You probably didn’t know that these Black entrepreneurs borrowed money to start their business empires

John Johnson

Johnson started his publishing business with a $500 loan against his mother’s furniture and $6,000 raised through charter subscriptions for the Negro Digest which later became Black World. In 1951, Johnson Publishing expanded again, with the creation of Jet, the world’s largest African American news weekly magazine (1951–2014).

Ebony earned acclaim and became revolutionary for its coverage of the civil rights movement and profiling of successful Black businesses, at a time when African Americans were rarely covered in the press unless it was for committing crimes. Naturally, it also became a forum for Black startups and businesses to advertise.

For African Americans, Ebony and Jet meant a lot; it reinforced positive images of themselves. The magazines could be found in almost any black-owned beauty parlor and barber shop across the country, where customers would typically read while waiting to be serviced. At some point, it is said that Ebony alone was reaching more than 40 percent of the nation’s black adults — a reach that was unmatched by any other general-interest magazine in the country.

With Ebony and Jet Magazine, Johnson built a massively successful publishing and marketing empire that earned him a spot on the Forbes magazine’s annual list of the 400 richest Americans in 1982, becoming the first black person to do so.

In addition to publishing, Johnson owned Fashion Fair Cosmetics, a makeup and skincare company for black women, and Supreme Beauty products, hair care for men and women. He also owned three radio stations, a book publishing company and a television production company.