Though economists have demonstrated that, in theory, black capitalism should have little direct impact on the well-being of black noncapitalists, indirect and non-economic effects have not been investigated. Empirical tests of this relationship have been inadequate. Though not denying that black economic well-being may affect black business, we argue that the effect is at least reciprocal, and probably stronger in the other direction. We find that, for cities, the extent of black entrepreneurial activity has a strong statistical effect on the well-being of the black population, even when controls are introduced for the many other factors that affect aggregate black welfare. We argue that the apparent effect is a sociological one, operant through variables such as group status and group power. The introduction of intervening measures of black “clout” into the model produces results that support this hypothesis.