Reginald F. Lewis
Reginald F. Lewis was a business pioneer, philanthropist and titan who was listed on the Forbes 400 in 1992. Lewis was considered the richest African-American man in the 1980s.
A graduate of Harvard Law School, he founded the TLC Group L.P., a venture capital firm, in 1983. Through the firm, he bought the home sewing pattern business, McCall Pattern Company, for $22.5 million, and then sold it three years later for $65 million.
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In 1987, he bought Beatrice International Foods for $985 million and renamed it TLC Beatrice International; the snack food, beverage, and grocery store conglomerate of 64 companies in 31 countries. Soon, TLC Beatrice International became the largest, black-owned business in the country. In that same year, the company reported a revenue of $1.8 billion, making it the first black-owned company to have more than $1 billion annual sales.
Lewis paved the way for future entrepreneurs and black leaders through his life’s work until his untimely death at age 50.
