Oprah, Jay-Z, Tyler Perry Miss Out on Forbes’ 2025 Billionaires

Forbes has raised the bar higher than ever for America’s richest, and the climb has pushed some familiar names off the list.

The 2025 edition of the Forbes 400 now requires a minimum fortune of $3.8 billion to qualify, the steepest cutoff in the list’s history. 

That new threshold means media icon Oprah Winfrey, music mogul Jay-Z, filmmaker Tyler Perry, investment banker Adebayo Ogunlesi, and even golf legend Tiger Woods were all excluded this year.

Only four Black billionaires managed to stay in the club. Tech leader Alex Karp, co-founder and CEO of Palantir Technologies, entered with a staggering $14.3 billion fortune. 

He was followed by David Steward, chairman of World Wide Technology, with $12 billion. Private equity investor Robert F. Smith, one of the most influential figures in finance, secured his spot with $10 billion, while basketball great Michael Jordan just squeezed past the cutoff at $3.8 billion.

The slim representation shows how tough the competition has become at the very top.

The Forbes 400 has long been a measure of billionaire power in America, but this year’s shake-up highlights how fast fortunes in technology and finance are outpacing even the biggest names in entertainment and media.

For Oprah, Jay-Z, and Perry long seen as symbols of Black wealth and cultural influence, the drop-off marks a new reality: billionaire status is no longer enough. 

In 2025, it takes super-billionaire status to remain on the list.