Black Enterprise Titans of the B.E. 100s: Black CEOs Who Redefined and Conquered American Business [Hardcover]

Derek T. Dingle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 12, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0471318531 | ISBN-13: 978-0471318538 | Edition: 1

"Money has no color. If you can build a better mousetrap, it won't matter whether you're black or white. People will buy it." —A. G. Gaston Black Enterprise's 1992 Entrepreneur of the Century.

For more than 25 years, Black Enterprise, the premier African American business magazine, has ranked and chronicled the B.E. 100s—its exclusive listing of the nation's top-grossing, black-owned businesses. Generating more than $14 billion in annual revenue and employing more than 55,000 people, these companies represent a vibrant and often overlooked segment of the American economy. Their CEOs, among the wealthiest and most powerful players in the black business community, have been the vanguard of an entrepreneurial revolution. They achieved greatness despite a lack of capital, diminished access, and even outright racism, using their imagination and drive to seize opportunities and break through barriers.

First in the new Black Enterprise series, Titans of the B.E. 100s profiles eleven of these remarkable leaders of the largest black-owned businesses. Covering a broad cross-section of companies and industries, this compelling book features both today's emerging entrepreneurs and the established CEOs, revealing the secrets of how they beat the odds and the hard truths about the myriad challenges they've faced.

No other book brings together so many contemporary black business success stories. Through in-depth, first-person interviews, you'll meet the titans who started their companies from the ground up and were relentless in doing so; who filled a void in the consumer market and, in turn, revolutionized whole industries; and who love the companies that they run and are energized by new ventures. Each chapter profiles a different business legend: From John H. Johnson, founder of Ebony and Jet magazines; to Herman J. Russell, who used $125 to create the nation's largest black-owned construction firm; to Emma C. Chappell, the People's Banker, who launched the United Bank of Philadelphia; to Robert L. Johnson, who created Black Entertainment Television and then transformed BET Holdings, Inc. from a single cable network to an entertainment monolith that became the first black-owned business listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

Inspiring and motivating, Titans of the B.E. 100s will introduce you to an incredible group of men and women who made a profound impact upon global business, symbolizing a spectacular realization of the American Dream.

Praise for TITANS OF the B.E. 100s. "Titans of the B.E. 100s challenges the vintage profile of the entrepreneur by showcasing the impressive and dynamic careers of African American executives who surmounted social, economic, and political barriers to gain their deserved place in today's world of the business elite."—Kweisi Mfume, President and CEO, NAACP.

"Titans of the B.E. 100s aptly documents the achievements of African American entrepreneurs who embody the legacy of the twentieth century and the hope of the twenty-first century. The principles espoused by these esteemed business leaders are essential to the future of the civil rights movement as we prepare our children for self-reliance and our adults for economic self-sufficiency in the next century.—Hugh B. Price, President, National Urban League.

The intriguing profiles in this book tell the stories of a group of people who started with nothing and went straight to the top, overcoming obstacles with tenacity, ingenuity, and sheer bravery: Don H. Barden

• Emma C. Chappell
• Mel Farr Sr.
• Charles H. James III
• John H. Johnson
• Robert L. Johnson
• Byron E. Lewis
• Herman J. Russell
• Russell Simmons
• Clarence O. Smith
• Percy E. Sutton.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

During the past quarter century, Black Enterprise magazine has been authoritatively chronicling the prime movers and shakers among African American entrepreneurs while annually ranking their top companies in numerous categories. Now, in Black Enterprise Titans of the B.E. 100s, editor-at-large Derek T. Dingle looks more closely at the 11 individuals who operate America's very largest black-owned firms. Among them are the well-known, such as Jet and Ebony magazine founder John H. Johnson and Black Entertainment Television creator Robert L. Johnson, along with the not-so-well-known, such as auto dealer and former NFL star Mel Farr Sr. and "People's Banker" Emma C. Chappell. Touching upon an array of industries--ranging from media and music to food processing and construction--it presents these "passionate, proud and persevering" men (and one woman) in illuminating profiles that benefit from the magazine's long-range perspective. They show how both established and emerging leaders have used "imagination and drive" to battle "a lack of capital, diminished access, and outright racism" and still succeed on such a grand level. Additionally, they introduce these formidable corporate figures to a broader audience that in the future will also benefit from their experiences. --Howard Rothman

From the Inside Flap

Titans of the B.E. 100s Black CEOs Who Redefined and Conquered American Business "Money has no color. If you can build a better mousetrap, it won?t matter whether you?re black or white. People will buy it." —A. G. Gaston, Black Enterprise?s 1992 Entrepreneur of the Century

For more than 25 years, Black Enterprise, the premier African American business magazine, has ranked and chronicled the B.E. 100s?its exclusive listing of the nation?s top-grossing, black-owned businesses. Generating more than $14 billion in annual revenue and employing more than 55,000 people, these companies represent a vibrant and often overlooked segment of the American economy. Their CEOs, among the wealthiest and most powerful players in the black business community, have been the vanguard of an entrepreneurial revolution. They achieved greatness despite a lack of capital, diminished access, and even outright racism, using their imagination and drive to seize opportunities and break through barriers. First in the new Black Enterprise series, Titans of the B.E. 100s profiles eleven of these remarkable leaders of the largest black-owned businesses. Covering a broad cross-section of companies and industries, this compelling book features both today?s emerging entrepreneurs and the established CEOs, revealing the secrets of how they beat the odds and the hard truths about the myriad challenges they?ve faced. No other book brings together so many contemporary black business success stories. Through in-depth, first-person interviews, you?ll meet the titans who started their companies from the ground up and were relentless in doing so; who filled a void in the consumer market and, in turn, revolutionized whole industries; and who love the companies that they run and are energized by new ventures. Each chapter profiles a different business legend: From John H. Johnson, founder of Ebony and Jet magazines; to Herman J. Russell, who used $125 to create the nation?s largest black-owned construction firm; to Emma C. Chappell, the People?s Banker, who launched the United Bank of Philadelphia; to Robert L. Johnson, who created Black Entertainment Television and then transformed BET Holdings, Inc. from a single cable network to an entertainment monolith that became the first black-owned business listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Inspiring and motivating, Titans of the B.E. 100s will introduce you to an incredible group of men and women who made a profound impact upon global business, symbolizing a spectacular realization of the American Dream.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (April 12, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471318531
• ISBN-13: 978-0471318538
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,818,960 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eleven inspiring African American business success stories, September 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Black Enterprise Titans of the B.E. 100s: Black CEOs Who Redefined and Conquered American Business (Hardcover)

This is a book of African American business success stories. Until now, the eleven self-made black business leaders featured-The Titans of the Black Enterprise 100s-were virtually unknown outside the United States, and even to American business students. Yet, they run America's largest black-owned companies and have been the vanguard of an entrepreneurial revolution. Achieving success despite lack of capital, diminished access, and outright racism, they used inspiration and drive to seize opportunities and break barriers. They are black America's wealthiest and most powerful players, providing employment, training, and advancement for large numbers of African Americans.

The eleven chapters of this book each tell the untold story of these titans and the contributions they and their companies have made to American industry and life.

Their stories and ideas will instruct, inspire, illuminate and motivate the reader to build on their success. This book is a source of inspiration and motivation to the next generation of captains of industry of all races and both genders the world over.

Derek T. Dingle is an editor-at-large for Black Enterprise magazine. For more than a decade, he has covered the B.E. 100s, which profile the 100 largest black-owned businesses, and he recently served as writer for B.E. 100s Exclusive, a newsletter for CEOs of these companies. In addition to his role as the managing editor of BE several years ago, he served as president and CEO of Milestone Media, Inc., which was America's largest black-owned comic book company.

Reviewed by Azlan Adnan. Formerly Business Development Manager with KPMG, Azlan is currently managing partner of Azlan & Koh Knowledge and Professional Management Group, an education and management consulting practice based in Kota Kinabalu. He holds a Master's degree in International Business and Management.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Eleven inspiring African American business success stories, August 19, 2000

By 

Azlan Adnan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Black Enterprise Titans of the B.E. 100s: Black CEOs Who Redefined and Conquered American Business (Hardcover)

This is a book of African American business success stories. Until now, the eleven self-made black business leaders featured-The Titans of the Black Enterprise 100s-were virtually unknown, even to American business students. Yet, they run America's largest black-owned companies and have been the vanguard of an entrepreneurial revolution. Achieving success despite lack of capital, diminished access, and outright racism, they used inspiration and drive to seize opportunities and break barriers. They are black America's wealthiest and most powerful players, providing employment, training, and advancement for large numbers of African Americans.

They represent, in many ways, the economic evolution of post-war African Americans. The first step in the effort for black equality was driven largely by the Civil Rights Movement, which led to the social and legal reforms of the 1950s and 1960s. Next, the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which eliminated such barriers to political activity as the poll tax and illiteracy test, gave rise to the increase in black political strength with the election of blacks to Congress in the late 1960s and 1970s. Those events were followed by the propulsion of black economic power in which African Americans gained an opportunity to amass wealth and achieve the American Dream that had been elusive for so long. In the 1980s and 1990s, blacks, who gained access to the nation's leading universities and major corporations, leveraged their education and experience to acquire and finance new companies as well as develop enterprises through emerging technologies.

The eleven chapters of this book each tell the untold story of these titans and the contributions they and their companies have made to American industry and life. Their stories and ideas will instruct, inspire, illuminate and motivate the reader to build on their success. This book is a source of inspiration and motivation to the next generation of captains of industry of all races and both genders the world over.

Derek T. Dingle is an editor-at-large for Black Enterprise magazine. For more than a decade, he has covered the B.E. 100s, which profile the 100 largest black-owned businesses, and he recently served as writer for B.E. 100s Exclusive, a newsletter for CEOs of these companies. In addition to his role as the managing editor of BE several years ago, he served as president and CEO of Milestone Media, Inc., which was America's largest black-owned comic book company.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great book very informing, November 5, 2011

By 

M. Carter "moemoney" (Cincinnati, Oh) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Black Enterprise Titans of the B.E. 100s: Black CEOs Who Redefined and Conquered American Business (Hardcover)

This book is great for inspiration, and a motivation. I'm happy I ran across this book. It's interesting to know to background of some of the great black american c.e.o. . The book was shipped fast and packed well.