Forbes Releases 2026 BLK 50 List of Black Americans in Private Capital

More than 30 years have passed since Reginald Lewis became the first Black American to own and operate a billion-dollar corporation. Lewis led the $985 million leveraged buyout of food conglomerate Beatrice International in 1987. By 1991 the Baltimore native had earned a spot on The Forbes 400 with a net worth of $340 million, equivalent to roughly $830 million in current dollars.

Lewis had worked as a corporate attorney for 15 years after graduating from Harvard Law. In 1983 he started TLC Group, a private equity firm. 5 million, investing $1 million of equity and borrowing the remainder. Lewis sold McCall Pattern for $90 million in July 1987.

” Lewis said in 1988 that the McCall deal gave his firm credibility for the Beatrice transaction that followed. For the second annual ForbesBLK 50: Money Masters list, Forbes selected Black Americans working in private equity, private credit and venture capital who are following in Lewis’s footsteps.

Lewis died in 1993 with a net worth of $400 million, or $897 million in today’s dollars.

Returning names from the 2024 list include Robert F. Smith, cofounder of Vista Equity Partners, which has $100 billion in assets. Robert Johnson, cofounder of Black Entertainment Television, returned to the billionaire list. Johnson owns RLJ Equity Partners, which manages more than $150 million in assets, and Forbes estimates his current net worth at $1 billion.

New additions to the billionaire category include David Grain, founder of Grain Management, a private equity firm with $6 billion in assets. 5 billion. 3 billion. The individuals featured on the 2026 list together manage more than $200 billion in assets under management.

, up from 100 firms in 2014. As of 2024, 168 of those firms are Black-owned, compared with 122 in 2022 and 67 in 2020.

Private capital firms are operating in a challenging environment. Competition has intensified, making fundraising and deal pricing difficult. Higher interest rates have increased the cost of leverage, reduced valuations and complicated exits. Potential disruption from artificial intelligence to portfolio companies, particularly in software, is another concern.

President Trump’s actions on diversity-focused initiatives have also affected the sector, according to some participants. Derek Jones, former vice-chairman of investment firm GCM Grosvenor, said the current environment is backward looking in many respects.

Jones added that firms dedicated to diversity connected to performance will succeed. , cofounder and managing partner of FVLCRUM. Carson oversees the firm’s strategy and portfolio, which targets transactions up to $40 million. 8 billion in assets under management, and Ursula Burns, cofounder of Integrum, which has $2.

Burns became the first Black woman to lead an S&P 500 company when she was named CEO of Xerox in 2009. 1 billion.