Forbes Magazine recently released its list of the wealthiest Black Americans. Oprah Winfrey was number one, which isn't a surprise. Oprah has obtained a level of power and wealth that makes the breath leave your body. (Did Oprah actually cause sit-ins at KFC? Who does a sit-in over chicken?) She is well ahead the second person on the list, Tiger Woods, whose wealth is measured at roughly $600 million. It's nice that Forbes has created a list for black Americans, since it gives insight into African American achievements without having them dwarfed by the massive wealth of white Americans. Let's remember that other Americans had a 400 year head start, as black families were not allowed to pass wealth onto their children for many centuries.

Some say that your present tells the story of your past. Where you are is not always as important as the path you took to get there, which provides insights into the paths you will travel in the future. The list is interesting for a few other reasons, which I will state below:

1) Oprah is actually not all that rich, relatively speaking that is. If you compare Oprah's $2.7 Billion to the leader of the overall list of billionaires, Bill Gates, you will find that his $40 Billion dollar stash is far greater than Oprah's. In fact, Bill Gates could spend over $10 million dollars a day for the next 10 years and still have $10 Billion dollars more than Oprah. Another way to conceptualize the massive wealth difference is to note that Bill Gates usually earns more in INTEREST each year than Oprah has in her entire fortune. This is not to say that Oprah's achievements are not noteworthy. In fact, she is a more accomplished human being than Gates. These facts simply serve as a glowing reminder that African Americans have been left out of the wealth building pool for hundreds of years, and that these disparities show themselves in modern day economic inequalities. Some see Gates as a self-made Billionaire, but the truth is that if he were black, chances are that he would not have had a prominent lawyer for a father and a mother who served on powerful corporate boards, all of which opened doors for him that are not typically opened for black youth. Oprah Winfrey was far more self-made than Gates.

2) Many of the African Americans on the list are first-generation millionaires. This fact reflects the amazing capabilities of African Americans, as well as some of our challenges. Many of the billionaires in the US come from "old money," which is passed from one generation to the next. In fact, most wealth in America is inherited wealth. Go down any busy street in Manhattan and you'll see that most of those buildings are not owned by African Americans. Many of them were passed down from father to son over time. One of the greatest arguments in favor of affirmative action is that the economic disparities of present day America are nothing more than a manifestation of actions committed in the past. Our millionaires are impacted by the modern day impact of historical inequality and so are you and I.Affirmative action seeks to rectify what was taken away in the past, because it so obviously still affects us today.

3) The entertainers we know best are not on the list. Oprah is the exception, but Oprah is not just a talk show host, she is a business woman. Michael Jordan and Magic Johnson also understand the importance of owning your brand and controlling your business model. I would even include Tiger Woods in this camp, since he has given the PGA Tour a lot of headaches by being intelligent enough to realize his true value. Of this list, Oprah is the most impressive, not just because she is the wealthiest, but also because she got her wealth without having to become the greatest athlete on the planet. Many wealthy African Americans build their fortunes on what is called "Human Capital": abilities or skill sets that connect to you as a person. An example would be an athlete, entertainer or TV show host. This is far different and less stable than other forms of capital, such as real estate, stocks, bonds, or manufacturing. That is where true wealth in America is created. Which leads me to my next point.

4) Most of the members of the list are self-employed. You don't become filthy rich by working for someone else, even if they pay you a lot of money to do your job. Most truly wealthy people own their own businesses and are not secondary members of the wealth generating process. As the comedian Chris Rock correctly stated, "Shaq is rich. But the man who signs Shaq's check is wealthy." Many of the owners of NBA and NFL teams are on the Forbes wealthiest Americans list, but no athletes are on that list. If athletes don't learn the fundamentals of business and how to take their brands to the next level, they will find themselves bringing slingshots to an economic gun fight. For the rest of us, the fact is that Black people have survived 400 years by being excellent laborers. But rather than learning to get a job, we should teach our children how to go out and CREATE jobs. That is the key to true wealth.

5) This list teaches us all something about ourselves. In case you can't quite see yourself becoming the next Oprah or Michael Jordan, here's a suggestion for building your own fortune. All black males who love sports should consider taking the hours spent on the basketball court or football field, and instead using that time to study. Being a doctor or lawyer is far better than being in the NFL, for example, since you earn money for the rest of your life and it is not contingent upon your being able to physically perform for others. Anyone who can do two-a-day practices and memorize thick playbooks can transfer those skills to learning algebra and business strategies (which are much easier). In fact, it was a simple transfer of my athletic schedule to studying that helped me to become a professor. I then saw that my friends who sacrificed their educations to make it to the NFL ended up as 26-year-old retirees with bad knees and third grade reading levels. The second thing for us to learn is that having your own business and owning something is a great way to accumulate value in your own life. Start by owning your home. Then consider creating a "side hustle" that will allow you to generate extra income. Keep thinking as an owner, not a laborer, and you will find that you get the chance to "buy your freedom" one piece at a time.

The Forbes list of wealthiest African Americans is interesting because it tells the story of black financial achievement in America. While it shows that we have accomplished a lot, it is a glaring reminder that we still have a long way to go. Keep hustling people, we've still got great things to do.

Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Finance Professor at Syracuse University