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From Haiti’s biotech breakthrough to Barbados’ Fenty empire and Jamaica’s financial powerhouses, Caribbean-born entrepreneurs are commanding extraordinary fortunes

TIMES CARIBBEAN

The Caribbean is often associated with tourism, culture, music and natural beauty. But behind that familiar image sits another story — one of extraordinary business success, global entrepreneurship and immense private wealth.

A closer look at some of the region’s wealthiest Caribbean-born individuals reveals fortunes created across biotechnology, banking, beauty, entertainment, manufacturing and major industrial enterprises.

And one Haitian-born entrepreneur now appears to sit at the very top.

🇭🇹 HERRIOT TABUTEAU — APPROX. US$2.1 BILLION

Born in Haiti, Dr. Herriot Tabuteau moved to the United States as a child and went on to build one of the Caribbean diaspora’s most remarkable business success stories.

The physician and entrepreneur founded Axsome Therapeutics, a Nasdaq-listed biopharmaceutical company focused on treatments involving neurological and psychiatric conditions.

Forbes placed Tabuteau’s real-time fortune at approximately US$2.1 billion in late July 2026, making him one of the wealthiest Haitian-born people in modern history.

His rise is especially significant because much of his fortune is linked to his ownership interest in the company he founded.

🇯🇲 MICHAEL LEE-CHIN — ABOUT US$1.1 BILLION

Born in Port Antonio, Jamaica, Michael Lee-Chin built his fortune largely through financial-sector investments.

Forbes valued Lee-Chin at approximately US$1.1 billion on its 2025 billionaires list and identifies investments including National Commercial Bank Jamaica and AIC Limited as major sources of his wealth.

His journey from Jamaica to becoming one of Canada’s best-known investors has made him one of the most internationally recognised Caribbean-born business figures.

🇧🇧 RIHANNA — ABOUT US$1 BILLION

Barbados-born Robyn Rihanna Fenty turned global entertainment success into an even larger business empire.

While music made Rihanna famous, beauty and fashion pushed her into billionaire territory.

Forbes’ 2026 billionaire profile continues to list Rihanna among the world’s billionaires, while reporting during 2026 placed her fortune at approximately US$1 billion. Her Fenty Beauty business remains one of her most important assets.

From Bridgetown to the biggest stages and retail markets in the world, Rihanna remains perhaps the Caribbean’s most globally visible billionaire entrepreneur.

🇭🇹 GILBERT BIGIO — HAITI’S INDUSTRIAL POWERHOUSE

Haitian businessman Gilbert Bigio built GB Group into a diversified conglomerate with interests spanning energy, infrastructure, logistics, consumer goods and industrial operations.

Bigio is widely described as a billionaire and one of Haiti’s wealthiest business figures, although unlike publicly traded fortunes tracked continuously by Forbes, there is no equally authoritative current public valuation establishing an exact US$1 billion personal net worth.

GB Group traces its development to 1972 and has expanded well beyond Haiti into other Caribbean markets.

🇹🇹 THE SABGA BUSINESS DYNASTY

The Sabga name is inseparable from Caribbean corporate history through ANSA McAL, one of Trinidad and Tobago’s largest diversified conglomerates.

But there is an important distinction when discussing native-born Caribbean fortunes.

ANSA McAL patriarch Anthony N. Sabga was born in Syria in 1923 and arrived in Trinidad as a child in 1930, meaning he does not technically belong on a strictly native-born list.

Later generations of the Sabga family, however, are deeply rooted in Trinidad and Tobago, and the family remains associated with one of the region’s most powerful corporate groups. ANSA McAL’s interests stretch across manufacturing, beverages, automotive operations, financial services and other industries.

Claims placing the family’s private net worth at specific levels such as US$800 million should therefore be treated as unverified estimates rather than confirmed personal wealth figures.

🇯🇲 MATALON AND MAHFOOD FAMILIES — JAMAICA’S CORPORATE HEAVYWEIGHTS

Jamaica also boasts several powerful homegrown business families.

The Matalon family has longstanding interests associated with investment, property, finance and media. Joseph Matalon has served as chairman of ICD Group Holdings, a Jamaica-based private investment business with holdings across several industries.

The Mahfood family has meanwhile played a major role in Jamaican manufacturing and distribution through Wisynco. The company’s history in Jamaica stretches back generations, while William Mahfood has held senior leadership positions within the group for decades.

Online estimates sometimes place these families’ fortunes in the hundreds of millions of US dollars — and occasionally much higher — but there are no widely accepted, independently verified current personal net-worth calculations comparable with Forbes’ estimates for publicly tracked billionaires.

That distinction matters.

TWO VERY DIFFERENT CARIBBEAN WEALTH STORIES

The region’s wealth landscape is sometimes blurred by lists that include wealthy foreign-born people who later acquired Caribbean citizenship, residency or passports.

That creates a very different category.

A billionaire who purchased citizenship or established tax residency in a Caribbean jurisdiction is not necessarily a Caribbean-born billionaire.

When the focus is narrowed to people actually born in the region, figures such as Herriot Tabuteau, Michael Lee-Chin and Rihanna stand out because their Caribbean origins are clear and their billion-dollar fortunes have been independently documented.

Their stories also highlight something bigger.

Caribbean-born wealth is no longer confined to traditional family businesses or local commerce.

It is increasingly being created in biotechnology, global finance, intellectual property, beauty, entertainment, manufacturing and international investment.

Small islands. Big fortunes.

And Caribbean-born entrepreneurs are increasingly proving that global-scale wealth can begin right here in the region.

Editor’s Note: Net-worth figures are estimates and may change significantly with share prices, private-company valuations, debt and other financial factors. Times Caribbean has distinguished between independently tracked billionaire estimates and less verifiable private-family wealth claims.