Reginald F. Lewis was the first Black American to build a billion-dollar company. Lewis died on January 19, 1993 in New York City at age 50. He was born on December 7, 1942 in Baltimore, Maryland. The creation of TLC Beatrice International Holdings, Inc by Lewis was an amazing feat of hard work, remarkable ingenuity and true genius from a man who grew up in a middle class Baltimore neighborhood.