Why Should White Guys Have All the Fun?
How Reginald Lewis Created a Billion-dollar Business Empire
Published on 28. October 1994
Book
Hardback
336 pages
978-0-471-04227-3 (ISBN)
Description
"Voyages deep into the frenzied, complex world of LBO transactions. "BusinessWeek. "Sheds light on an important chapter in both African-American and American business history. "Earl G. Graves, Publisher, Black Enterprise magazine. When Reginald Lewis was six years old, his grandparents asked his opinion about employment discrimination against blacks. Reg replied simply, "Why should white guys have all the fun?" Why, indeed! Lewis grew up to become the wealthiest black man in history and one of the most successful entrepreneurs of all time, reigning over a commercial empire that spanned four continents. At the time of his death in 1993, his personal fortune was estimated at $400 million. "Why Should White Guys Have All the Fun?" traces Lewis's rise from a working- class neighborhood in east Baltimore to Harvard Law School and ultimately into the elite circle of Wall Street deal-makers. Expanding on Lewis's unfinished autobiography, journalist Blair Walker completes a vivid portrait of a proud, fiercely determined man with a razor-sharp tongueand an intellect to match.
He shows how Lewis's lifelong hunger for wealth and personal glory fueled his success on the playing field, in the classroom, and in the boardroom. Walker also provides a rare insider's view of Lewis, the iron-willed negotiator and brilliant business strategist in action as he finesses one phenomenal deal after another. A moving saga of personal courage and determination as well as a virtual how-to book for those who would like to follow in Lewis's footsteps, "Why Should White Guys Have All the Fun?" is every bit as memorable as the man whose story it tells.
He shows how Lewis's lifelong hunger for wealth and personal glory fueled his success on the playing field, in the classroom, and in the boardroom. Walker also provides a rare insider's view of Lewis, the iron-willed negotiator and brilliant business strategist in action as he finesses one phenomenal deal after another. A moving saga of personal courage and determination as well as a virtual how-to book for those who would like to follow in Lewis's footsteps, "Why Should White Guys Have All the Fun?" is every bit as memorable as the man whose story it tells.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Publishing group
John Wiley and Sons Ltd
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Illustrations
Illustrations, ports.
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Weight
680 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-471-04227-3 (9780471042273)
Copyright in bibliographic data is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or its licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
REGINALD F. LEWIS was chairman, chief executive, and principal shareholder of TLC Beatrice International Holdings, Inc., until his untimely death of brain cancer in January, 1993. He was fifty years old when he died. BLAIR S. WALKER is a former financial writer with the "Money" section of USA Today. He has also worked as an editor with New York Newsday and as a reporter with the Chicago bureau of The Associated Press.
Content
Partial table of contents: A Kid from East Baltimore. Lewis's ''Demon Work Ethic'': The High School Years. ''I'm Going to Be a Millionaire'': Lewis at Virginia State. No Application Needed: Breaking Down the Doors of Harvard Law. Building His Own Law Practice: The Years of Struggle. ''Masterful'' Man: Winning Loida Nicolas. ''I Was Not Ready.'' Piloting McCall for a 90-to-1 Gain. The Biggest Deal of All: The Billion-Dollar LBO of Beatrice. Taming a Business Behemoth. A Door to a New Universe. Connoisseur, Philanthropist, Citizen of the World. Epilogue. Sources Interviewed. Index. About the Authors.