Old Black Money: Black History meets Black Wealth
Happy Black History Month! This month, we’re going to embark on a journey together. One that pays homage to black history with a focus on black wealth. As we make strides to build wealth, it is critical to know where we come from and who paved the way for us years ago, and when I say years ago I’m talking about the early 1800s. I’m starting a new series on the blog called “Old Black Money: where black history meets black wealth.” You can expect to learn more about black history and black wealth, be inspired to build wealth, and be ignited to take action. If our ancestors built wealth with so many odds and obstacles stacked against them, we can too!
The series will be based off of two books: Think and Grow Rich: A Black Choice and Black Fortunes: The Story of The First Six African Americans Who Escaped Slavery and Became Millionaires. Both are great reads so far and I’m excited to trace the history of black wealth in America. Not only will I share the stories of black folks who built tremendous wealth, but I’ll also share principles that we can apply to our lives today to propel us forward.
The first black millionaire wasn’t Madam CJ Walker.
“Madam C. J. Walker was memorialized as the first black millionaire not because she was the first to achieve wealth—she was far from the first—but because she was one of the first African Americans to flaunt and claim her wealth openly and fearlessly.” Wills, Shomari. Black Fortunes
As I read this, shocked isn’t even the word to describe how I felt realizing THEE Madam CJ Walker wasn’t the first black millionaire. Few records exist concerning black people before 1865 which makes the stories in Black Fortunes even more interesting. In our inaugural post of Old Black Money, I’m going to discuss:
The first black millionaire
Why we need education and a plan for our departure
Principles to adopt from his life
William Leidesdorff: an entrepreneur, investor, the first black millionaire.
The first black millionaire was William Leidesdorff. In 1841, he left NOLA and ventured to San Francisco, California. There he started an import export company, and once the business became profitable, he used the money to open a general store, a warehouse, lumberyard, and a shipbuilding business. Later on, he built San Francisco’s first hotel, and later built California’s first public school. Do not play with this man. In 1848, when gold was discovered in the Sacramento valley, the value of his property and business skyrocketed to over $1 million, making him the first African American to achieve a net worth of more than a million dollars in the history of the United States.
Now, let me piss you off…
This story will definitely make you roll your eyes but it’s a valuable lesson about why we need to educate ourselves, our family members, and create a plan for when we leave this world. In the end of the introduction of Black Fortunes, Wills explains how William dies and shares how his estate was practically stolen.
“After his death, Joseph Folsom, a real estate investor, traveled to the Virgin Islands and found Leidesdorff’s estranged mother, Anna Marie Sparks, his sole known heir. He convinced her to sign over her son’s property for a payment of $75,000 ($2.1 million). The Leidesdorff estate was worth more than $1.4 million ($38 million). With the stroke of a pen, the fortune and legacy of America’s first black millionaire was stolen.”
All I can say is wow. I’m sure his mother didn’t understand the value of what her son had built vs. what was being offered to her. As we build wealth, include your closest people in the conversation to avoid mistakes like this.
Principles to adopt from his life
Invest your profits- William could have easily saved or spent the money he earned from his business, but instead, he reinvested the money into other businesses that met the needs of the community around him.
Be loyal- During the time William settled in Cali, it was primarily Mexican territory. Mexico gave William 35,000 acres of undeveloped land which made him the largest landowner in the area.
How can you start investing the money you earn to build wealth? Think about what you enjoy and topics you’re interested in learning more about. If you’re currently struggling with saving money, paying off debt, or disorganization in your finances, start by downloading my free money management guide to start your personal finance journey. Crawling comes before walking just like management comes before multiplication!
Resources:
Wills, Shomari. Black Fortunes (p. xii). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.
