Business
Black Firsts in Business & Finance
From Madam C.J. Walker's self-made empire to Robert Johnson's billion-dollar media company, these entrepreneurs and executives rewrote the rules of American business.
6 firsts documented
business 2001 Who Was the First Black Billionaire? Robert L. Johnson Founded Black Entertainment Television in 1980 and sold it to Viacom for $3 billion, becoming the first Black American billionaire. business 2003 Who Was the First Black Female Billionaire? Oprah Winfrey Built a media and production empire from her television career, debuting on the Forbes Billionaires list with $2.8 billion. business 1987 Who Was the First Black CEO of a Fortune 500 Company? Clifton Wharton Jr. Led TIAA-CREF, one of the world's largest pension funds, previously the first Black president of Michigan State University. business 2009 Who Was the First Black Woman CEO of a Fortune 500 Company? Ursula Burns Led Xerox Corporation from 2009 to 2016, rising from a summer internship to the top of a global technology company. business 1910 Who Was the First Self-Made Female Millionaire in America? Madam C.J. Walker Developed hair care products for Black women and organized one of the first direct-sales networks in America. business 1903 Who Was the First Black Woman to Charter a U.S. Bank? Maggie Lena Walker Founded the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank in Richmond, Virginia, and served as its president.