Beatrice Foods

Beatrice Foods Reginald F. Lewis (December 7, 1942- January 19, 1993) grew up in a middle-class East Baltimore neighborhood in Maryland. He won a football scholarship to Virginia State College, graduating with a degree in economics in 1965. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1968 and was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi. In 1992, Forbes listed Lewis among the 400 richest Americans, with a net worth estimated at $400 million. He also was the first African American to build a billion dollar company, Beatrice Foods. Below is a summary of Lewis' remarkable accomplishments over the 50 years of his life, told in his voice, and those of his adoring family and friends. Please support Lewis' legacy by supporting While alive, Lewis made known his desire to support a museum of African American culture. In 2005, the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture opened with support from a $5 million grant from his foundation. It is the East Coast’s largest Afri...