Business & Enterprise
Landmark
Richelieu Dennis
Founded SheaMoisture, and made Unilever fund Black women founders to get it
Landmark is level 2 of 4 in the Liberia Hall of Fame: a first that opened a door, or the pre-eminent figure of their generation in this country. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
He fled Liberia in 1987 and sold shea butter from his college dormitory. Thirty years later he sold the company for $1.6bn — and made the buyer put $50m into a fund for Black women entrepreneurs as part of the deal.
Richelieu Dennis left Liberia during the war in 1987 and began selling shea butter from his room at Babson College, drawing on his family's trade. With his mother he built the business into the SheaMoisture line and then Sundial Brands, which also carried Nubian Heritage and Madam C. J. Walker Beauty Culture.
Unilever bought Sundial in 2017 for $1.6 billion. As part of the sale Dennis required the buyer to put $50 million into what became the New Voices Fund, backing women of colour building businesses of their own. He has since acquired Essence.
Unilever bought Sundial in 2017 for $1.6 billion. As part of the sale Dennis required the buyer to put $50 million into what became the New Voices Fund, backing women of colour building businesses of their own. He has since acquired Essence.
- Inc. — This founder escaped war, created a top skin care brand, and launched a $100 million fund for Black women entrepreneurs
- Wikipedia — Shea Moisture
- Forbes — These mother-and-son entrepreneurs went from selling soap on Harlem streets to an $850 million fortune
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