and CEO of Vista Equity Partners, who held the top spot from 2018 to April 2024.

However, on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Steward slipped down the global billionaires list, falling from 172nd on April 27 to 184th at the time of this report.

He remains one spot ahead of fellow American billionaire Tilman Fertitta, chairman and chief executive of Fertitta Entertainment, which owns Golden Nugget Casinos and the Landry’s Seafood restaurant chain.