Black Fortunes: The Story of the First Six African Americans Who Survived Slavery and Became Millionaires

This remarkable book celebrates the untold history of America’s first black millionaires, all of whom were slaves. Attacked and often demonised, these courageous men and women beat the odds to acquire and maintain their wealth for a century. Their success mirrored that of such well known white business figures as Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and John D. Rockefeller. Oprah Winfrey, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Michael Jordan, and Will Smith are among the estimated 35,000 black millionaires in modern America, but it was a small group of African Americans who prepared the ground for the success they now enjoy. Between the years 1830 and 1927, the last generation of black people born into slavery was reaching maturity. There was Robert Reed Church, who became the largest landowner in Tennessee; Mary Ellen Pleasant, who used her Gold Rush wealth to further the cause of abolitionist John Brown; orphan and self-taught chemist Annie Turnbo-Malone, who developed the first national brand of hair care products; and Bonaparte Drew, the author’s great, great, great grandfather who was the first black man in Powhatan County to own property in post-Civil War Virginia. Black Fortunes illuminates the birth of the black business titan in a way that has never been done before.

Format: Kindle Edition, Audiobook, Hardcover, Paperback & Audio CD

Paperback: 384 Pages

Language: English