Earvin “Magic” Johnson has added another business to his Atlanta portfolio. The business mogul and Pro Basketball Hall of Famer announced he is the new Atlanta Life Insurance Company owner. Alonzo F. Herndon, a formerly enslaved person, founded the illustrious company in 1905. Herndon started the company by purchasing a failing mutual aid association and expanding its assets from $5,000 in 1905 to $400,000 by 1922. According to Atlanta Life, his efforts led him to become Atlanta’s first Black millionaire. Now, with the company’s value increasing 80 times over 101 years, Atlanta Life has agreed with Johnson’s EquiTrust Life Insurance Company, a carrier with $26 billion of total assets.
“Anytime a Black man can go from slavery to become a Black millionaire here in Atlanta and become an entrepreneur is a story that should be told,” Johnson told rolling out during the Oct. 16 press conference. “I’m glad that we’re able to take this historical brand and company and revive, revitalize it, and really bring it back to the people of Georgia.
“It’s unique that a Black man can [buy] a Black man’s company. My team has done an excellent job. I’m excited about EquiTrust, my company, taking Atlanta Life Insurance Company and bringing it back to the marketplace.”
Johnson said he first learned of Herndon’s story in a Killer Mike interview.
Ryan Smith, the Howard University and Stanford University graduate who serves as the company’s executive vice president, held an event on Oct. 14 in Atlanta to provide middle school-aged students with financial education. T.I. showed up to the event, according to Johnson. With Johnson as the face, the revitalized company plans to host more financial literacy events in the area as well.
“The problem with our people is that we come late to the financial party a lot of the time,” Johnson said. “We’re great at everything, but the last thing we have to dominate is money.”
The retired point guard has a longstanding history of ownership in Atlanta. He famously owned many businesses in the parking lot near Greenbriar Mall in the early 2000s, including a movie theater and restaurant.
“If you think about all the mixed uses that are built here in Atlanta, the one at Georgia Tech that has that Publix,” Johnson said. “With the housing on top of the Publix supermarket on the bottom, that’s mine. I mean, I can keep going. There are so many things I built here that people don’t even know about. I used to own Burger King’s here; I used to own a lot of things here in Atlanta…Atlanta knows Magic Johnson. I’ve been doing business here in Atlanta for a long time. It’s been a great market [and] community.”
