Reginald F. Lewis was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on December 7, 1942. In the 1980s, he was known as the most prominent African American businessman in America. He was a lawyer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, Chairman, and CEO.[1]
His mother was a mail carrier and his father a teacher. His parents raised him in believing his education was highly important. They also taught him to work hard and save his money. Lewis’ life and career only proves that he believed his parents as at the age of 8, Lewis got a job delivering newspapers and started saving and handling his own money.[2]
In 1968, Lewis graduated from Harvard Law School and went to work at a prestigious New York Law firm called, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison for a couple years before he began work at Murphy, Thorpe & Lewis, where he was a partner.
Lewis furthered his professional life on Wall Street before he started buying and building companies. The company he is most known for is TLC (The Lewis Company) Beatrice International, which was formerly known as Beatrice Foods. Lewis acquired this company in 1987. This leveraged buyout became known as the largest at the time of overseas assets by an American Company at $985 million.
However, with Lewis’ business knowledge, he was able to pay down debt and increase the company’s worth, making TLC Beatrice International a $1.6 billion dollar company.[3] This action also made Reginald F. Lewis the first African American to build a billion dollar company. For the next decade, TLC Beatrice International was known as the nation’s largest African American business. In 1996, the company was sold.[4]
By 1992, Reginald F. Lewis was on the Forbes 400 richest men in America list, with a net worth of $400 million. Lewis passed away from a cerebral hemorrhage after his short battle with cancer on January 19, 1993, at the age of 50. After his death, his wife, Loida Nicolas-Lewis took over TLC Beatrice International until it was sold. [5]
[1] “Reginald F. Lewis – RFL Official Site.” Reginald F. Lewis – RFL Official Site. Accessed November 15, 2017. http://www.reginaldflewis.com/.
[2] “Reginald F. Lewis.” Biography.com. February 13, 2015. Accessed November 15, 2017. https://www.biography.com/people/reginald-f-lewis.
[3] “About.” Reginald F. Lewis | Reginald F. Lewis Museum. Accessed November 15, 2017. http://www.lewismuseum.org/about/reginald-lewis.
[4] “TLC Beatrice International Holdings, Inc.” History of TLC Beatrice International Holdings, Inc. – FundingUniverse. Accessed November 15, 2017. http://www.fundinguniverse.com/company-histories/tlc-beatrice-international-holdings-inc-history/.
[5] “Reginald Lewis.” Wikipedia. November 08, 2017. Accessed November 15, 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald_Lewis.
wow !!!! that’s really coming out strong …(think we’re gona get along just swell …!!!!!! )