David Steward

David Steward is the chairman and founder of World Wide Technology, the nation’s largest African-American-owned business. He is one of five black billionaires in America, ranked 745th on the 2019 Forbes Billionaires list. Steward faced poverty and discrimination during his childhood in Clinton, Missouri. Though his family lacked many material possessions, David believes he inherited considerable wealth from his parents because they taught him what was most important: treating people right. Steward received his BS degree in business from Central Missouri State University in 1973. He spent 10 years working in sales for 3 Fortune 500 companies before fulfilling his dream of business ownership. Steward took a leap of faith, founding World Wide Technology (WWT) on a shoestring budget with only seven 7 employees in 1990. WWT’s revenues have surpassed the billion-dollar revenue mark. Their workforce of over 450 employees helps companies develop systems that create databases of virtually any type their customers may require for tracking orders. Steward donated $1.3 million to the University of Missouri-St. Louis to create the David and Thelma Steward Institute for Jazz Studies in 2018. For these accolades and many others, The Trailblazer Awards honor him.