Lewis, Reginald F.

▪ 1994

      U.S. lawyer and financier (b. Dec. 7, 1942, Baltimore, Md.—d. Jan. 19, 1993, New York, N.Y.), was a partner (1970-73) in Murphy, Thorpe & Lewis, the first black law firm on Wall Street. After his $1 billion takeover in 1987 of the Beatrice Companies, a food concern, he became one of the nation's richest businessmen. Lewis, who earned a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1968, worked for the firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison after graduation. In 1973 he went into private practice with the founding of his own law firm, Lewis & Clarkson, which specialized in venture capital projects. Among his most outstanding business deals were the 1983 purchase (he led the $23 million buyout with $1 million in savings) of the McCall Pattern Co., which he then sold in 1987 to the John Crowther Group of Britain for $63 million in cash; the sale netted Lewis a $50 million personal profit. After acquiring Beatrice Companies, he formed his own concern, TLC (The Lewis Company) Beatrice International. Lewis, who amassed a personal fortune of $400 million and headed the largest company in the U.S. run by an African-American, was most proud, however, of his philanthropies to education. He donated large sums to Virginia State and Howard universities, and in 1992 he gave $3 million to Harvard Law School, making him the school's largest individual donor. Lewis died of a cerebral hemorrhage related to brain cancer.

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