Black Fortunes
The Story of the First Six African Americans Who Escaped Slavery and Became Millionaires
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Black Fortunes
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Narrated by:
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Ron Butler
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By:
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Shomari Wills
About this listen
The astonishing untold history of America's first Black millionaires - former slaves who endured incredible challenges to amass and maintain their wealth for a century, from the Jacksonian period to the Roaring '20s - self-made entrepreneurs whose unknown success mirrored that of American business heroes such as Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller, and Thomas Edison.
While Oprah Winfrey, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Michael Jordan, and Will Smith are among the estimated 35,000 Black millionaires in the nation today, these famous celebrities were not the first Blacks to reach the storied 1 percent. Between the years of 1830 and 1927, as the last generation of Blacks born into slavery were reaching maturity, a small group of smart, tenacious, and daring men and women broke new ground to attain the highest levels of financial success.
Black Fortunes is an intriguing look at these remarkable individuals, including Napoleon Bonaparte Drew - author Shomari Wills' great-great-great-grandfather - the first Black man in Powhatan County (contemporary Richmond) to own property in post-Civil War Virginia. His achievements were matched by five other unknown Black entrepreneurs including:
- Mary Ellen Pleasant, who used her Gold Rush wealth to further the cause of abolitionist John Brown
- Robert Reed Church, who became the largest landowner in Tennessee
- Hannah Elias, the mistress of a New York City millionaire, who used the land her lover gave her to build an empire in Harlem
- Orphan and self-taught chemist Annie Turnbo-Malone, who developed the first national brand of hair care products
- Madam C. J Walker, Turnbo-Malone's employee who would earn the nickname America's "first female Black millionaire"
- Mississippi school teacher O. W. Gurley, who developed a piece of Tulsa, Oklahoma, into a "town" for wealthy Black professionals and craftsmen that would become known as "the Black Wall Street"
A fresh, little-known chapter in the nation's story - a blend of Hidden Figures, Titan, and The Tycoons - Black Fortunes illuminates the birth of the Black business titan and the emergence of the Black marketplace in America as never before.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
©2018 Shomari Wills (P)2018 HarperCollins PublishersListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about Black Fortunes
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jjay 🖤
- 11-10-19
Black Fortunes
This book is well written, well informed and well narrated. I fully enjoyed listening to it and the voice of the narrator. I knew the names but not the stories of those men and women leading the black wealth journey. From this book I learnt much about American history, the economics, the race issue and the truth about the Tulsa Riots!
I highly recommend to all and definitely feel that all teenagers should hear this important books words. Now that I have finished I will have my son (teenager) hear it.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Shamane Lee McKnight
- 05-07-20
Informative and Amazing
This book is a very informal and an amazing listen. I think its so important for children to leran thisnin schools. I only heard of 3 of the millionaires and was so happy to learn of the other.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Haydn Corrodus
- 09-04-19
Should be turned into a TV show!
I really enjoyed Black Fortunes, so much so that I’m going to also get a physical copy for my library.
It an amazing narrative really giving a fresh take on that period of American history. It demonstrates the often brilliance of the black people of the time, while also drilling home the fact that despite their riches, when it came to it, they were still often seen as second class citizens.
The way that it’s been written really made me think about the way society is set up in 2019 and it was saddened me that some of the issues touched on in regards to race relations, self hate and the down playing of black women are still very much part of the world we live in.
I’d definitely recommend the book to anyone who has an interest in black/American history, the slave era and even enterprise and entrepreneurship.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Jossy
- 04-01-19
Black Excellence
An eye opener to how some of the most ambitious black entrepreneurs overcame the unrivalled adversity of post-slavery America.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Anonymous User
- 04-04-18
Excellent!
Loved it! By turns, enlightening, inspirational and distressing but still sounding a note of optimism.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Angus
- 21-04-22
Untold histories:
This rich and complex moment in history is well inscribed by Wills who manages to capture these characters and their eccentricities in their grandeur. These stranger than fiction rags to riches tales will one day become the next generation of history. Films will be made and further books will be written. Some already have been, eg. Netflix's ‘Self Made’ about Madam C.J. Walker. So good I read it twice.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Rick Da-Ruler
- 14-11-22
wow
this was such an inspiring book loved every word of it definitely recommend reading
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