12.Johnson Company – Value in 2015: $3.59 billion
Johnson Products Company is a privately held business formed in Chicago in the United States of America in 1954 by salesman George E. Johnson, Sr. It is best known for manufacturing a line of hair care and cosmetic products for African American consumers under the names Afro Sheen and Ultra Sheen. The company was a longtime sponsor of the syndicated US television dance show Soul Train until that program’s cancellation.The company was bought by Procter & Gamble in 2004 and its products were marketed as part of the P&G portfolio. In March 2009, a consortium of African-American investment firms bought the company from P&G to reestablish its position as the country’s African-American-owned company.
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