The prophetic words uttered by Booker T. Washington just before the dawn of the 20th century have not been muted by the passage of time.
Washington, who was born on a Virginia slave plantation and went on to found the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, famously declared that a man’s level of success is measured by “the obstacles which he has overcome.”
And, as the only Black man permitted to address the 1895 Atlanta Cotton States and International Exposition at Piedmont Park, Washington repeatedly urged freed Black people to “cast down your bucket where you are,” rather than migrate north with hopes of escaping the discrimination that dampened their entrepreneurial dreams.
Decades later, Washington’s words still resonate around town.
Black Enterprise magazine ranked America’s 100 most successful Black-owned businesses in a number of categories annually. Based on the magazine’s research for the most recent analysis in 2018, metro Atlanta placed 12 firms on the lists.
The ranked businesses are in four categories: industrial/service (including construction and manufacturing companies, media companies, IT services and others) as well as auto dealerships, advertising and financial services.
Most of those companies are rooted in the construction, contracting and hospitality industries and headquartered in the metro area. They’re on the industrial/service list.
Here are the five largest Atlanta-area businesses based on revenue and staff size named in Black Enterprise magazine’s list of the 100 largest Black-owned businesses in the U.S.
2) (on the auto list) Wade Ford Inc.
Founded in 1933, Wade Ford is the only Motor Trend Certified dealership in the metro area. CEO Steve Ewing bought the dealership in 2002.
CEO: Steve Ewing
Industry: Auto dealerships
Staff size: 162
Reported revenue (in millions): $674.107
5) (on the financial services list) Citizens Trust Bank
Founded in 1921 on Auburn Avenue, CTB has several financial centers in Georgia and Alabama, along with stand-alone ATMs.
CEO: Cynthia N. Day
Industry: Financial services and insurance.
Staff size: 91
Reported Assets (in millions): $411.073
25) H.J. Russell & Co., Atlanta
Founded in 1952, H.J. Russell is a world-renowned standard-bearer for commercial and residential real estate development, general construction and property management. The Center For Civil And Human Rights, Atlanta Streetcar, Mercedes-Benz Stadium and State Farm Arena bear the marks of H.J. Russell’s expertise.
CEO: Michael B. Russell
Industry: Construction, real estate, and food concessions
Staff size: 162
Reported Revenue (in millions): $178.151
27) Jackmont Hospitality Inc.
The late three-time Atlanta Mayor Maynard H. Jackson, Jr. was among the founders of this restaurant management company. In 2019, Jackmont Hospitality was named Franchise Group of the Year at the TGI Fridays' Global Business Conference.
CEO: Daniel J. Halpern
Industry: Quick service/restaurants, food services
Staff size: 2468
Reported revenue (in millions): $165.900
15) (on the auto list) The Baran Company L.L.C. (Mercedes-Benz of Buckhead)
Power couple Gregory and Juanita Baranco founded their first car dealership in 1978. All their hard work culminated in the very successful Mercedes-Benz of Buckhead dealership.
CEO: Gregory Baranco
Industry: Auto dealerships
Staff size: 185
Reported Revenue (in millions): $161.566
Black Enterprise’s ranking was compiled before the opening of Tyler Perry Studios, for which the movie mogul bought land in 2015 for $20 million. Later, he invested $250 million of his own money into it for its expansion. The studio is 330 acres, making it bigger in acreage than any of the five major studios in Los Angeles. Since the expansion, the Fort McPherson studio has hosted the Democratic presidential debate and the 2019 Miss Universe pageant.
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