Businessman. Born a slave and sharecropper, he rose from poverty to become Atlanta, Georgia's first African-American millionaire, rising as wealthy realtor, insurance magnate, philanthropist and founder and first president of Atlanta Life Insurance Company. Born in 1858 near the town of Social Circle in Walton County, Georgia, the son of a slave and a white farm owner who never officially recognized him as his son, after emancipation he continued working as a sharecropper until he saved enough money to leave Social Circle. Herndon had only one year of formal education, but learned barbering and opened his first barbershop in Jonesboro, Georgia in 1878. He later arrived in Atlanta in 1882, working his way to the top of the city's barbering trade. Eventually, he owned and operated three barbershops in the city. One of them, “The Crystal Palace” which he opened in 1902 at 66 Peachtree Street, was considered the most elegant in the country. Through Atlanta's Wheat Street Baptist Church in 1905, he bought a small burial association for $140. This grew into the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, his most significant business venture. In 1910 he and his first wife built a Beaux Arts Classical home with 15 rooms which still stands today as a historic site. When Alonzo Herndon died in 1927, his company had over a million dollars in assets. Today the Atlanta Life Insurance is the second largest African-American owned insurance company in America, operating in 17 states with about $200 million in assets.
Businessman. Born a slave and sharecropper, he rose from poverty to become Atlanta, Georgia's first African-American millionaire, rising as wealthy realtor, insurance magnate, philanthropist and founder and first president of Atlanta Life Insurance Company. Born in 1858 near the town of Social Circle in Walton County, Georgia, the son of a slave and a white farm owner who never officially recognized him as his son, after emancipation he continued working as a sharecropper until he saved enough money to leave Social Circle. Herndon had only one year of formal education, but learned barbering and opened his first barbershop in Jonesboro, Georgia in 1878. He later arrived in Atlanta in 1882, working his way to the top of the city's barbering trade. Eventually, he owned and operated three barbershops in the city. One of them, “The Crystal Palace” which he opened in 1902 at 66 Peachtree Street, was considered the most elegant in the country. Through Atlanta's Wheat Street Baptist Church in 1905, he bought a small burial association for $140. This grew into the Atlanta Life Insurance Company, his most significant business venture. In 1910 he and his first wife built a Beaux Arts Classical home with 15 rooms which still stands today as a historic site. When Alonzo Herndon died in 1927, his company had over a million dollars in assets. Today the Atlanta Life Insurance is the second largest African-American owned insurance company in America, operating in 17 states with about $200 million in assets.
Bio by: Curtis Jackson
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