First Female Self-Made Millionaire in the U.S.Full Story:Born Sarah Breedlove to formerly enslaved parents, Walker was orphaned by age 7 and worked as a washerwoman for $1.50 a day. When she began losing her hair due to scalp conditions, she experimented with homemade remedies and eventually created her own line of hair care products specifically for Black women.She marketed her products aggressively and built an empire through the “Walker Method” — a system of hair and scalp treatment that included her products and educational training for Black women to become sales agents and beauty professionals.By 1919, she employed thousands of women and had built a mansion in New York, larger than any other Black-owned home at the time.Walker used her wealth to fund scholarships, support civil rights causes, and make philanthropy central to her mission. She wasn’t just a businesswoman — she was a movement builder
