St. Louis businessman David Steward remains Missouri’s richest person, with a fortune estimated at $12.3 billion, according to Forbes’ newly released ranking of the 400 wealthiest Americans.
Steward, 75, founder and chairman of St. Louis-based World Wide Technology, ranks No. 110 nationally on the 2026 Forbes 400. He leads seven Missourians who made the list, which this year required an estimated net worth of at least $4.4 billion.
Steward also remains among the wealthiest Black Americans in the country. Forbes lists Palantir Technologies co-founder Alexander Karp ahead of Steward, estimating Karp’s fortune at $18.8 billion. Karp, whose mother is Black and father is Jewish, has spoken ambiguously about his racial identity, telling The New York Times in 2024, “Some Black people think I’m Black, some don’t. I view me as me.”
Among American billionaires who publicly identify as Black, Steward has the largest fortune, although his fortune slipped slightly from the $12.4 billion Forbes estimated in 2025.
His wealth comes primarily from World Wide Technology, the technology services company he co-founded in 1990. Steward is the company’s majority owner. Forbes estimates WWT has annual revenue of about $20 billion.
Steward grew up in Clinton, Missouri, as one of eight children and attended segregated schools before integration. After graduating from Central Missouri State University, now the University of Central Missouri, he worked in sales for Missouri Pacific Railroad, Union Pacific and Federal Express before going into business for himself.
World Wide Technology had difficult beginnings. Steward sometimes went without a paycheck, and Forbes has reported that his car was repossessed from the company parking lot during its early years. The business has since grown into one of the nation’s largest Black-owned companies.
The other Missourians on the Forbes 400 are Cargill shareholder Pauline MacMillan Keinath, $8.4 billion; Bass Pro Shops founder John Morris, $8.3 billion; WWT co-founder and CEO Jim Kavanaugh, $7.7 billion; Clayco founder Robert Clark, $7.7 billion; New Prime Inc. founder Robert Low, $5.6 billion; and Scottrade co-founder Rodger Riney and family, $4.8 billion.
Forbes’ estimates were calculated as of Sept. 4.