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Entrepreneurs
Reginald Lewis
1942–1993
First African American to build a billion-dollar company (Beatrice International).
📖Biography
Reginald Francis Lewis was an American businessman, lawyer, and philanthropist. In 1987, he orchestrated the leveraged buyout of Beatrice International Foods for $985 million, making it the largest offshore leveraged buyout at the time.
Key Achievements
1
First Black American to build a billion-dollar company
2
Harvard Law School graduate
3
Acquired Beatrice International Foods
4
Major philanthropist for education
Legacy & Impact
Lewis blazed a trail for Black Americans in high finance and corporate America, proving that Black leadership could compete at the highest levels of business.