Biography & Early Wealth Journey

Or the stock could plummet!

As of this writing, here are America's six black billionaires:

#6: Jay-Z Net Worth: $1.3 billion

#5. Michael Jordan Net Worth: $2.2 billion

Primary Income Streams & Multi-Million Contracts

#4. Oprah Winfrey Net Worth: $3.5 billion

#3. David Steward Net Worth: $3.9 billion

#2. Robert F. Smith Net Worth: $6.5 billion

#1. Kanye West Net Worth: $6.6 billion

Trending Wealth Dossiers:

Real Estate, Luxury Assets & Personal Investments

[We do not yet count Tyler Perry as a billionaire as another publication has declared. But it's possible that by the time Reffkin reaches billionaire status, Tyler will have as well…]

Photo Provided by Compass

Reffkin co-founded Compass in 2012 with Ori Allon. He formerly was an executive at Goldman Sachs. Reffkin owns $480.7 million worth of Compass shares currently and has another $186.5 million that will be disbursed to him over the next four years. So at today's prices, Reffkin is essentially worth around $670 million on paper right now.

Wealth Trajectory & Future Earnings Projections

Reffkin's stake in the company makes him one of the most successful real estate entrepreneurs in the country after nearly a decade of being a fringe player in the industry.

Reffkin got his bachelor's degree and MBA from Columbia and went into the world of consulting with gigs at McKinsey, Lazard, and in the administration of George W. Bush (he was fellow in the Treasury Department). While with Goldman Sachs he rose through the ranks to become chief of staff to firm president and COO, Gary Cohn.

Compass is not yet profitable. Since its 2012 founding, the company has lost around $1 billion. Compass lost $270 million in 2020 alone.

That said, the company's revenue has also grown by more than 20 times since 2016 when it had $187 million in revenue. Revenue in 2020 topped $3.7 billion. According to the comapy's S-1 filing with the SEC, Compass's market share rose from 1% to 4% from 2018 to 2020. Compass is growing roughly 10 times faster than the average U.S. real estate company.

Reffkin was inspired to found Compass by his mother, Ruth, who is a long-time real estate agent. She now works for her son's firm. On a personal front, he has raised more than $1 million for charity. One of the charities, America Needs You, (he is the founder) aims to help young people who live below the poverty line and are the first person in their family to go to college.