Get the Summary of Shomari Wills' Black Fortunes in 20 minutes. Please note: This is a summary & not the original book. Original book introduction: The astonishing untold history of America's first Black millionaires - former slaves who endured incredible challenges to amass and maintain their wealth for a century, from the Jacksonian period to the Roaring '20s - self-made entrepreneurs whose unknown success mirrored that of American business heroes such as Henry Ford, John D. Rockefeller, and Thomas Edison.

While Oprah Winfrey, Jay-Z, Beyoncé, Michael Jordan, and Will Smith are among the estimated 35,000 Black millionaires in the nation today, these famous celebrities were not the first Blacks to reach the storied 1 percent. Between the years of 1830 and 1927, as the last generation of Blacks born into slavery were reaching maturity, a small group of smart, tenacious, and daring men and women broke new ground to attain the highest levels of financial success.