Lawyer, Entreprenuer, Family Man, Philantropist
Reginald F. Lewis was born on December 7, 1942, in a Baltimore, Maryland, neighborhood he later described as “semi-tough.” Strongly influenced by his family, he began his career at the age of ten by delivering the local Afro-American newspaper. Fortune Magazine reported that “as a child, Lewis kept his earnings in a tin can known as ‘Reggie’s Hidden Treasure.’” The tin can had been given to him by his grandmother, who taught him the importance of saving some of everything he earned. Reginald later sold his newspaper business at a profit. During his high school years at Dunbar, Reginald excelled in both his studies and sports. In addition, Reginald worked nights and weekends at jobs with his grandfather, a head waiter and maitre d’. Lewis won a football scholarship to Virginia State College (now Virginia State University), graduating with a degree in economics in 1965. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1968. After working at several law firms, Lewis opened TLC Group, a venture capital firm. In 1987 Lewis bought Beatrice International Foods for $985 million, and created TLC Beatrice, a snack food, beverage, and grocery store conglomerate that was the largest black-owned and black-managed business in the U.S. At its peak in 1996, TLC Beatrice had sales of $2.2 billion and was number 512 on Fortune magazine's list of 1,000 largest companies. Lewis was also a prominent philanthropist. His 1992 gift to Harvard Law School was the largest single donation the school had received and created the Reginald F. Lewis Fund for International Study and Research. Even after his death at age 50 due to brain cancer, Reginald's philanthropic endeavors continue. During his illness, he made known his desire to support a museum of African American culture. In 2002, the Vice President of the foundation read an article in the Baltimore Sun describing a museum of Maryland African American History and Culture slated to be built near Baltimore's Inner Harbor. After further research and discussion, especially relative to the partnership between the museum and the Maryland State Department of Education to develop an African American curriculum to be taught in all public schools in the state of Maryland, the foundation made its largest grant to date to the proposed museum; $5 million dollars. The money is an endowment with the interest to be used for educational purposes. Lawyer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, Chairman, CEO, husband, father, son, brother, nephew, cousin, friend—Reginald F. Lewis lived his life according to the words he often quoted to audiences around the country: “Keep going, no matter what.”
Read more: Reginald Lewis — Infoplease.com http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0878496.html#ixzz1F4UxUJIn
Also, you can visit the Reginal F. Lewis Museum's official website for more of his biography and musuem information.
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