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< | Reginald Lewis' Affect on My Life and Career
This should be "effect."
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> | Reginald Lewis' Effect on My Life and Career | | | -- By PierceHeard - 15 Apr 2024
Overview | |
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< | Reginald F. Lewis was a revolutionary. He was the first African American to build a billion dollar company,
"Build" doesn't seem right. Roughly 100 years after Beatrice Foods was founded, he helped to take it apart. He bought the international operations of the business; its domestic business went to KKR, which eventually disgorged it into Conagra.
Perhaps it would make more sense to say that, having worked on leveraged buyouts in the '80s style, he made the transition from lawyering to banking and put this deal together as the foundation of an enormous fortune.
Is it more accurate that Robert Johnson, who "built" in this sense Black Entertainment Television, was the first Africa-American to create a billion-dollar business? But I should think that (in constant dollar terms) there would be other earlier business-people deserving of the honor.
and he paved a path for many more behind him. Witnessing the heights Lewis was able to reach inspired a generation of Black men and women to bet on themselves and take risks to become today's business leaders.
How do we know who "inspires" whom? Does this depend on individual personal testimony of "a generation"?
While the job is far from over,
Technically, it is over, right? You don't mention that he has been dead for more than thirty years.
Lewis' legacy is far reaching and dramatically pushed the fight for equal representation in the world's elite in the right direction. | >
> | Reginald F. Lewis was a revolutionary. He was the first African American to build a billion dollar fortune by brokering a leveraged buyout of Beatrice Foods, and he paved a path for many more behind him. "There is no doubt that Reginald Lewis’ success paved the way for me, and many others, and I think that really is the test in demonstration of real leadership." (Pioneers: Reginald F. Lewis and the Making of a Billion Dollar Empire). Witnessing the heights Lewis was able to reach inspired me to bet on myself and take risks to secure financial freedom for my family, while leaving a legacy that makes the path easier for the generations that follow me. Although the journey to economic equality amongst racial groups is incomplete, Lewis' legacy certainly pushed the status quo in the right direction, and the impact of his contribution is still felt 31 years after his death. | | | African American Success Before Reginald Lewis | |
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< | Before Reginald Lewis, Black people in America often saw two paths to modern day wealth; they could either be an athlete, or an entertainer.
Doesn't this rather understate the successes of Black bankers, lawyers, doctors and business owners in the United States? Perhaps "modern" is doing extra work here?
All of the idols that the Black youth looked to for guidance were seemingly extraordinarily gifted and had some special "it" factor that made them famous. Of course these Black pioneers should not be brushed off; they made a huge contribution to society and had a positive impact on the Black community for years. The athletes inspired the youth to practice their sport abilities and become leaders of the field. The entertainers sprouted in the youth a desire to create masterpieces and contributed to some of the most important artistic works the world has ever seen. But without someone in the commercial sphere to inspire young Black kids, and show them that they can create wealth for themselves and their families while making a meaningful change, the idea simply would not blossom. This is the hole Reginald Lewis so effortlessly filled.
Marcus Garvey?
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> | Before Reginald Lewis, Black people in America often saw two paths to modern day wealth; they could either be an athlete, or an entertainer. Of course, there were African Americans who were beginning to enter banking, law, and even medicine; but none had reached the same level as Lewis. These Black pioneers should not be brushed off; they made a huge contribution to society and had a lasting positive impact on the Black community. But the extreme success that Richard Lewis achieved gained national attention. "Reginald Lewis’s business accomplishments transformed him into something of a celebrity. He was besieged with offers to appear at various functions and with requests to do media interviews... Among these were '60 Minutes,' '20-20,' 'The Charlie Rose Show,' and the 'Oprah Winfrey Show.'" (Why Should White Guys Have All The Fun?, by Reginald F. Lewis and Blair S. Walker, page 267). This national status provided the youth with a role model. He showed them that they can create wealth for themselves and their families while making a meaningful change in corporate America. | | |
Reginald Lewis' Success | |
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< | Reginald Lewis was a hard worker his whole life. In fact, his hard work and dedication led him down a path to gain admission to one of the top law schools in the world without even applying! From law school, he took the path that so many others do when exiting a great school with a crushing amount of debt; he entered private practice with one of the largest law firms on Wall Street. However, Lewis quickly found out that this was not fulfilling enough for him. After only two years with the firm, Lewis hung his own shingle and became the first Black owned law firm on Wall Street. He practiced for 15 years at his own firm specializing in corporate work before taking his next leap of faith. After acquiring years of business acumen and realizing that he was not getting a large enough piece of the pie for all of his work he decided to leave the law and create his own private equity firm. In four short years after taking the risk to start his own shop, he acquired a business valued at $985 million. This propelled Lewis to become one of the most dominant people in America's financial capital. With his newfound wealth and power he realized he was in a position where he could make a meaningful impact on the world. He established a foundation in his name that devoted money to universities for scholarships and research, to support an African-American culture museum, and he used his legal expertise to be a council to New York's Commission for Racial Justice. | >
> | Reginald Lewis was a hard worker his whole life. In fact, his hard work and dedication led him down a path to gain admission to one of the top law schools in the world without even applying! From law school, he entered private practice with one of the largest law firms on Wall Street. However, after only two years with the firm, Lewis hung his own shingle and opened the first Black owned law firm on Wall Street in a partnership with his fellow friends and former classmates. He practiced for 15 years at this firm before taking his next leap of faith. After acquiring years of business acumen, he decided to leave the law and create his own private equity firm. In four short years after taking the risk to start his own shop, he acquired a business valued at $985 million. This propelled Lewis to become one of the most dominant people in America's financial capital. With his newfound wealth and power, he realized he was in a position where he could make a meaningful impact on the world. He established a foundation in his name that within four years donated roughly $10 million to a variety of educational, civil rights, medical, and artistic institutions. Amongst this newfound success and wealth, Reginald Lewis always sought to stay grounded and treat others well. The former Mayor of New York City, David Dinkins, said “Reginald Lewis accomplished more in half a century than most of us could ever deem imaginable. And his brilliant career was matched always by a warm and generous heart.” (Reginald Lewis Bio) | | | Reginald Lewis' Effect On Me | |
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< | Learning of the heights Lewis was able to reach changed my entire perception of what a fulfilling life and career could look like for me. Seeing a Black man rise to the upper echelons of society and pulling up a seat at the table with the world's elite to ensure that his voice and the voice of his community was heard ignited a fire within me. I originally came to law school hoping to pursue a career of litigation at a top ranked firm and hopefully be able to invoke some progress in the world by representing my community on pro bono matters when I could find the time. After learning from Lewis' path as well as from the teachings from my Professor at law school, I now know this simply would not be enough for me. After all, "An Intellect great enough to win the prize needs other food besides success" (find what reading this quote was from). I see now that I can aim for much higher; I can devote my career to something that will actually lead to meaningful change while giving me a sense of fulfillment in my work. | >
> | Learning of the heights Lewis was able to reach changed my entire perception of what a fulfilling life and career could look like for me. Seeing a Black man rise to the upper echelons of society ignited a fire within me. After learning from Lewis' path, I now know that I want to be my own boss someday, and I feel confident that I can be a success on my own. I see now that I can aim for much higher than working in a job that does not satisfy me; I can devote my career to something that will actually lead to meaningful change while giving me a sense of fulfillment in my work. Additionally, while I strive for material wealth for my family and myself, it is important that I always treat others with kindness and warmth. | | | My Path Forward | |
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< | I see my career looking very similar to my Lewis' and I would be grateful to be even a sliver as successful as he was. I now plan to do transactional work at a large firm straight out of law school to hopefully get some of the "experience" that they so proudly claim to provide. But I no longer plan to stay too long. I want to hang my own shingle and be my own boss and pursue matters that interest me. I now want to wake up and do whatever it is that I want to do; and never have to say or do anything unless it aligns with my beliefs and my values.
You are not asserting that this was true of Reginald Lewis, I take it, There's no academic biography, so far as I am aware, The sources on Milken and Drexel Burnham Lambert in his heyday have also not been fully explored, So it would probably be far in advance of the evidence we have to draw conclusions about the state of Lewis' actual independence.
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> | I see my career looking very similar to Lewis'. I hope to start off in law and perhaps pivot to a business role and start my own company. I want to pursue matters that interest me and work on issues that keep me engaged and constantly learning. Through these ventures I hope to be able to donate money to organizations that benefit society and leave an impact that inspires the youth to chase their dreams and become the business leaders of tomorrow. Without having a role model such as Reginald Lewis, I likely would not have the confidence to pursue business ownership due to the racial and socio-economic barriers that are in place in today's society. Lewis showed me that through education, hard work, and perseverance I can break these barriers and achieve my goals. | | | Conclusion | |
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< | In conclusion, Reginald Lewis showed me that I can be whoever I want to be in this world. He passed on the torch to the next generation of Black people and taught us to become our own bosses, to become the next titans of industry, and when we reach these mountaintops to ensure that we leave a meaningful impact for those that are next to come. He instilled in me the desire to ensure that the system hears our voice, and to strive to level the playing field by giving us a seat at the table. Luckily, this flame has been fanned by the teachings of a cherished Professor as well. With role models such as these, that teach me to not settle for the low hanging fruit, I have regained the confidence to believe that I can reach any peak I choose to climb. | >
> | In conclusion, Reginald Lewis showed me that I can be whoever I want to be in this world. He passed the torch to the next generation of Black America and taught us to become our own bosses, and the next titans of industry. Simultaneously, he showed us that when we reach these mountaintops, to ensure that we leave a meaningful impact for those that are next to come. Reginald Lewis demonstrates the importance of having role models that represent you; by achieving success in America and breaking racial barriers, Lewis showed me that I can achieve anything I put my mind to. | | | | |
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I think the draft could use a tough edit for tightening: it's not economical with its words. Perhaps it would be good to try to get a little further than the Wikipedia article so far as sources are concerned. Did he leave his papers to Harvard or somewhere else? | | | | |
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< | Aside from the "always a hard worker" cliche, we don't really get any sense of the human being from the Wikipedia treatment. So it's a little hard to estimate what it means to take the man as a personal model. Beyond getting rich and leaving some money to a law school and a museum, to what does "following the example of Reginald Lewis" commit one?
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