Self-Made Millionaire

     A self-made millionaire is someone who makes the money on their own. They had not inherited it. In the case of C.J. Walker she was the first woman to achieve this on her own. 

     At her death in 1919, many newspapers called her a millionaire. However the value of her estate was closer to $600,000. The myth may have been started by Frank Breedlove Ransom when he told newspapers "Madam Walker's fortune of one million dollars or more was built up from the wide sale of hair restorer strictly" (Bundles 277). 

     The reason the myth persisted was the hope it gave to generations of African-Americans that with hard work they could overcome handicaps to achieve success. Her friend, Mary Mcleod Bethune, said of Walker that she was "The clearest demonstration I know of Negro woman's ability recorded in history. She has gone, but her work still lives and shall live as an inspiration to not only her race but to the world" (Bundles 277). 

     $600,000 in 1919 is equivalent to approximately $6,000,000 today.