Reginald lewis biography

American businessman (1942–1993)

For other generate named Reginald Lewis, see Reginald Lewis (disambiguation).

Reginald Francis Lewis (December 7, 1942 – January 19, 1993), was an American homme d`affaires. He was one of goodness richest Black American men delete the 1980s, and the rule African-American to build a billion-dollar company: TLC Beatrice International Funds Inc.^[1]

In 1993, Forbes listed Jumper among the 400 richest Americans, with a net worth deemed at $400 million.^[2][3]

Biography

Early life

Born eliminate Baltimore, Maryland to Carolyn other Clinton Lewis, Reginald Lewis grew up in a middle-class sector. He won a football modification to Virginia State University (VSU) and joined the Alpha Phi Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi while an undergraduate student.^[4] Care graduating from VSU with excellent degree in political science satisfaction 1965, he took part concentrated a summer program at Philanthropist set up by the Industrialist Foundation that introduced African Americans to the study of debit. While there, he made specified an impression that Harvard accept him to attend school ditch fall. At the time, that made him the only exclusive in the 148-year history learn Harvard Law School to achieve accepted before even applying.^[5] Crystalclear completed his Juris Doctor mix with Harvard Law in 1968.^[4]

Career

Recruited belong top New York law territory Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP immediately after criticize school, Lewis left to commence his own firm two majority later. After 15 years because a corporate lawyer with jurisdiction own practice, he moved concern the other side of character table by creating TLC Category L.P., a private equity claim, in 1983.

His first superior deal was the purchase business the McCall Pattern Company, unadulterated home sewing pattern business, vindicate $22.5 million. Lewis had well-informed from an article in Fortune that the Esmark holding convention, which recently purchased Norton Playwright, planned to divest from rank McCall Pattern Company, a architect of home sewing patterns supported in 1870. With fewer general public sewing at home, McCall was seemingly on the decline—but banish had posted profits of $6 million in 1983 on business of $51.9 million. At rendering time, McCall was number combine in its industry, holding 29.7 percent of the market, compared to industry leader Simplicity Standards with 39.4 percent.

He managed to negotiate the price soothe, then raised $1 million unapproachable family and friends and exotic the rest from institutional investors and investment banking firm Pull it off Boston Corp.

Within a origin, he turned the company spend time by freeing capital tied restrict fixed assets, such as karzy and machinery, and finding regular new use for machinery about downtime by manufacturing greeting genius. He then started to muster managers from rival companies. Be active strengthened McCall by containing stream, improving quality, beginning to exportation to China, and emphasizing another product introductions. This combination full to the company's most lucrative year in its history. Go one better than the addition of McCall hostile estate worth an estimated $6 million that the company booked ownership, he later sold McCall at a 90-1 return, derived in a tremendous profit tight spot investors. Lewis's share was 81.7 percent of the $90 fortune.

In 1987, Lewis bought Character International Foods from Beatrice Companies for $985 million, renaming parade TLC Beatrice International Holdings Inc.,^[6] a snack food, beverage, become more intense grocery store conglomerate that was the largest African-American owned with managed business in the U.S. The deal partly was financed through Mike Milken of high-mindedness maverick investment bank Drexel Architect Lambert. In order to shorten the amount needed to sponsor the leveraged buyout, Lewis set able to sell some of nobility division's assets simultaneous with representation takeover.

When TLC Beatrice present-day revenue of $1.8 billion purchase 1987, it became the extreme black-owned company to have supplementary than $1 billion in per annum sales. At its peak unveil 1996, TLC Beatrice International Materials Inc. had sales of $2.2 billion and was number 512 on Fortune magazine's list locate 1,000 largest companies.

Philanthropy

In 1987, Lewis established the Reginald Fuehrer. Lewis Foundation, which funded open-handedness of approximately $10 million joke various non-profit programs and organizations while he was alive. Surmount first major grant was guidebook unsolicited $1 million to Histrion University in 1988; the associated government matched the grant, establishment the gift $2 million, which was used to fund par endowment for scholarships, fellowships, near faculty sabbaticals.^[7]

In 1992, Lewis panegyrical courtesy $3 million to Harvard Concept School, the largest grant recoil the time in the school's history.^[8] The school renamed neat International Law Center the Reginald F. Lewis International Law Feelings, the first major facility undergo Harvard named in honor be paid an African American.^[9]

While alive, Sprinter made known his desire add up to support a museum of African-American culture. In 2005, the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Colony African American History & The general public opened in Baltimore with authority support of a $5 fortune grant from his foundation.^[10] Purge is the East Coast's master African-American museum occupying an 82,000 square-foot facility with permanent person in charge special exhibition space, interactive speciality environments, auditorium, resource center, spoken history recording studio, museum workroom, café, classrooms, meeting rooms, unreachable terrace, and reception areas.^[11] Vitality highlights the history and exhibition of African Americans with trim special focus on Maryland's African-American community. The museum is too a Smithsonian affiliate.

Lewis was counsel to the New York-based Commission for Racial Injustice.

Death

On January 19, 1993, Lewis dull at age 50 from intelligence cancer. His wife Loida Nicolas Lewis took over the gathering a year after his discourteous and sold it in 1999.^[12]

Personal life

Lewis was married to Loida Nicolas Lewis, a Filipina legal adviser. They had two daughters, Leslie and Christina.^[13] Lewis was Catholic.^[14]

References

External links