There are over 700 billionaires in the us. Surprisingly, over 60% of billionaires are
self-made. Amongst the richest are tech giants Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Bill Gates, along
with Warren Buffet and the Waltons. Their net worths are in the tens and hundreds of
billions. However, in the U.S. there are only 7 black billionaires. They include famous
names like Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, and Kanye West. The majority of black billionaires
sit at the bottom of the hierarchy, normally worth only a billion or two. Though this might
seem like a drop in the bucket, for anyone to become a billionaire, hundreds of people
have to have been exploited, even by some of our faves. I think a lot of people can’t
comprehend just how big 1 billion is. A billion is 1 million times a thousand. For comparison,
one million seconds is about 12 days. 1 billion seconds is almost 32 years. Becoming a billionaire
is only possible through theft of time, wages, and humanity. Though the odds of becoming
a billionaire are one in nearly 600,000, many see billionaires as aspirational. This feeds
into the toxic hustle culture, especially in black communities where wealth is a marker
of success, as most families don’t have significant generational wealth. The bad news
is, all billionaires are bad, and make their money in some questionable ways, whether they’re
buffet, bezos, or beyonce. Beyonce:
Though Beyonce isn’t technically a billionaire in her own right, the combined wealth of her
and her husband, Jay-Z is close to 2 billion dollars. Jay-Z himself is a billionaire, thanks
to being a successful rapper for nearly 3 decades, as well as investments in tech, media,
liquor, and successful music tours with his wife. Jay-Z is considered Hip-Hop's first
billionaire. Beyonce is best known for being one of the most versatile and successful entertainers
of our generation. She’s been able to maintain her star power for over two decades, both
through music and acting which have made Beyonce a household name for generations to come.
Outside of music Beyonce has had successful collaborations with L’Oreal and Puma, and
has started her own athletic wear line, ivy park. Beyonce also owns her own record label,
to which she’s signed successful artists like chloe and halle. The Carters are clearly
at the helm of an empire, and have devoted blood, sweat, and tears to gaining their fortune.
Both Beyonce and Jay-Z have surpassed being entertainers, and are moguls and icons in
their own right. That doesn’t mean their wealth and success came without any conflicts.
Their massive success has brought an onslaught of allegations and lawsuits. Beyonce has faced
several lawsuits in regards to her stealing smaller creators’ intellectual property
and using her large platform to profit off it. Beyonce faced multiple lawsuits over her
2016 song Formation. She stole deceased performer Messy Mya’s audio in the intro of the song,
and used clips from a Hurricane Katrina documentary in the music video without paying the original
creators royalties. In 2016, it was discovered Ivy Park was paying Sri Lankan employees only
64 cents an hour to make clothes for a collaboration with Topshop. Some of the garments from that
line solved for up to $265 dollars. Ivy Park is a self-proclaimed femenist brand and prides
itself on employing over 70% women. People pointed out the hypocrisy in Beyonce creating
a brand meant to uplift and celebrate women who purchased it, but degraded and exploited
the women who made it. Seamstresses working for Ivy Park in Sri Lanka could expect to
make a little over 6 dollars a day, which was about $126 a month. Workers were not allowed
to unionize, and the conditions were likened to slavery. As of 2019, Ivy Park has started
to work with Adidas. Adidas has also been accused of having sweatshop like conditions
in its Asian factories, as well as also punishing workers for unionizing. Adidas has also been
accused of exploiting labor from Uigurs, a central and east asian ethnic group that have
been detained in reeducation camps. Becoming a billionaire often removes people
from the communities they intend to help. In 2019, Jay-Z insinuated that absentee fathers
were a reason why police were killing so many young black men. In an interview with the
NFL, Carter said that the lack of fathers in the home leads to lack of respect for authority
in young black men, which leads to problems in interactions with police. The standpoint
puts the blame on victims of police brutality, and doesn’t point out any possible prejudiced
or antagonization on the behalf of the officers, or the face that punishments for murdering
black people aren’t severe enough. Jay-Z himself admits he grew up in a single-parents
household, and it’s well known he committed his fair share of crimes in his youth. Though,
because of his now-billionaire status, Jay-Z is apparently allowed to victim-blame people
whose situation he was in years ago. Carter’s tonedeaf words were supported by the NFL,
as he was partnering with them by doing a concert for social change. Therefore, Hay-Z
gained financially from his comments condemning black people for getting killed by the police,
rather than risking his business deals by providing any truth or nuance to the situation.
Still, Jay-Z expected black fans of both himself and the NFL to support him and his quest for
social change. Though the concert obviously wouldn’t change the average person’s life,
and has done nothing to change police brutality, Jay-Z profited financially.
The Carters are philanthropists. Both Beyonce and Jay-Z support foundations that are meant
to educate black youth. The two have used their platform to be vocal about social causes
like black lives matter and prison reform. Though they use their money for good, it still
can’t be overlooked how others are mistreated, overworked, and underpaid, and it puts more
money in their pockets.
Kanye West: Kanye West has been a relevant part of pop
culture since the early 2000s. He came from Chicago and developed a cult-like fanbase
because of his intelligent rap lyrics and out of the box creative direction. He’s
given us iconic songs like Heartless, Stronger, and Gold Digger. Despite being a musical genius,
only a small fraction of his fortune comes from music. The majority of his wealth is
owed to Yeezy, his sneaker brand which has since turned into a full-fledged fashion brand.
He also makes millions from musical royalties, investments in artwork, vehicle companies,
and his stake in SKIMS, his soon-to-be ex-wife Kim Kardashian’s shapewear company. Like
his former fellow rapper friend Jay-Z, West is the definition of self-made. But, anyone
who’s kept up with West in the slightest over the past decade knows that Kanye’s
massive wealth has arguably done him- and others- more harm than good. Last year, when
West’s billionaire status was still in question, he was adamant that Forbes- and everyone else-
knew just how many zeroes were in his net worth. He went back and forth with Forbes,
claiming they were toying with him by not officially declaring him a billionaire. Eventually,
Forbes was able to confirm West’s claims that he was worth over a billion, thanks to
a sneaker brand that has come to rival Nike. Receiving only 11% of his Yeezy x Adidas collaboration,
West still brought home $140 million from it alone. Despite his massive income, West
doesn’t seem to feel like paying employees or workers is a necessity. West has faces
lawsuits for not paying Yeezy designers, listing them as independent contractors despite working
specifically for the company, and completing full-time duties. Yeezy was accused of not
keeping an accurate account of payroll, not paying employees for working after hours,
and not reimbursing them for out of town trips taken on behalf of the company.
Yeezy’s production has been largely based across Asia, but west has recently sought
to move HeadQuarters to Wyoming, where he spends most of his time. This move would save
him close to 15 million dollars in tax breaks, as Wyoming does not have a state income tax.
This would devastate workers in Asia who depend on Yeezy for employment. That’s not to say
these workers are paid fairly, as they were reportedly earning only up to three dollars
a day. Moving the company so quickly wouldn’t leave time for employees to find new jobs,
and their severance pay was only given to them after student protests across Europe
and the United States brought attention to the issue.
Kanye West’s religious revival led to the creation of his Sunday Service, a worship
program created by West that eventually went viral (kris jenner spinning). The Sunday Services
were an entire production, with famous friends and family in attendance, watching choirs
and West perform renditions of his own music, along with new additions. Over one thousand
workers have come together to file an over 30 million dollar class-action lawsuit against
Yeezy and West. Workers included choir members, backstage workers, stylists, and makeup artists.
Employees were tether paid late, or not at all, and didn’t receive compensation for
working overtime. Rihanna:
Though she isn’t spending much time in the studio, Rihanna is considered the wealthiest
female musician in the world. According to Forbes, her Net Worth is 1.7 billion dollars.
Like the Carters, Rihanna made a lot of her money through her successful pop career. With
her large platform, Rihanna branched out into beauty and fashion with Fenty Beauty, and
her Savage X Fenty Lingerie line, which cemented her place in the beauty and fashion industry.
When the news broke months ago that Rihanna was officially a billionaire, she was mostly
met with praise and congratulations, especially from the black community. Rihanna was viewed
as the definition of self-made success, and proof that anyone could go from humble beginnings
and near bankruptcy to billionaire status with a bit of hard work and dedication, and
a pretty face obviously doesn’t hurt. Though Rihanna obviously worked hard to get where
she is, billionaire status involves many under you being worked even harder, and employing
deceptive business practices. In 2020, many who were part of the Savage X Fenty membership
programs complained that they were faced with additional charges after being enrolled in
the VIP program, and these charges hadn’t been disclosed to them when they signed up.
When shopping on the Savage X Fenty site, items have a price listed for both VIP and
non-VIP members. Consumers are bombarded from all ends with advertisement to be in the VIP
program, and special offers for VIP members. There is no clear option to checkout without
signing up for the VIP membership program even if one doesn’t want to the discount.
When customers check out, the VIP program is automatically added to their cart. Though
charges aren’t taken out immediately, the customer is then charged a 49.95 monthly free
at a later date. Though the membership offers discounts, the $50 you’re paying every month
basically makes everything regular priced. The membership can only be cancelled by phone
call, and it’s nearly impossible to get ahold of someone from customer service. For
these deceptive business practices, a complaint has been filed against Savage X Fenty to the
Federal Trade Commission, and the company has complaints against them to the Better
Business Bureau. As is the case with most mass-produced garments,
workers for Savage X Fenty are often exploited for their labor. The company has been criticized
for unethical practices and its negative environmental impacts. Workers in Bangladesh are being paid
minimum wage, which is 9 cents an hour, while garments on the site sell for nearly 1,000
times that. Fenty Beauty, Rihanna’s all-inclusive makeup
brand has been criticized for using child labor in India, despite Rihanna tweeting in
support of farmers’ labor protests in India that same week. A complaint against Fenty
Beauty was filed with the National Commission for Child Protective Rights in India. The
mineral Micah, which is used in multiple Fenty Beauty and Fenty Skin products, is sourced
from miles in Jharkhand, India, where children are mercilessly exploited for their labor.
It’s crazy how these brands that make inclusivity and supporting women of all kinds simultaneously
ruin the lives of other women. I guess this support for women only extends to women who
can afford their products. As much as we love Rihanna, it wouldn’t
be fair not to criticize her for the same unethical practices that people criticize
billionaires like Jeff Bezos for, bad bitch or not. If anything, these celebrity billionaires
exploit the relationship with consumers moreso than those who gain their wealth through tech
or business. When I buy a new computer, I’m not doing so simply because I’m a fan of
Bill Gates or Steve Jobs and I want to put money in their pockets. But when I buy a product
from Rihanna, or Beyonce, or Selena Gomez (Who admittedly isn’t a billionaire), I’m
doing this because I’m a fan of them, and my admiration for them has led me to want
to buy their products, good or bad, ethical or unethical. Celebrities’ built in fanbases
often allow them to cut corners when they launch new products, because they already
have a built in consumer base they can use to sell their products. Fans are often less
likely to be critical of their idols, with whom they often have parasocial relationships
and feel can do no wrong, and certainly aren’t capable of the atrocities that ALL billionaires
commit.
Analysis: Black billionaires should not be celebrated.
They shouldn’t be looked at as goals, or proof you should stick to your side hustle.
They shouldn’t be praised for uplifting the community, or achieving any victory for
black people. It can be easy to view black billionaires as a representation of overcoming
racism and systemic poverty. Black capitalists have existed for as long as wealth was available
in the United States, but it begs the question- is it a victory for marginalized people to
rise in a system designed to oppress them? Is this true equality? Can it be equality
when the entire race doesn’t succeed from the success of just one or two people? If
capitalism is a system under which millions suffer, why is it considered inspirational
that black people are participating more heavily in that system? If a system is oppressive,
it’s not an accomplishment that more people who look like me are able to oppress others
in that system. It isn’t because someone didn’t hustle
enough or grind enough that they didn’t become a billionaire.This mindset contributes
to hustle culture, in which many black people overwork themselves for the sake of their
business, only to see a small bit of the success they think is owed to them when they compare
themselves to billionaires. Everyone wants to find success in their business, and make
enough money off it to live comfortably. But billions is more than anyone can spend in
their lifetime, and accumulating that amount of money quite literally hurts more people
than it helps. To become a billionaire, multiple people have to be exploited, and multiple
people have to be failed by capitalism, a system that in action concentrates wealth
among a very small minority. Black billionaires are not representation. I have nothing in
common with Beyonce or Rihanna just because we have the same skin color. Our needs, interests,
and day-to-day lives are vastly different, and my being black doesn’t make me any less
likely to have my time or labor, or money be exploited by a black billionaire. Black
billionaires exploit laborers of color and depend on people of color to consume their
products just the same. At their heart, all capitalists are more concerned
with wealth, status, and their own pockets than they are with uplifting members of their
own race. This doesn’t just apply to black or white billionaires. Increasing the number
of black billionaires, or even black millionaires does not improve the average black person’s
life. We can’t look to capitalism, an individualist system to ever tangibly help an entire race
of people. Even if we’re just looking at black billionaires as a source of inspiration,
what exactly are we being inspired to do? Hoard wealth that was created through the
manipulation of thousands of people, including children, as long as we get an enjoyable life
out of it? In reality, the majority of black people, and people in general, don’t defend
these billionaires because they think they’re going to get any direct aid from beyonce or
rihanna, but because it justifies the fact that they would also exploit others in exchange
for massive wealth, given the chance.