Don Barden, a Leading Black Businessman

Don H. Barden, who rose from poverty to build one of the nation’s largest black-owned businesses through casinos and cable television, died in Detroit. He was 67.

Barden’s business empire started with a record store in Lorain, Ohio, that he opened at 21 with $500 in savings. During his 20 years in Lorain, west of Cleveland, Barden became the first black member of its City Council, founded a newspaper, The Lorain County Times, worked as a news anchor and hosted a weekly television talk show. Barden began developing real estate in Ohio before turning his focus to cable television in the 1980s, when he returned to Detroit. Barden was the founder of Barden Cablevision, which won the contract to install a system throughout Detroit and several suburbs. Comcast bought the system for more than $100 million in 1994, and Barden used the proceeds to open the Majestic Star, a riverboat casino in Gary (IN). Last year, the magazine Black Enterprise ranked Barden Companies as the 10th-highest-grossing black-owned company, with $405 million in revenue. built the cable television system serving .