Starting in their kitchen, he and his wife at the time built a thriving company making beauty products for Black consumers. They also founded a string of cosmetology schools.
A longtime investigative journalist, he wrote books and articles that documented a campaign of disinformation intended to sow doubt about global warming.
Ms. Chao, whose sister Elaine Chao was President Trump’s secretary of transportation, led Foremost Group, operator of a global fleet of carrier ships. She died in a car crash.