by Cedric ‘BIG CED’ Thornton
November 27, 2023
Jay-Z, Oprah, Tiger Woods, LeBron, and Magic Johnson didn’t make enough to be on this year’s Forbes 400 List.
A billion dollars is a great deal of money, but being labeled a billionaire doesn’t mean you’ll make it onto the 2023 Forbes 400 list.
In October, Forbes revealed the 400 people on its annual list of wealthiest people based on net worth as of September 8, 2023, as well as other factors listed here.
The person with the lowest net worth is listed at $2.9 billion, which is slightly higher than last year’s, whose net worth was $2.7 billion. According to Forbes, you can still be among the 350 billionaires in the United States on the outside looking in.
There are some notable names that you would expected to be on the list, but who did not qualify.
One is Oprah Winfrey. Having built her empire after starring on The Oprah Winfrey Show for 25 seasons (from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011), she is worth “just” $2.8 billion. After being on the top 400 list for 25 straight years, she hasn’t made enough in the past three years to make the cut.
The richest and first hip-hop recording artist (and fifth Black American) to have a net worth of a billion dollars, Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter missed the list by having a net worth of $2.7 billion. The most nominated male artist in Grammy history started building his empire after taking himself out of the streets and making records.
Tiger Woods, perhaps one of the most celebrated golfers in history, although worth $1 billion, also missed the list. So did the NBA’s only active billionaire, LeBron James. Coincidentally, they are the only two active-playing athletes who are billionaires. Magic Johnson, who didn’t make the billionaires list until it was official on October 29, also didn’t make the top 400.
