Wall Street Lawyer and Business Mogul Reginald F. Lewis goes down in history as the richest African-American in the 80s. With his iconic acquisition of $985 million, it was the largest leveraged buyout in America, making Lewis the first Black billion-dollar deal maker.
In 1987, the $1 billion deal led to the development of his own company TLC Beatrice International. By acquiring the Beatrice operations, TLC, which stands for The Lewis Company, became the largest company in the United States run by a black person. He also established the first black-owned firm on Wall Street, and was the first person to be accepted at Harvard Law School without applying.
“Reginald F. Lewis was truly the Martin Luther King Jr. of Black business,” said Lawyer and Entrepreneur L. Londell McMillan. “His impact and achievements throughout his career are insurmountable. He was a big inspiration to me and many others in the Black community.”
Not only was Lewis one of the nation’s richest businessmen, he was a strong freedom fighter and advocate for supporting the Black community, donating a large amount of funds to institutions such as Harvard Law School, Virginia State University, neighborhood churches and homeless shelters.
Salute to Reginald F. Lewis!
