A total of 20 United States (US) immigrants from African countries have been named among the 250 most successful immigrants, according to a BusinessDay analysis of the latest Forbes 250: America’s Most Successful Living Immigrants.
Some of these immigrants include notable individuals like Adebayo Ogunlesi, Angélique Kidjo, Elon Musk, and many others.
The list was recently compiled in commemoration of America’s 250th independence anniversary on July 4, 2026, to highlight immigrants who have helped shape the country through business, science, sports, public service and the arts.
Only 20 Africans account for only eight percent of the total number of immigrants, with South Africa having the highest representation of six, followed by Nigeria with three individuals, Kenya and Morocco with two each, while Egypt, Liberia, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Sudan, Benin, Senegal and Cameroon each have one representative.
Immigrants from Asia/ Middle East had the highest number of representation overall with 101 individuals (40.4 percent of the list), followed by Europe (Russia and Turkey included), with 87 individuals (34.8 percent), North America has 28 individuals(11.2 percent), then South America has nine individuals listed (3.6 percent), while Oceania (Australia) has five individuals (2 percent).
Africa’s share of immigrants trails with Asia and the Middle East, Europe and North America, but it outperforms both South America and Oceania . Africa’s representation is more than double that of South America and four times that of Oceania, but remains well below the three leading regions.
Read also: Meet nine Nigerians in the diaspora betting big on Africa
According to the Immigration Research Initiative, the American business environment favors immigrants because of its robust entrepreneurial ecosystems, a high propensity for business ownership, and macroeconomic contributions. Immigrants account for approximately 27 percent of all Main Street businesses and account for about 21 percent of all business owners nationwide.
Research FDI notes that the US boasts the world’s largest economy. This economic strength provides a solid foundation for entrepreneurs to build and scale their businesses.
In addition, the country offers a robust financial infrastructure, including venture capital firms, angel investors, and well-developed capital markets.
Entrepreneurs in the US also benefit from a diverse range of funding options, enabling them to secure the necessary capital to start and scale their ventures.
Profile of the 20 immigrants of African heritage
Elon Musk (South Africa)
Elon Musk ranks as number 2 on the list, is the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla.
Musk has been the wealthiest person in the world since 2025. He officially reached trillion-dollar status on June 12, 2026, becoming the world’s first trillionaire, primarily driven by the historic initial public offering (IPO) of his rocket, satellite, and AI company, SpaceX, on the Nasdaq.His net worth initially crossed the $1 trillion threshold on the day of the SpaceX stock debut, but a subsequent sell-off in technology stocks reduced his estimated fortune to $957 billion.
Elon Musk profoundly impacts the US economy through massive job creation, domestic manufacturing, and multi-billion-dollar investments. His primary companies, Tesla and SpaceX are pump billions into communities and support tens of thousands of indirect and direct jobs across the country.
Musk’s enterprises supports over 100,000 direct and indirect jobs nationwide. At Giga Texas alone, Tesla supports an estimated 15,000 direct roles. In Cameron County, Texas, SpaceX operations directly employ over 3,400 people and support over 21,000 indirect jobs.
Patrick Soon-Shiong (South Africa)
Patrick Soon-Shiong, a Transplant surgeon, biophysicist, and healthcare innovator ranks number 17 on the list.
Patrick Soon-Shiong born to Chinese immigrant parents, achieved his first wave of success in the United States through pioneering advancements in pharmaceutical development and biotechnology. His breakthrough came with the invention of Abraxane, a chemotherapy drug used to treat breast, lung, and pancreatic cancers.
His net worth is estimated at $16.6 billion as of 2026, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index and Forbes. This positioning consistently ranks him as the wealthiest resident of Los Angeles and one of the most affluent medical professionals globally.
Haim Saban (Egypt)
Haim Saban, an Israeli-American media mogul and billionaire investor with an estimated net worth of $3.3 billion ranks at number 54 on the list.
Based in Los Angeles, his American business presence is anchored by Saban Capital Group (SCG), a private investment firm spanning venture capital, real estate, and media. He achieved major success by founding Saban Entertainment in 1988 and creating the iconic Mighty Morphin Power Rangers franchise.
Saban later co-founded Fox Family Worldwide, which was sold to Disney in 2001 for $5.2 billion, and served as chairman of the Spanish-language media giant Univision Communications from 2005 to 2020. Today, his footprint continues through SCG’s active portfolio, which includes Saban Real Estate, Saban Films, and early-stage venture capital investments.
Adebayo Ogunlesi (Nigeria)
Adebayo “Bayo” Ogunlesi, a prominent Nigerian-American private equity financier ranks at number 63.
He has an estimated net worth of $2.5 billion. He achieved massive success by founding Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) in 2006, a New York-based private equity firm that grew to manage over $100 billion in critical infrastructure assets before being acquired by BlackRock for $12.5 billion. His firm, officially acquired a controlling stake in London Gatwick Airport in 2009 for a deal valued at £1.455 billion.
His core American business presence has continued through his roles as a senior managing director and board member at BlackRock, alongside high-profile board leadership positions at Goldman Sachs and OpenAI.
Read also: African diaspora bridge to global innovation, investment, says Dabiri-Erewa
Tope Awotona (Nigeria)
Tope Awotona founder and CEO of enterprise scheduling platform Calendly is number 65 on the list.
Tope Awotona is a Nigerian-American technology entrepreneur with an estimated net worth of $1.4 billion. He achieved massive success in the United States by founding Calendly in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2013, to eliminate back-and-forth scheduling emails.
His core business in America centers entirely on Calendly, a scheduling platform which has revolutionized enterprise coordination, generating more than $276 million in annual revenue and securing a $350 million investment in 2021 that valued the software firm at $3 billion.
Marc Lasry (Morocco)
Marc Lasry, a billionaire hedge fund manager and co-founder of Avenue Capital Group is number 79 on the list
The businessman and investor had an estimated net worth of $2.2 billion.
He achieved massive success in the United States as the co-founder of Avenue Capital Group in 1995, growing the firm from an initial $7 million investment into a global pioneer managing billions in distressed debt and credit markets. Lasry also purchased the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks in 2014, guided the team to a championship in 2021, and sold his stake in 2023 at a $3.5 billion franchise valuation.
Bharat Desai (Kenya)
Bharat Desai, a billionaire co-founder of IT consulting firm Syntel is number 90 on the list.
The Kenyan-born American billionaire entrepreneur has an estimated net worth of $1.6 billion.
He achieved massive success in the United States by co-founding Syntel in 1980. Operating initially from a Michigan apartment with just $200, Desai and his wife grew the IT consulting and outsourcing company from $30,000 in first-year sales into a global giant generating over $900 million in annual revenue. His core American business presence culminated in 2018 when Syntel was acquired by the French IT firm Atos SE for $3.4 billion in cash
Hakeem Olajuwon (Nigeria)
Hakeem Olajuwon is a basketball legend in the NBA Hall of Fame, is number 100 on the list.
He has an estimated net worth of $300 million.
Following his basketball career, Olajuwon built a massive, debt-free real estate empire primarily focused in the Houston, Texas area. His highly successful portfolio includes apartment complexes, commercial buildings, parking garages, and large land developments near key public infrastructure.
Charlize Theron (South Africa)
Charlize Theron is an Academy Award-winning actress and humanitarian is number 134 on the list.
She made history as the first South African to win a major acting Oscar, receiving the Academy Award for Best Actress for her transformative performance in Monster (2003). Beyond her acting career, with roles in films such as The Devil’s Advocate (1997) and The Cider House Rules (1999), she is widely recognised for her humanitarian work through the Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project (CTAOP), which focuses on tackling HIV/AIDS and gender-based violence in sub-Saharan Africa.
She has been named among Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world.
Read also: US to increase processing fee for immigrants by 5.6% from March 1
Bernard Lagat (Kenya)
Bernard Lagat (Kenya), a five-time Olympian and highly decorated middle- and long-distance runner is number 171 on the list.
He is one of the most accomplished middle- and long-distance runners in athletics history. A five-time Olympian and eight-time World Champion, he enjoyed an outstanding career representing both Kenya and the United States. Competing for Kenya, he won Olympic bronze in the 1,500 metres at the Sydney 2000 Games and silver at the Athens 2004 Olympics. After becoming a United States citizen in 2004, he went on to achieve further global success and set several American records in events ranging from the 1,500 metres to the 5,000 metres.
Over the course of his career, he won 13 medals at the Olympic Games and World Championships.
One of his greatest achievements came at the 2007 World Athletics Championships in Osaka, where he became the first athlete in 24 years to win both the 1,500 metres and 5,000 metres titles at the same championships. He also remains one of the fastest 1,500-metre runners in history
Raj Panjabi (Liberia)
Raj Panjabi a physician, co-founder of Last Mile Health, and global health security expert is number 172 on the list.
Panjabi achieved massive success across global public health, government, academia, and biotechnology. His core operations in America include serving as a Senior Partner at Flagship Pioneering, where he spearheads artificial intelligence and biotechnology initiatives for early disease detection, and serving on the faculty of Harvard Medical School and Mass General Brigham.
He previously attained significant distinction in the US government as President Joe Biden’s Senior Director for Global Health Security and Biodefense at the White House, coordinating responses to major health crises, and as the leader of the US President’s Malaria Initiative, where he managed an $800 million annual budget.
Iqram Magdon-Ismail (Zimbabwe)
Iqram Magdon-Ismail is a tech entrepreneur and co-founder of mobile payment platform Venmo is number 174 on the list.
Born in Zimbabwe, Magdon-Ismail spent his early years in Africa before moving to the United States as a teenager. Venmo grew rapidly and was acquired by Braintree in 2012 for $26.2 million. A year later, Braintree itself was acquired by PayPal in a deal worth $800 million, helping to establish Venmo as one of the most widely used digital payment platforms in the United States.
In 2016, he founded Ense, a social audio platform that allows users to share short voice messages. He later co-founded JellyJelly, a video-first social media platform designed to encourage authentic conversations without the pressure of engagement-driven algorithms.
Rodney Sacks (South Africa)
Rodney Sacks, the billionaire Chairman and former CEO of Monster Beverage Corporation is number 179 on the list
Born in Johannesburg, South Africa, Sacks grew up in a Lithuanian-Jewish family. In 1990, Sacks and fellow South African businessman Hilton Schlosberg led a consortium that acquired Hansen Natural Corporation. Under their leadership, the company expanded rapidly and launched the Monster Energy brand in 2002, helping transform the business into a global leader in the energy drinks market.
After serving as Chief Executive Officer for more than three decades, Sacks stepped down from the role in 2025 but continues to serve as executive chairman of the company. In the same year, he and Schlosberg acquired Thrifty Ice Cream through their holding company, Hilton Holdings.
Zohran Mamdani (Uganda)
Zohran Mamdani, the politician, housing activist, and New York State Assembly member is number 188 on the list.
Mamdani became the 112th Mayor of New York City, having taken office on January 2026. He made history as the city’s youngest mayor in more than a century, as well as its first Muslim, first South Asian and first African-born mayor.
Born in Kampala, Uganda, Mamdani is the son of renowned academic Mahmud Mamdani and acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair. He moved to New York City with his family at the age of seven.
Before becoming mayor, Mamdani represented District 36 in Astoria, Queens, in the New York State Assembly from 2021.
His activism began through community campaigns to prevent home foreclosures and protect residents from displacement, shaping his long-standing focus on housing affordability and tenants’ rights.
David Sacks (South Africa)
David Sacks, venture capitalist and former founding COO of PayPal is number 208 on the list.
In 2017, Sacks co-founded Craft Ventures, a San Francisco-based venture capital firm that invests in technology startups. Later he joined Confinity, the company that later became PayPal, in 1999. Following its merger with Elon Musk’s X.com, he served as Chief Product Officer and Chief Operating Officer, helping to build PayPal into one of the world’s leading online payments companies before its $1.5 billion acquisition by eBay in 2002.
In 2008, he founded Yammer, which Microsoft acquired in 2012 for $1.2 billion.
In late 2024, he was appointed by US President Donald Trump to serve as the White House’s AI and cryptocurrency adviser for the incoming administration. He stepped down from the role in March 2026.
Iman Abuzeid (Sudan)
Iman Abuzeid, a physician and co-founder/CEO of healthcare staffing platform, Incredible Health is number 209 on the list.
The platform transformed healthcare recruitment by allowing hospitals to recruit nurses directly, significantly reducing hiring times.
Before launching her own company, she worked as a healthcare management consultant at McKinsey & Company and later held product management roles at venture-backed health technology startup.
Today, Incredible Health serves more than 1.5 million nurses and over 1,500 hospitals across the United States. The platform has reduced the average healthcare hiring process from around 86 days to fewer than 20 days.
Incredible Health has raised more than $100 million in funding from investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, and has achieved a valuation of approximately $1.65 billion. The milestone makes Dr Abuzeid one of the few Black women to found and lead a unicorn technology company.
Abuzeid was named TIME100 Next list and Forbes’ list of America’s Richest Self-Made Women.
Angélique Kidjo (Benin)
Angélique Kidjo, a five-time Grammy Award-winning global music icon, singer-song writer and activist is number 215 on the list.
Over a career spanning more than four decades, she has won five Grammy Awards and became the first African artist to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Kidjo blends traditional Beninese music with Afrobeat, jazz, funk, pop and Latin influences. She has released more than 18 albums and collaborated with some of the world’s leading artists, including Alicia Keys, Burna Boy, Carlos Santana and Philip Glass.
She became the first African woman to serve as a UNICEF International Goodwill Ambassador. She also co-founded the Batonga Foundation, a non-profit organisation that supports adolescent girls and young women through education
Aicha Evans (Senegal)
Aicha Evans, tech executive and CEO of Amazon’s autonomous vehicle subsidiary, Zoox is number 218 on the list.
She is one of the highest-ranking black women in Silicon Valley and the first African American female CEO of an autonomous vehicle technology company.
Before joining Zoox in 2019, Evans spent over a decade at Intel, eventually rising to Chief Strategy Officer. Shortly after taking the helm at Zoox, she spearheaded it $1.3 billion acquisition by Amazon in June 2020. Under her leadership, Zoox successfully developed purpose-built robotaxis designed from the ground up to operate entirely without human drivers.
Sonia Gardner (Morocco)
Sonia Gardner, the co-founder of Avenue Capital Group and hedge fund pioneer is number 228 on the list.
She has a net worth estimated by Forbes at $410 million and is one of the top self-made foreign-born women on Wall Street in investment management and distressed debt brokerage. The New York-based Avenue Capital Group, an asset management firm which she co-founded in 1995, grew to manage over $12 billion in assets across global offices. Prior to this, she co-founded the debt brokerage firm Amroc Investments in 1989. Additionally, she serves on the board of directors and as global chair of 100 Women in Finance (formerly 100 Women in Hedge Funds).
Joel Embiid (Cameroon)
Joel Embiid, NBA’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) and superstar center for the Philadelphia 76ers is number 250 on the list.
The basketball start has also earned seven NBA All-Star selections, and an Olympic gold medal with Team USA.
Driven by his status as one of the world’s highest-paid athletes, Embiid’s net worth is estimated at $85 million, with his total career contract earnings projected to eventually surpass $500 million. His on-field earnings are backed by an annual salary exceeding $55 million.
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