Why Should White Guys Have All the Fun? How Reginald Lewis Created a Billion-Dollar Business Empire

by Lewis, Reginald F.; Walker, Blair S.; Parsons, Richard

• ISBN13: 9781574780505
• ISBN10: 1574780506
• Edition: PAP/DVD CM
• Format: Package
• Copyright: 2013-01-08
• Publisher: Black Classic Press

Summary

"Why Should White Guys Have All The Fun?" is the inspiring story of Reginald F. Lewis's remarkable journey to become the wealthiest black man in history and one of the most successful entrepreneurs of all time. This title is an inspiration not only to entrepreneurs but anyone fighting against prohibitive odds. This revised edition includes a DVD of interviews and tributes, a new introduction by Richard Parsons (ex-CEO of Citigroup) and and afterword by Ken Chenault (CEO of American Express). One of Reginald Lewis's earliest childhood memories was of hearing his grandparent's talk of employment discrimination against African-Americans. When asked for his opinion on the subject, six year-old Reg simply replied: "Why should white guys have all the fun?" This self-assured boy would grow up to become the wealthiest black man in history and one of the most successful entrepreneurs of all time. Profiled in Forbes magazine as one of the four-hundred wealthiest businesspeople in America, Lewis reigned over a commercial empire spanning four continents. At the time of his death in 1993, his personal fortune was estimated by Forbes to be in excess of $400 million. Having led his own successful Wall Street law firm, Lewis masterminded some of the most spectacular deals, including the $1 billion purchase of food giant Beatrice International-one of the largest leveraged buyouts ever. Despite the notoriety surrounding Lewis's financial coups, little has been written about the life of this remarkable but private man. Based on Reginald Lewis's unfinished autobiography, as well as scores of interviews with family, friends, and colleagues, "Why Should White Guys Have All The Fun?" cuts through the myth and media hype to reveal the man behind the legend. What emerges is a vivid portrait of a proud, fiercely determimed individual with a razor-sharp tongue—and an intellect to match—who would settle for nothing less than excellence for himself and others. Lewis's life is traced from an east Baltimore working-class neighborhood to Harvard Law School and and ultimately into the elite circle of Wall Street deal makers. Journalist Blair Walker shows how Lewis's lifelong hunger for wealth and personal achievement drove him to success at whatever he turned his hand to. A noted art collector and connoisseur, he was also a celebrated philanthropist who gave away a vast fortune to charity.

Author Biography

Reginald F. Lewis was chairman, chief executive officer, and principle shareholder of TLC Beatrice International Holdings, Inc., until his death from brain cancer in January 1993. Born into a Black working-class family in Baltimore, he had pushed himself onto Forbes magazine’s 400 list of wealthiest Americans at the time of his untimely death at age 50. Blair Walker is a former financial reporter with USA Today. He has been writing professionally since 1980. He has been an editor with New York Newsday and the Washington Post, and has been a reporter with the Baltimore Sun and the Chicago bureau of The Associated Press. Blair has also freelanced for Emerge, AutoWeek, Fortune, Africans Americans on Wheels and BET Weekend magazines. Richard Parsons is a business executive who served as Chairman of Citigroup from 2009 - 2012 and Chief Executive Officer of Time Warner from 2002-2007. Hailing from a working-class background, Parsons regularly makes Fortune magazine's annual list of the most powerful people in business, and is considered to be one of the most respected African American executives in the country.