2018 REVISED, RE-EDITED EDITION: As the man behind the unprecedented 1987 leveraged buyout of Beatrice Foods, Reginald F. Lewis established himself as a respected titan of Wall Street. His standing as the CEO of a billion dollar conglomerate while in his mid-forties surprised many, especially in light of his middle-class, African-American roots in Baltimore, Maryland. Yet the reality that Lewis, without the advantages of inherited wealth or family connections, would amass a fortune placing him on the Forbes 400 list of America's wealthiest individuals is undeniable and serves to amplify the truly remarkable achievement of this pioneering businessman. What prepared the young man who would become one of the world's most respected executives for this unimaginable rise to the top. What can be learned from the formative years that shaped and molded Reginald F. Lewis into an American success story. Lin Hart's informative and inspirational book, Reginald F. Lewis Before TLC Beatrice: The Young Man Before the Billion-Dollar Empire, sets out to explore and shed first-hand insight on these precise topics. Focusing on the ten years between 1956 and 1966, when Baltimore teenagers Lin Hart and Reginald F. Lewis were particularly close, the book draws on shared experiences and memories from their years as high school students and then as college roommates at Virginia State. With each entertaining, personal story, Lin Hart underscores the qualities that emerged during this period of Lewis's life, many of which would play a role in his future successes. Throughout what is clear is Lewis's will to succeed, his supreme confidence, and his unrelenting pursuit to move beyond the ordinary to become extraordinary. Richly layered with motivational insight and lovingly told with honest integrity, Reginald F. Lewis Before TLC Beatrice combines the best attributes of a rousing memoir with the direct imperative of a self-help book, holding up the exceptional life of Reginald F. Lewis as an indisputable model for success. I've carried the details of this book, in the recesses of my memory,for a lot of years before finally deciding to write this book. In doing so,I've chosen to focus on a specific 10 year period of Reginald Lewis's life. While during his lifetime, he accumulated great wealth and was arguably the richest African-American on the planet, this book is not about the money. It's about young Reginald F. Lewis before the money and the challenges he overcame as he transformed himself from being ordinary to become extraordinary. My twitter handle is lhacafe. You can also find me on Facebook -linsr24. Following the 1987 leveraged buyout of Beatrice Foods, Reginald F. Lewis was solidly positioned as CEO of a billion dollar conglomerate and a major player on Wall Street. Still in his forties, with a personal fortune that placed him on the Forbes 400 list, this pioneering businessman had achieved unimaginable success without the advantages of inherited wealth or family connections. What prepared this young African-American man from middle-class Baltimore to become one of the world's most respected executives? What can be learned from the formative years that shaped and molded Reginald F. Lewis into an enduring American success story? Lin Hart's informative and inspirational new book, Reginald F. Lewis Before TLC Beatrice: The Young Man Before the Billion-Dollar Empire, sets out to explore and shed first-hand insight on his days as a close friend and confidante of Reginald F. Lewis during their high school and college years. Throughout what is clear is Lewis's will to succeed, his supreme confidence, and his unrelenting pursuit to become extraordinary.Maryland native Linwood (Lin) Hart lived in the same West Baltimore neighborhood that the Lewis family moved to in 1952. He and young Reginald met and became close in 1956, and they would later become roommates and football teammates at Virginia State, remaining friends until Mr. Lewis's death in 1993. Lin Hart retired in 1995 from AT&T, where he was a Network Systems Engineering Director, and started his own company, Lin Hart & Associates, which specializes in professional speaker services and leadership coaching. My name is Lin Hart. I'm the author of the book, "Reginald F. Lewis Before TLC Beatrice: The Young Man Before The Billion-Dollar Empire." In 1995, having been an employee of AT&T for three decades, I retired from my position as Network Systems Engineering Director in order to start my own company, Lin Hart & Associates. In this new capacity, my career has focused on professional speaker services and leadership coaching. I am a native of Baltimore, Maryland, and my friendship with Reginald F. Lewis began when we were young men, living in the same West Baltimore neighborhood. In the years that followed, we became roommates and football teammates at Virginia State and remained friends until Mr. Lewis's death in 1993. During his lifetime, Reginald F. Lewis, as the head of his gl