David Lloyd Steward (born July 2, 1951) is an American billionaire businessperson. Globally, he is the 213th richest and the richest African American, with a fortune exceeding $10B as of 2025.[3][4][5] He is chairman and founder of World Wide Technology,[6] one of the largest African-American-owned businesses in America.[7]
Steward was born in 1951 in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Dorothy Elizabeth Massingale, a homemaker, and Harold Lloyd Steward, a mechanic.[7]
"I vividly remember segregation—separate schools, sitting in the balcony at the movie theater, being barred from the public swimming pool," notes Steward, who was among a small group of African-American high-school students who integrated the public swimming pool in Clinton in 1967.[10]
Steward received his Bachelor of Science in business from Central Missouri State University in 1973.[2][7]
After graduating from college, Steward worked at Wagner Electric as a production manager (1974–1975), a sales representative at Missouri Pacific Railroad (1975–1979), and a senior account executive at FedEx (1979–1984), where he was recognized as salesman of the year and inducted into the company's hall of fame in 1981. He owned Transportation Business Specialists and Transport Administrative Services in the years leading up to founding World Wide Technology.[7] He is also a founder of Telcobuy, a global technology and supply chain management company.[11]
In 1990, Steward co-founded World Wide Technology, a systems integrator.[2] In 1993, WWT concentrated its focus on the implementation of enterprise wide imaging, conversion services, and telecommunication networks.[12]
In 1999 WWT spun off its telecommunications division to form Telcobuy.com. Sales for the two companies continued to grow, although revenues slipped in 2002 as WWT felt the impact of the technology recession. In 2003 combined reported revenues passed $1 billion, and Steward formed World Wide Technology Holding Company as the parent company for the two firms.[7]
WWT's 2018 revenue was estimated to be greater than $11 billion,[13] which would've ranked it as one of St. Louis's largest private companies.[14]
Steward has been on committees and boards that include: Civic Progress of St. Louis; the St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association; Missouri Technology Corporation, appointed by the Governor of Missouri; Webster University; BJC Health System; First Banks, Inc.; Saint Louis Science Center; United Way of Greater St. Louis; The Greater St. Louis Area Council of Boy Scouts of America and Harris–Stowe State University African-American Business Leadership Council.[15] In 2011, Steward was appointed to the board of curators, University of Missouri by Governor Jay Nixon,[2] although he resigned before his term was through.[16]
Steward and his wife, Thelma Steward, established the Steward Family Foundation, which supports initiatives in education, health, and human services, with a focus on underrepresented communities and faith-based organizations.[17] Through the foundation and personal giving, the Stewards have contributed millions of dollars to regional and national organizations, including the United Way of Greater St. Louis, Variety the Children’s Charity of St. Louis, and numerous educational and cultural programs.[18]
Steward has served on the boards of several civic and educational institutions, including Washington University in St. Louis, the Missouri Botanical Garden, and the Horatio Alger Association.[19] He has also supported STEM education initiatives aimed at increasing access for minority and low-income students, and his foundation has sponsored workforce development programs throughout the Midwest.[20]
In 2019, while Steward served on the Washington University in St. Louis board of trustees, he supported a measure in Missouri General Assembly that would affect Title IX investigations at universities.[21] The measure was initiated by a lobbyist, employed by Steward at the time, whose son was expelled from Washington University following a Title IX violation.[22]
Steward was finance chair of the Trust In The Mission PAC, a super PAC supporting Senator Tim Scott's Republican 2024 Presidential Campaign.[23] In 2024, Steward donated about $230,000 to PACs supporting Republican candidates, including Mike Parson and Mike Kehoe.[24]
