FOLORUNSHO ALAKIJA
Alakija , 63 , a Nigerian native , got her ba-ba-billions by starting a fashion empire in Nigeria in the 1980s called Supreme Stitches . According to Time magazine , she took a portion of her profits from that business and acquired an oil-exploration license that earned her and her family a 60 percent stake in a highly profitable oil block . Forbes recently placed her net worth at around S 1.9 billion .
HAJIA BOLA SHAGAYA
Shagaya is at the helm of a Nigerian conglomerate that has holdings in oil , real estate , banking , communications and photography companies . She began her finance career in the auditing department of one of Nigeria ' s central banks and went on to manage her own business enterprises in 1983 . Shagaya , 55 , owns property in Europe and the United States .
ISABEL DOS SANTOS
Dos Santos , 41 , reportedly dislikes the rumors about how she amassed her fortune because her well-connected father-Angola ' s President Jose Eduardo dos Santos-gifted her with a bunch of stakes in several Angolan companies . According to Forbes magazine , she has equity in a telecommunications company , a bank , oil and gas companies , and a cable-TV network .
SHEILA JOHNSON
Johnson , 66 , co-founded the Black Entertainment Television network with now-former husband Robert L . Johnson in 1980 . They sold BET to Viacom for a cool $ 3 billion in 2001 . Each took a share after divorcing , and Sheila Johnson began to manage her own investment portfolio , which consists of holdings in a national hockey team , an NBA team and a WNBA team .
WENDY APPELBAUM
Appelbaum was a director of her billionaire father ' s insurance and real estate company , Liberty Investors , in South Africa . But Appelbaum did more than just sit back and inherit her riches . She sold her shares and invested in ventures that brought her even more millions . She became the deputy chairman of the Women ' s Investment Portfolio Holdings Limited , an investment company owned and operated by black women .
NGINA KENYATTA
Kenyatta , better known as Mama Ngina , is the widow of President Joma Kenyatta , Kenya ' s first leader after the nation gained independence from Britain in 1963 . Since her husband ' s passing , Kenyatta , who turns 82 this year , has taken control of the family business , which has interests in banking , farming , insurance , hospitality , manufacturing estate .
BRIDGETTE RADEBE
Radebe made her millions by digging for it . She ' s the founder of a South African mining firm that specializes in coal , gold , uranium and platinum . Radebe , 55 , learned the mining business by working in managerial positions at some of South Africa ' s most successful mining companies . She is also co-founder of a private-equity firm that makes investments in sub-Saharan Africa ' s mining companies .
World ' s Richest Black Women Diana Ozemebhoya Eromosele Tallahassee , Florida April 2015