Following the Prophet's Advice, American Man Becomes Incredibly Wealthy with Assets Worth Rp 208 Trillion
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Prophets have long served as role models for their followers. In addition to conveying God’s teachings, they are also known for lifestyles often emulated as a path to success.
For some people, success and wealth are coveted life goals. Surprisingly, an American man became a successful entrepreneur with abundant wealth after applying a lifestyle inspired by Prophet Noah in his daily life.
The man who tried to live like Prophet Noah is named David Steward. The Missouri, United States (US) native has recorded ownership of wealth worth US$12.4 billion or equivalent to Rp208 trillion according to Forbes data.
The story of Prophet Noah that inspired David Steward in living his life is to not care about people’s mockery when doing the right work. Just like when Prophet Noah prepared his ark to face the great flood.
As is known, this story began when Prophet Noah received an order from God to build an ark because there would be a great flood that would destroy the earth.
Prophet Noah then built a super-large ark that could accommodate humans, animals, and plants. During the construction process, Prophet Noah received words of hatred from the community.
Noah was considered strange for building a large boat when there was no disaster. Despite the mockery, Prophet Noah continued working. When the boat was finished, the great flood came. The ark saved Prophet Noah, his family, followers, animals, and plants.
“When you have big ambitions, people tend to mock you. They become the loudest voices and act like they’re judging you. That you shouldn’t pursue your dreams and ambitions,” said Steward to Forbes in 2004, quoted Thursday (19/3/2026).
Steward’s attitude like Prophet Noah was not without reason. David Steward’s life was already marked by discrimination and ridicule from childhood because he was a Black man and poor.
At school, he was separated by segregation rules. Just because he was not white, he had to live separately.
Then, as an adult and wanting to start a business in the 1990s, he received a lot of mockery. However, because he had already studied the story of Prophet Noah, the man born on 2 July 1951 was not intimidated.
He refused to give up. He boldly continued his business idea so as not to remain an office employee.
At that time, Steward founded World Wide Technology (WWT) to provide computer technology services to companies. In the 1990s, that services sector was still foreign, so many people mocked his actions like what happened to Prophet Noah.
However, he continued his business. He believed that in the future, the internet would become a favourite.
In short, Steward’s business experienced ups and downs along with the development of the times. Until finally, Steward’s belief in his business and the future of computers proved correct.
We all know that this technology is truly needed by people in the world. As a result, WWT’s business became one of those impacted.
Forbes (2022) records WWT as the 27th largest private company in the US and the largest company owned by a Black person. Its revenue reaches US$17.0 billion or Rp285 trillion.