The Making of a Black American Millionaire

The Making of a Black American Millionaire

An inspiring man he made a way for himself when there was no way. Born Arthur George Gaston in the racially segregated Demopolis, Alabama, he never went beyond the 10th grade in school. He founded the Booker T. Washington Insurance Co. in Birmingham in 1923 with $500 and began selling insurance policies to steel workers. .

Gaston’s business empire grew to include two radio stations, two cemeteries, the Citizen’s Federal Savings Bank in downtown Birmingham, and more. Added to his business sense, he had a passion for equality. Gaston once posted the $5,000 bail for Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., following his arrest for marching without a permit. (It was while in jail that King wrote his famous “Letter from Birmingham City Jail.”) .

Gaston sold his insurance company in 1987 and worked at his bank until 6 months before his death. A. G. Gaston died in his hometown in 1996. He left behind an insurance company, the Booker T. Washington Insurance Company, a construction firm, the A.G. Gaston Construction Company, and a financial institution, CFS Bancshares. The City of Birmingham owns the motel, which it plans to make into an annex to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, built on the former site of the Booker T. Washington Insurance Company. His net worth was estimated to be more than $130,000,000 at the time of his death.