The legacy of Lewis

A huge crowd of luminaries from the business and political circles across America gathered at the fund-raising gala hosted by Filipino-American community leader and New York businesswoman Loida Nicolas-Lewis at the historic Harvard Club of New York City. The exclusive dinner affair was held to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Loida’s late husband, Reginald Lewis’ landmark billion-dollar acquisition of the business empire Beatrice International Foods. The celebrated 1987 leveraged buyout made Mr. Lewis the first African-American CEO of a multi-billion dollar Fortune 500 corporation. The event attracted almost 300 guests and generated a substantial amount of donations including proceeds from a silent auction of bids for lunches with the likes of financier and philanthropist Michael Milken and Loida herself. Incidentally, the first bid for the lunch came from the Philippines via text from PLDT chairman Manny V. Pangilinan bidding for a lunch with Leon Black, the man who won the auction for “The Scream” painting for $120 million. All proceeds from the special event will go to the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African-American History and Culture, a Smithsonian affiliate. Loida vows to continue to carry her husband’s legacy, sharing a ringing piece of advice: “Love fiercely, because life is too short.”