John H. Johnson, 87, Founder of Ebony, Dies
NY Times
John H. Johnson, who used his mother’s furniture as security for a $500 loan to start the business empire that eventually included Ebony and Jet magazines and that made him one of the nation’s richest and most powerful black businessmen, died yesterday in Chicago. He was 87.
A company spokeswoman, Latrina Blair, confirmed the death.
Mr. Johnson had major holdings in book and magazine publishing, cosmetics, television and radio and in 1982 was the first African-American on Forbes magazine’s list of the 400 wealthiest Americans.
He sometimes said he was in the business of inspiring people, heralding achievements like the first black woman to become a Rhodes scholar or the black man who sent three daughters through medical school. But his publications could also bristle with indignation over the sting of racial discrimination, as reflected by a 1965 cover: “The White Problem in America.”
As the magazines that Ebony used as models, Life and Look, slipped away, Ebony maintained a large presence in black households and last year had a circulation of 1.6 million. Mr. Johnson also published other magazines, including EM (Ebony Man) and Ebony Jr. His company’s Fashion Fair Cosmetics brand is among the leading makeup and skin-care companies for women with darker skin.
