Donnie Barden

Donnie Barden (born on Dec. 20, 1943 in Inkster, Michigan, passed away at the age of 67 on May 19, 2011 from lung cancer in Detroit.) He worked at a shipbuilding company in Ohio and quickly rose from the mailroom to executive assistant of the CEO in only two years. Later, he attended Central State University for a short time, but dropped out due to his family’s limited finances. At the age of 22, Barden took $500 he had saved and he opened a record shop named Donnie’s Records where he attracted acts such as the Jackson Five and James Brown. With earnings he gained in Ohio real estate investment, Barden established Barden Cablevision in 1979, which developed the cable television system serving Detroit and surrounding areas. He eventually sold the company to Comcast in 1994 for more than $100 million.