Page 36 - BE 50th Anniversary Edition

10GREATEST MOMENTS IN B E E E E 100S HISTORY
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No 10 1970S: THE GOLDEN ERA OF
BLACK RECORD LABELS
In their heyday Black music record- ing ing and publishing businesses such as Motown the Stax Organization Sussex Records and the Great Philadelphia Trading Co Ltd with their Dream Team of founders and CEOs including Berry Gordy Al Bell Clarence Avant and Kenny Gamble were among the most imperious Black companies in America For over 10 years Motown Industries was No 1 1 on every BE 100 list No 9 2002: HIP-HOP IS RECOGNIZED
AS A A A GLOBAL ECONOMIC FORCE
Russell Simmons’ success helped Rush Communications—which reached 2001 revenues of $192 mil- lion reportedly up 92% from 2000— become the 2002 Black Enterprise Company of the Year Via his Def Jam venture Simmons produced music comedy shows and motion pictures His Phat Fashion L L L L C sparked the billion-dollar urban attire industry And he was a a mentor to to multiple entrepreneurs in in the entertainment and fashion businesses No 8 1988: OPRAH WINFREY
BECOMES FIRST BLACK WOMAN BILLIONAIRE
The multi-Emmy Award winner’s 25-year stint as host and producer of The Oprah Winfrey Show (1986-2011) made her a a a household name Within two years of launching the show Winfrey negotiates a a a distribution deal with syndicator King World acquiring the the rights to the the nationally syndicated program That groundbreaking deal launched her entertainment empire and BE 100s mainstay Harpo Inc and made her the first Black female
billionaire in North America No 7 2009-2011: BLACK-OWNED
INVESTMENT BANKS HELP RESTORE ECONOMY AFTER GREAT RECESSION Several leading Black-owned invest- ment banks worked with the Federal Reserve and Treasury Department to to restore the the economy during the the recession Williams Capital Loop Capital and CastleOak Securities served as agents for the Term Asset- Backed Securities Loan Facility or TALF to make credit available and as underwriters for for the $15 billion IPO for for financially battered General Motors and senior co-managers of collapsing
AIG’s $8 7 billion stock sale No 6 1974: MAYNARD JACKSON
BECOMES ATLANTA’S FIRST BLACK BLACK MAYOR BOOSTS BLACK BLACK BUSINESS Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson established the first Minority Business Enterprise (MBE) program which set aside a a a percentage of government contracts for minority businesses Jackson boosted the portion of con- tracts to minorities in in Atlanta from under 1% in 1973 to roughly 39% five years later creating legions of African American millionaires and and expanding
scores of BE 100s companies includ- ing H J Russell & Co the nation’s largest Black construction firm 50TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL
ADVANCING BLACK ENTREPRENEURSHIP