7 African-American Entrepreneurs in the United States Who Continue to Make a Difference

Each year, February is considered as Black History Month in the United States and Canada, and this occasion is especially taken to acknowledge the rewarding presence of the African-American community in North America.

As a matter of fact, in the wake of #BlackLivesMatter, we must take this moment to honor the remarkable role the African-American community has played in making this country what it is today.

This list of black-owned companies will showcase the black community’s contributions to the business world, and the stories of black entrepreneurs featured here can also give you some inspiration to start your own business.

In this overview, we’ll look at successful businesses and their owners and founders from around the world, from big, historical companies to fast-growing small businesses run by young black entrepreneurs.

1. Global Technology

If we are talking about successful black-owned companies, it makes sense to start with the gigantic Global IT technology. The company has over $10 billion in revenue per annum and has a total of 5000 employees, making it a giant in the US corporate sector.

Steward founded his company in Saint Louis, Missouri in 1990, and is still its president today. The company’s success is far from poverty and discrimination with which it grew:

His net worth today is near $4 billion. His company topped the BE 100 list of the nation’s largest black-owned businesses.

2. Natalac Express and Natalac Records

Natalac aka Sheldon Davis is an American rapper, musician, and entrepreneur. The rapper is the founder of a highly successful logistics company, Natalac Express. The company specializes in Chemicals transportation in the United States and has grown into a full size of a fleet.

The entrepreneur, Natalac is known for his business acumen and leadership, which were integral for building the company. Back in 1997, Natalac started with a single truck driven by himself to a major private company today. He has funneled his success into another venture, a record label company called Natalac Records.

3. Blavity

Well, let’s change gear again and head to a recent startup that has grown popular ever since it was founded in 2014. Blavity’s growth has been on the radar of venture capitalists and has won investment rounds of up to $10 million.

4. Gardner Rich & Co

If you’ve seen the 2006 Will Smith movie The Pursuit of Happyness, you already know Chris Gardner. He is popularly known as the founder of brokerage firm Gardner Rich. The film tells the true (well, only slightly adapted) story of Gardner’s struggles to become a stockbroker as he struggles with homelessness and care for his young son. Now Gardner has taken up philanthropy.

5. Millennium Steel Service

One of the most major companies in the USA with a revenue of over $250 million. The Indiana-based company has remained the pinnacle of people of color’s success in the USA.

The company was founded in 2001 by husband and wife team Henry and Andrea Jackson, and Andrea now ran it alone since Henry’s death in 2007. In 2014, President Barack Obama visited the company, and this event remains a milestone in its history.

6. Harpo Inc.

Oprah Winfrey, one of the first few female billionaires in the USA, is a media personality. Still, what made her a billionaire was her business skills and her company, Harpo Inc.

Oprah was able to take control of her show through her company. Instead of receiving paid talent like most television personalities, she received a large portion of the show’s considerable benefits.

Ever since the company has stepped into other media like magazines and its network, and while the Oprah Winfrey Show is a thing of the past, Winfrey and Harpo’s business success continues stronger than ever.

7. Salamander Hotels & Resorts

No, Oprah Winfrey was not the first African American woman to be a billionaire. This remarkable distinction belongs to Sheila Johnson, founder, and CEO of Salamander Hotels & Resorts.

She made much of her fortune as a co-founder of the cable television network BET. She used part of it in 2005 to found Salamander, which operates not only the luxurious Salamander Resort & Spa in Virginia but also a range of hotels and resorts.