The Most Successful Businesses Started by Black Americans

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For more than a century, black entrepreneurs have formed major businesses across vast industries like tech, media, and finance. Black Americans have left a lasting impact on the country's economy. And their stories are as rich as the businesses they formed.

So let’s take a look at some of the most successful companies started by African Americans.

BET

BET Media Group's portfolio includes VH1.

Before becoming the biggest media company aimed at an African American viewership, BET or Black Entertainment Television was just a small cable outlet that aired only two hours of programming a week in 1980.

But founder Robert L. Johnson had a bigger vision. And in 1991, BET grew to become the first Black-run company to land on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). BET blew up throughout the 1990s with its popular music video broadcasts and its venture into the Dot Com era.

Fast forward to the 2020s and BET remains a powerhouse as BET Media Group, the world’s largest media company dedicated to entertaining, educating, and empowering the black community worldwide.

BET reaches more than 104 million households across six continents.

In 2022, BET Media Group generated total revenue of about $1.5 billion. It’s currently a subsidiary of Paramount.

World Wide Technology (IT)

WWT is a successful IT company founded in the '90s.

World Wide Technology is a large IT company founded by David Steward and Jim Kavanaugh in 1990. Since then, WWT has worked with major tech and AI companies like NVIDIA and Cisco.

WWT has earned $20 billion in annual revenue plus $6+ billion internationally.

Steward remains its chairman today. And the road there was no easy one.

“I vividly remember segregation—separate schools, sitting in the balcony at the movie theater, being barred from the public swimming pool,” Steward said.

Blavity

Blavity is a fast-growing media company.

Some names on our list have been around for a long time, but this one is just coming up. And fast.

Blavity is a media company aimed at the black community. Its coverage includes black culture, technology, and travel.

It was founded in 2014 by CEO Morgan DeBaun. And right out the gate, Blavity earned funding from major names like GV, Comcast Ventures, and Plexo Capital.

Blavity reaches 100 million consumers in Black and multicultural communities each month. It also made the 2023 Inc 5000 list of fastest-growing private companies in America.

FUBU

FUBU saw success blending clothing and hip-hop culture.

Although it’s currently reestablishing itself in the U.S., FUBU spent much of the ‘90s as one of the biggest names in “street wear” and apparel.

It was founded by Daymond John in 1993 when John and three of his friends decided they wanted to create a unique brand of sportswear. After rapper LL Cool J wore a FUBU hat in a GAP commercial, the brand got major exposure, which eventually led to deals with the NBA and Samsung.

Following a wildly successful decade, FUBU turned to international markets after hype in the U.S. seemed to cool down. But today, FUBU is making its way back to the U.S. with an eye toward Gen-Z and its connection to hip-hop culture.

DC Design

DC Design focuses on areas like education and wealth building.

Describing itself as a social impact consulting firm, DC Design aims to reinvigorate underserved communities by focusing on its main asset: people.

DC Design launches projects that center around education, housing, criminal justice, healthcare, and wealth creation.

It was founded by Stanford University graduate and entrepreneur Durell Coleman. Today, DC Design clients include non-profits, governments, foundations, and more.

Carver Federal Savings Bank

Carver is one of the largest African American run banks in the country.

Some legacies in the black community weren’t started by one person. Carver Federal Savings Bank was founded in 1948 in Harlem by a group of community leaders who wanted to extend financial services and capital in places generally ignored by established banks.

Flash forward to the 2020s and that vision remains. Carver stands as one of the largest African American run banks in the U.S.

And the The Treasury Department has recognized Carver as among the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) due to its commitment to generate business and economic vitality in underserved communities. Its headquarters are still in Harlem.

Johnson Publishing Company

JPC ran leading magazines in the African American community.

The Johnson Publishing Company is father to Ebony and Jet, two of the most influential magazines in African American culture. It can trace its roots back to 1942, when it was established by John H. Johnson in Chicago. Johnson started the company with a $500 loan for which he used his mother’s furniture as collateral. With Ebony and Jet, the company reached unprecedented heights in the 1960s and became among the largest black-owned companies by the early 2000s.

“Ebony and Jet showed Black people going places they had never been, doing things they had never done,” Johnson said. “The magazines covered the dreams and the dreamers. It covered the struggles and became the struggle. The company was the manifestation of ideas whose time had come.”

Johnson ran the company until his passing in 2005. His daughter and CEO Linda Johnson Rice has recreated JPC to pursue TV, film, and other multimedia projects.

North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company

NC Mutual traces its roots back to the 1800s.

Although now defunct, the story of North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company deserves a tell. It was founded in 1898 by a group that included John Merrick, a businessman born into slavery.

Merrick eventually established a successful barbershop business in the Durham area before joining forces with community leaders to create NC Mutual.

It grew to be one of the biggest black-onwed financial services companies in the U.S. before dissolving in 2022.

Salamander Hotels & Resorts

Salamander offers luxurious getaways.

Salamander Hotels & Resorts was founded by Sheila Johnson, who also co-founded the BET cable TV network. In 2005, she used some of the money she earned through that venture to put up a line of luxury hotels, spas, and resorts. Today, the company is also venturing into real estate.

Why we covered this

Entrepreneurship is found across the African American community.

The stories of companies founded by Black Americans are as rich as they are vast. So to give you a glimpse of some Black-founded companies you may or may not know about, we created this guide.

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