John Johnson

John H. Johnson (1918-2005) was an African American publisher and entrepreneur who founded Johnson Publishing Company, establishing himself as the most influential African American publisher in American history. He launched Negro Digest (later Black World) in 1942, followed by Ebony in 1945 and Jet in 1951, building a media empire that also encompassed book publishing, cosmetics, and insurance. Johnson rose from poverty during the Great Depression to become the first African American on the Forbes 400 list and received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1996.