Lost Fortunes: The Wealthy Black Women Who Built Empires Before the Civil Rights Movement—And Where Their Wealth Went (Part 2 of 28, Mary Ellen Pleasant)

"I often wonder what I would have been with an education." - Mary Ellen Pleasant

Mary Ellen Pleasant

The earliest documented wealth builders were fearless, politically and socially savvy, trailblazing Black women of the 18th and 19th Century. Meet Mary Ellen Pleasant and the rise and fall of a Black multi-millionaire’s fortune. 

Mary Ellen Pleasant (1814–1904) was one of the wealthiest Black women in 19th-century America. Known as the “Mother of California’s Civil Rights Movement,” she built her fortune through strategic investments, entrepreneurship, and social influence. However, despite her vast wealth, she died in poverty. 

Mary Ellen Pleasant was born free, possibly in Georgia or Virginia, and later moved to Nantucket, Massachusetts. She worked as a domestic servant but quickly learned business and finance from the wealthy families she served. Her marriage to James Smith, her first husband, left her a substantial inheritance, which she used to fund her business ventures.

Pleasant was deeply involved in The Underground Railroad and abolitionist movement, using her connections and resources to help enslaved people escape to freedom. In the 1850s, Pleasant moved to San Francisco, during the Gold Rush, and saw an opportunity to build wealth in the booming economy. 

She strategically entered several industries:

• Restaurants & Boarding Houses: Pleasant ran boarding houses that catered to wealthy businessmen, gathering valuable information about investments.

• Banking & Lending: She used her knowledge to invest in businesses and lend money to miners and entrepreneurs at high-interest rates.

• Real Estate & Public Transport: Pleasant amassed significant real estate holdings and invested in streetcars, making her one of the most influential figures in San Francisco’s economy.

Pleasant was an advocate and philanthropist, using her influence and resources to further the abolitionist movement. She was a friend and financial supporter to abolitionist John Brown. She helped ex-slaves avoid extradition, start businesses, hired them and helped find employment in hotels, private homes, and on the steamships and railroads across California. She led the Franchise League Movement in San Francisco which earned Black citizens the right to testify in court and ride the city’s trolleys.

Mary Ellen Pleasant entered into a secret partnership with Thomas Bell, a banker and financier, in managing business investments. They worked together for decades, with Pleasant using Bell as a front to navigate California’s racially biased financial system. She managed her fortune, estimated at over $30 million (approximately $900 million today). She designed, built, and resided in their 30-room mansion with Bell’s family as the public face, whereby she managed the home as the "housekeeper" and controlled the finances.

Pleasant identified herself as "a capitalist by profession" in the 1890 United States census. She established a 1,000-acre ranch in Sonoma County called Beltane Ranch. Her fortune started to decline due to legal battles and racial discrimination. After Thomas Bell died in 1892, his widow, Teresa Bell, accused Pleasant of stealing from the family and took control of the estate. Pleasant was locked out of her own home and lost access to much of her wealth. She was faced with multiple lawsuits and court fines challenging her financial dealings, many based on racist narratives that sought to discredit her as a Black woman with wealth and power.

As a result of the lawsuits and court judgments, Pleasant was forced into bankruptcy. Her real estate holdings were seized or sold at a loss. Public smears were led by newspapers that portrayed her as a fraud and con artist, further damaging her ability to recover financially. Pleasant’s only daughter, Lizzie, died of tuberculosis in 1878.

By the time Mary Ellen Pleasant died in 1904, she was penniless and living in a small apartment. Most of her wealth had been taken through legal battles, and she was erased from the history of San Francisco’s elite.

Where Did Her Wealth Go?

Mary Ellen Pleasant’s story reflects the systemic barriers Black entrepreneurs faced in preserving generational wealth. Despite being a self-made millionaire, she lost everything due to overt and covert racial discrimination, social and legal manipulation, and financial exploitation. Her legacy, however, lives on in civil rights history and as a lesson in the challenges of sustaining Black wealth in America.

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This is a financial education series of The New LaVilla, a historic landmark restoration project in north Florida. To learn more about the project, sign up for our newsletter at  www.thenewlavilla.com, follow our page on LinkedIn and social media @thenewlavilla.