Historically, many black businessmen and women have struggled to reach the peak of their enterprises and have quit along the way due to financial challenges. Only a few have been able to withstand the tests and difficulties that come with being a minority business owner.
However, despite these bottlenecks, some entrepreneurs have hit million-dollar status, proving that hard work and determination truly pay off. These entrepreneurs are outside the field of sports and entertainment where minorities easily become millionaires.
From careers in the tax sector to health and wellness, network marketing, and more; here are five black millionaires who are building their wealth outside of sports and entertainment.
Jeff Badu
Born in Ghana, Badu moved to the United States when he was eight years old. Longing for acceptance and validation, he joined a gang for that badly yearned camaraderie. His course would again be changed after his friend was brutally shot five times in the head at a gas-filling station on the morning of October 28, 2014.
Shocked by that experience, the Uptown resident set out to be a serial entrepreneur who's licensed CPA and founder of Badu Enterprises, LLC, a multinational conglomerate that owns several companies.
These include Badu Tax Services, LLC, a CPA firm that specializes in tax preparation, tax planning, and tax representation for individuals and businesses; and Badu Investments, LLC, which is primarily a real estate investment company.
Badu Investments, LLC acquires residential and commercial real estate properties in areas such as the South Side of Chicago in efforts to restore traditionally underserved areas.
Badu started his first business plan as an 18-year-old during his freshman year at the University of Illinois, where he has bachelor's and master's degrees in accounting from the Gies College of Business.
He became a millionaire last year at the age of 25 and wants to be a positive example for Chicago and for the world.
Clarence Wooten
The serial entrepreneur started his journey when he was 28 years old and co-founded ImageCafe.com, a firm that serves up custom Web sites for small businesses on a tight budget, according to the Washington Post.
He started Envision, a company that built three-dimensional animated computer models for architects, and went on to establish other ventures, including ImageCafe.com.
According to Forbes, Wooten was inspired into entrepreneurship by successful businessmen like Bill Gates and Reginald Lewis - who is reportedly the first African American to build a billion-dollar company and was regarded as the richest African American in the 1980s.
In 1999, Wooten was preparing to raise a big venture round when Network Solutions swooped in and acquired ImageCafe.com for $23 million; seven months after launch and just before the dot com bubble popped.
Brian Lee
Lee is the founder of Black Health & Wealth and has a passion for entrepreneurship and healthy living. He's responsible for digital advertising campaigns for some of the largest brands in the United States. Black Health & Wealth was established to amplify Black wealth and economic opportunity, and in the process, create more Black millionaires.
As a seasoned ad executive, Lee has worked for renowned brands like Verizon, Microsoft, and many more. Black Health & Wealth was inspired by his own struggles through the corporate ladder. Coming from a humble background, he aspires to create one million Black millionaires in the next 10 years; thereby creating a modern-day Black Wall Street.
Sevetri Wilson
At the age of 22, Wilson achieved success by building a seven-figure business with zero capital following the death of her mother.
She founded the communications and management firm, Solid Ground Innovations, in 2009, and is also behind New Orleans-based tech startupResilia, which she founded in 2016.
Wilson is also the first Black woman in New Orleans to raise a seven-figure round of funding. She recently raised $11 million in capital for her firm, Resilia.
Resilia makes it easier for nonprofits to file for incorporation and tax exemptions, offering streamlined resources for compliance, training, and fundraising.
Alfred Nickson
Alfred Nickson grew up in relatively deprived conditions in the inner cities of Miami. He was on welfare and has defied all odds to become one of the most successful entrepreneurs in America. From welfare, Nickson is now one of the youngest millionaires in network marketing in the US, reaching millionaire status by age 25.
He started his journey in network marketing when he was only 19 years old. Within three years, he became a six-figure earner and one of the top earners in the company, a very impressive feat for any entrepreneur of his age.
Nickson believes he has always had the gift of a salesman; his sharp rise to making a million dollars was never in doubt.
When Nickson first made a million dollars, the first thing he did was invest in the church. For him, he couldn't have achieved whatever he has in life today without divine intervention.