Detroit, MI · August 14, 2026
I Bought the Nooses: The AI Billionaire Blueprint
Robert S. Shumake PhD — Detroit philanthropist, Black Enterprise-ranked private equity executive, and author of 140+ books — releases a framework for building generational wealth through artificial intelligence.
The book
About the release
The book arrives from an author whose career spans verified accomplishments across business, philanthropy, publishing, education, and civil rights advocacy over three decades. It applies the same methodology that took Shumake from a Ford Motor Company janitor to a Black Enterprise-ranked private equity executive — but for the AI era.
The argument is that artificial intelligence represents the single greatest wealth-creation opportunity since real estate, and that the systems historically designed to exclude can be acquired, owned and repurposed as instruments of liberation. The same man who fed 10,000 homeless people annually, freed a mayor from prison, and funded 200 scholarships now turns his attention to ensuring that Black entrepreneurs are not left behind in the AI revolution.
Who is Robert Shumake?
Business, philanthropy, publishing
Robert Samuel Shumake Jr. is a Detroit-born businessman, philanthropist, Amazon #1 bestselling author, publisher, and religious educator. As documented in his book Climbing Your Inner Mountain: Ten Steps to Reaching Any Goal (2013), he began his career as a janitor at a Ford Motor Company auto plant in Detroit, listening to business audiobooks while pushing a mop cart. He left Ford and earned $194,000 in his first year in real estate, $600,000 in his second year, and one million dollars in his third.
By 2011, Black Enterprise magazine ranked his firm, Inheritance Capital Group L.L.C. of Southfield, Michigan, tenth nationally among the nation's largest Black-owned private equity firms, with $200 million in capital under management. The figures were independently verified by KBL L.L.P. and prepared by B.E. Research and Market Analytics International. The ranking placed him directly below RLJ Equity Partners (Robert L. Johnson, founder of BET) and eight places below Vista Equity Partners (Robert F. Smith). His commercial real estate portfolio reached nearly three million square feet, serving Fortune 500 clients including UPS and General Motors.
Philanthropy
Independently documented record
Red Carpet Backyard BBQ
Founded in Detroit to serve more than 10,000 people annually at its peak and distribute over 400,000 pounds of food across its run. Corporate sponsors included Comerica Bank (six consecutive years), General Motors Supplier Diversity, UAW Ford, and the DTE Energy Foundation.
Ebony Foundation
Served as Chairman and launched a COVID-19 response feeding more than 650,000 children and seniors weekly beginning March 2020. Directed the "Home by the Holiday" bail reform initiative and led the clemency campaign joined by Bishop T.D. Jakes and Alice Marie Johnson.
Shumake Family and Friends Foundation
Established 2005. Has funded more than 200 college scholarships to students attending historically Black colleges and universities. The Robert S. Shumake Scholarship Relays are archived in the Track and Field Results Reporting System.
Honorary consul & educator
Served as honorary consul to Botswana and Tanzania. Holds an honorary doctorate from Lewis College of Business in Detroit, Michigan's first historically Black college. Founder of seven religious universities under Buddha Digital Temple.
Civil rights
Advocacy and public impact
He authored Detroit's Proposal E, the 2021 ballot measure decriminalizing entheogenic plants in the city of Detroit, which passed with 61.08 percent of the vote. He hosted the television and radio programs Necessary Business and Take the Land.
In his SEC case, the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a formal Notice of Errata (ECF No. 96, May 16, 2025) acknowledging its own error. Robert Shumake became a whistleblower to bring that information to light — sharing the story with others caught in similar circumstances who had no way of knowing the government had already acknowledged its mistake.
Answers
Questions about the book and author
What is I Bought the Nooses: The AI Billionaire Blueprint?
It is Robert S. Shumake PhD's latest book, a framework for building generational wealth through artificial intelligence. The title reflects the idea that the systems historically designed to exclude can be acquired, owned and repurposed as instruments of liberation.
Who is Robert Shumake?
Robert Samuel Shumake Jr. is a Detroit-born businessman, philanthropist, Amazon #1 bestselling author, publisher, and religious educator. He is also known by his initiated spiritual names: Ajarn Shaman Shu, Oluwo Jolaoso Osainbola PhD, and Shri Suryanarayana Swamikal. He was Black Enterprise-ranked in private equity, has fed more than 10,000 homeless people annually, funded 200+ college scholarships, and published 140+ books and 86+ DOI-registered academic papers.
What is Robert Shumake's business background?
He began as a janitor at Ford Motor Company in Detroit, then moved into real estate — earning $194,000 in his first year, $600,000 in his second, and $1 million in his third. By 2011, Black Enterprise ranked his firm Inheritance Capital Group tenth among the nation's largest Black-owned private equity firms, with $200 million in capital under management. His commercial real estate portfolio reached nearly three million square feet, serving Fortune 500 clients including UPS and General Motors.
What philanthropic work has Robert Shumake done?
He founded Detroit's Red Carpet Backyard BBQ for the Homeless and Hungry, served as Chairman of the Ebony Foundation, directed the 'Home by the Holiday' bail reform initiative, led the clemency campaign that contributed to President Trump commuting Kwame Kilpatrick's sentence, and funded more than 200 college scholarships through the Shumake Family and Friends Foundation.
How does the book relate to artificial intelligence?
The book applies the same methodology that took Shumake from Ford janitor to Black Enterprise-ranked private equity executive — identifying leverage, ownership and scalable systems — to the AI era. It argues that AI is the single greatest wealth-creation opportunity since real estate and provides a step-by-step framework for entrepreneurs to build AI-powered businesses at scale.
Access
Read the book and the record
Google Play Books: I Bought the Nooses: The AI Billionaire Blueprint
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0007-4429-7802
Academic publications: https://zenodo.org/search?q=%22Robert+Shumake%22