6 Interesting Facts About Clifton Wharton, The First Black CEO Of A Fortune 500 Company

Beginning his professional career in 1948 by working with the Rockefeller family’s philanthropic interests, corporate executive Dr. Clifton Wharton Jr. achieved a flurry of firsts before becoming the first Black CEO at a Fortune 500 company.

Wharton, now 95, entered Harvard University at 16, before shortly leaving with a degree in 1947. He received a Master of Arts and Ph.D in economics from the University of Chicago, and was the first Black student to earn a Masters of Arts degree in International Affairs from the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University.

Here are six lesser-known facts about the pioneering economist:

1. He became the first Black man to receive a Ph.D in economics from the University of Chicago.
2. Wharton specialized in economic development in Latin America, alongside Nelson A. Rockefeller.  
3. In 1970, he was named the first Black president of Michigan State University. 
4. In 1987, he became the first Black CEO at TIAA-CREF, which operates the world’s largest pension fund, holding assets of $260 billion. 
5. Wharton was U.S. Deputy Secretary of State under President Bill Clinton in 1993
6. In 2015, he released an autobiography titled, "Privilege and Prejudice: The Life of a Black Pioneer."

Photo via Wikimedia.