George E. Johnson, Founder of Johnson Products, Dies at 99

George E. Johnson, the pioneering entrepreneur who built a Black hair care empire and led the first Black-owned company to be listed on a major American stock exchange, died on Monday, July 6, 2026, at his home in Chicago. He was 99.

His death was confirmed by his family. His son, John Edward Johnson, told the Chicago Sun-Times his father died of natural causes at his downtown condominium. Johnson's second wife, Madeline Murphy Rabb, told The New York Times the cause was a respiratory illness.

Johnson founded the Johnson Products Company in 1954 with his late wife, Joan, on Chicago's South Side. The venture began with a $250 loan, which Johnson reportedly secured by telling a loan officer he needed the money for a family vacation after a direct business loan application was rejected. The company catered to African American consumers at a time when major corporations largely ignored them.

Johnson Products grew rapidly by developing and marketing products specifically for Black hair care needs. Its early brands, including Ultra Wave and Ultra Sheen, were hair-relaxing products designed for home use. As cultural trends shifted with the rise of Black Pride in the late 1960s, the...